martindavey87
Eight years after their last studio album and Stuck Mojo are back to breathe new life into the rap metal genre which they helped pioneer in the early 90's. While I loved 2007's 'Southern Born Killers' and even 2008's 'The Great Revival', the more hip-hop oriented rapper Lord Nelson and the commercially tinted songs (full of gospel and pop influences) put off a lot of fans.
However, a 2014 reunion show which saw the return of classic Mojo vocalist Bonz had the band once again retracing their metal roots. And while the newly revived classic line-up wouldn't last, it did plant the seeds for a new album which would take the band back into a more heavier direction.
And heavy, it is!
With new vocalist Robbie J. Fonts, Stuck Mojo have truly released a beast of an album that takes them right back to their 'Pigwalk' days. Brutal, unrelenting and uncompromising, 'Here Come the Infidels' is a great record that perfectly blends metal and hip hop whilst trying to give the genre the integrity it deserves. Rich Wards guitar riffs are as killer as ever (check that guitar tone!), and long-gone are the lyrics about friendships and "mom's favourite song", we're back to the anti-political, anti-social, anti-everything Stuck Mojo that we all know and love.
And it is glorious!
The album starts off with some of the bands best material, however, towards the end it does start to slowly creep back into that commercial rock territory. While songs like 'Tambourine' and 'Blasphemy' aren't bad by any stretch, they kind of feel a bit out of place on a release that started off as an all-out metal return to form.
Still, with that said, 'Verbal Combat', 'Rape Whistle', 'Charles Bronson', 'The Business of Hate' and the title track, 'Here Come the Infidels', are all some of Stuck Mojo's best songs, and are all perfect examples of why rap metal crossovers shouldn't be so casually disregarded. And if nothing else, surely this makes up for 'The Great Revival'... right?