martindavey87
One year after their return from a seven year hiatus and Stuck Mojo are at it again. Back with Lord Nelson on vocals, the southern born killers released 'The Great Revival', which pushes the envelope further with their more rock-inspired sound and even more non-metal influences creeping into the compositions. Safe to say, if you didn't like their previous album, you'll hate this one.
While 'The Great Revival' features the trademark Stuck Mojo sound, there's a complete smorgasbord of genres mashed together in various places, with hints of country, soul, gospel and pop music all finding their way onto the record. There's a lot of singing on here, including female vocals, and as a whole there's a very "bubbly", radio-friendly vibe about this album (don't expect to hear any of these on the radio, though).
Of course, none of this is bad per se, but if you're a long-time fan of the band who isn't open-minded to different things, this certainly won't win many people over. However, despite all the changes to their sound, this is, in my opinion (and hey, this is my review after all), a really good album. I love when bands try new things, and as a long-time fan of guitarist Rich Ward, I'm a sucker for anything he releases.
Songs like '15 Minutes of Fame', 'Friends' (yep, I like that song), 'Now That You're All Alone' and 'Invincible' are all solid rap rock songs. They may not have the heaviness or aggression of Stuck Mojo's earlier albums, but there is still an abundance of Rich Ward's signature riffs that will please the metal fans.
As is the case with any artist, experimentation can prevent stagnation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Props to Stuck Mojo for trying new things, and as far as I'm concerned it worked out. So why only three stars? Admittedly, this is probably still their weakest album, and while it is good, their earlier material is just so damn awesome!