This review covers the nu metal track Limp Bizkit – Counterfeit.
This track was released in 1997 on the album Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$.
The track starts with some whispering and a subtle guitar. The bass guitar comes in more full as the whispering also comes in as well more fully. At this point, the main vocals come in quietly.
After this, the lead guitars come in along with the drum kit. From there, the vocals come in for a verse as the lead guitars drop out. Some organ keys join the track. The lead guitars come back as the vocals take the track into the main chorus.
From there, the lead guitars drop out as the vocals take the track into the next verse with the drum kit and bass guitar backing them. The keys return as well here. From there, the keys drop out and the lead guitars rejoin the track as the vocals take the track into the main chorus again. At the end of this section, the lead guitars hit some long notes as they gradually fade out.
The bass guitar backs the vocals as they take the track into the next verse. After that, the lead guitar leads return as the vocals take the track into a modified main chorus. A quick bridge later and the track goes back into a main chorus again. The lead guitars enter a quasi-solo with backing elements from the vocals.
After that, the lead guitars gradually fade out. When everything drops out, the drum kit returns. From there, the track simply ends.
A strength in this track is definitely the lead guitars. They really give this track a nice heavy and grungy sound. This works quite well. Similarly, the bass guitar really helps carry the track through the quieter moments and gives the track a nice rounded sound.
The keys element really helps break the track up nicely. As such, they give the track a decent amount of variety here.
As for the vocals, I’m always on board with mixing a little bit of rap with a rock track, but I found that they almost took a bit of a back seat to this track. It’s as if they are there not because they strengthen the track, but because it’s expected in a rock track. They aren’t particularly bad here, but I’m not sure how much they ultimately add to the track here.
The other problem with the track is the overall construction of the track. An eclectic sound isn’t necessarily bad for a track, but there has to be some sort of cohesion that ties everything together. In this case, I’m not sure this track has a particularly strong cohesion here.
Overall, this is a track with both strengths and weaknesses. The guitars both lead and bass add quite a bit to the track. The keys element do give a bit of added variety. Unfortunately, the vocals don’t necessarily add a lot here and the overall construction of the track doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot of cohesion. So, a decent track, but nothing particularly amazing here.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
