Legion of Boom (album)

Legion of Boom
Studio album by The Crystal Method
Released January 13, 2004
Recorded 2003
Genre
Length 59:17
Label V2 Records
Producer The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method chronology
Community Service
(2002)Community Service2002		 Legion of Boom
(2004)		 Community Service II
(2005)Community Service II2005
Singles from Legion of Boom
  1. "Starting Over"
    Released: September 10, 2003
  2. "Born Too Slow"
    Released: November 25, 2003
  3. "I Know it's You"
    Released: 2004
  4. "Weapons of Mass Distortion"
    Released: 2004
  5. "Bound Too Long"
    Released: 2004

Legion of Boom is the third official studio album by the American band The Crystal Method. The album is a mixture of different genres, like the rough "True Grit", to the wiry guitar rock song "Born Too Slow". Legion of Boom contains vocals from actress Milla Jovovich and Kyuss lead singer John Garcia. The album also contains guitar riffs courtesy of Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland (who also co-produced three tracks) and vocal talents by beatboxer Rahzel. Its title is likely a reference to the supervillain team Legion of Doom.

Background

The album was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Electronica/Dance Album" category in 2005, the first year that any award was given out for that category.

An edited version of "Born Too Slow" was featured in the soundtrack for the video games Need for Speed: Underground and Donkey Konga 2. The song "I Know It's You" was used in the pilot episode of the TV show Numb3rs. Also, the song "Bound Too Long" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Cursed (film), and "Starting Over" was used in an episode of the TV show Alias and an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. A different version of "Weapons of Mass Distortion", renamed "Weapons of Mad Distortion", was used in the movie Blade: Trinity.

The album also contains the only known time either members of The Crystal Method have provided vocals for a song. The song that features this is "I Know It's You", which has Ken Jordan singing through a vocoder.

Artwork

The design of the album is not completely standard. As opposed to most album layouts, the tracks of Legion of Boom were listed on the front of the case, rather than on the back, with the album art placed on the back inlay. It is unknown if this is intentional, or for what reason.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(58/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Alternative Press[1]
Blender[1]
Chicago Tribune(positive)[3]
E! OnlineB[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
PopMatters[1][6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin(5/10)[1]

Upon release, Legion of Boom received mixed reviews from critics. The album has a score of 58 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "mixed or average reviews".[1] Billboard gave it a mixed review and stated that "Too many tracks get bogged down with a straight-ahead progressive trance formula, where zoning out feels more suitable than attempting to move your feet. Still, because the good stuff is so darn good (and it is), it is easy to brush aside any missteps."[8] Mojo gave it three stars out of five and said it was "more like the soundtrack to a horror movie than a night of DJ breaks and body shakes."[1] Playlouder gave it two stars out of five and said the album "resembles nothing more than a U.S. major label executive’s idea of what dance music should sound like."[9] URB also gave it two stars and said that the band "has become utterly irrelevant."[1] Blender gave it one-and-a-half stars out of five and stated: "The problem is not the lumbering, mid-tempo beats or the terrible lyrics (“Synthesizer, crystallizer, realizer”), although neither help. It’s the sense that you’ve heard every synthesized squelch and ambient breakdown before."[1]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Starting Over"4:01
2."Born Too Slow"2:59
3."True Grit"5:06
4."The American Way"4:26
5."I Know It's You"5:48
6."Realizer"3:48
7."Broken Glass"3:55
8."Weapons of Mass Distortion"4:50
9."Bound Too Long"6:23
10."Acetone"5:15
11."High and Low"5:23
12."Wide Open"7:23
Total length:59:17

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  2. ↑ Legion of Boom at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Chicago Tribune review
  4. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  5. ↑ Los Angeles Times review
  6. ↑ PopMatters review
  7. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  8. ↑ "Billboard review". Archived from the original on January 10, 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  9. ↑ "Playlouder review". Archived from the original on May 29, 2004. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
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