At first (Hed)Planet Earth started as a fresh new band that emerged from the late rap-rock hybrid genre in the late 90's. They had nice grooves, good rhymes and some nice beats. But how do you suppose a band, after so many years, pulls out album after album even though the genre that they specialize in is terribly unpopular now? Long gone are the days when (Hed)Planet Earth, or P.E. as their fans call them, were somewhat mainstream with their song "Bartender". But instead of calling it quits and trying something new to go with the flow, (Hed)P.E. decide to do more of the same except, that is of course, old school fans of the band might find a more "hip-hoppish" edge in this album than any other.
After being signed two years ago to Suburban Noize records, (Hed)Planet Earth returns to the shelves with Insomnia. A 14 track album that features special guest such as: Roscoe, Big B and their Label Owners, Kottonmouth Kings and the rapper Tech N9ne. Told you this would be more of a hip-hop album than their previous ones.
Track Reviews:
1. Madhouse
The first song on Insomnia is more of a heavy metal influenced song. Madhouse is what I consider an intro as it seems very short and not too interesting. Singer/rapper Jahred screams the lyrics over a distorted guitar backed up by a simple drum beat. Nothing special.
2/5
2. Walk On By
After a somewhat effortless intro, Insomnia quickly goes to the next track, Walk On By. Walk on By is what I consider the best song on Insomnia. It is full of energy and sweetly done rapped verses leave you a tingle in your ear. In a good way, that is. A booming guitar and bass add more to the song also the drums on this track make up for what was done on Madhouse. The breakdown in the middle of the song is pretty sweet I must sincerely say. This song is gorgeously done.
5/5
3. Game Over
Remember how I said this album would be more "hip-hoppish" well get ready because this is where it starts. Although the intro might make it sound more like a punk or metal song, it gets sort of "gangsta" afterwards. Leave it Jahred to rap about having sex, politics and getting high in one single song. An okay song, it has it's moments.
3.5/5
4. Habeus
I don't know if (Hed)P.E. misspelled the word "Habeas" or if this is what they intended the song to be called. Anyways, this song is more of a punk song than anything. It starts off with some samples heard on your left and right speakers about the war in Iraq. This song is one of the worst on the album. The vocals are very annoying and excruciating at times and you feel like skipping the song. Terribly composed.
2/5
5. Suffa
Ahh one of the few gems on Insomnia also happens to be the lead single off the album. Suffa is a metal song that keeps a good groove throughout the composition with a nice chorus and a some nicely screamed/rapped verses. Like I said before, one of the highlights of the album, which seems to be rare in this release.
4.5/5
6. Comeova2nite
More hip-hop please. Here is a complete rap song for all of the you that love (Hed)P.E. for the hip-hop sense. Fans of the band will love this song, but you just can't deny the fact that the song is a bit catchy for those of you who despise this band. The lyrics are trash though. The bass from Mawk is about the only thing that holds this song together. It features a verse from the west coast rapper, Roscoe.
3/5
7. C2GU
Now for some punk tunes. Yeah! Well that's what you would be hoping for right? A good punk song but no, all you get is a pretty dull composition with some annoying vocals from singer Jahred. "I'm commin' to get you!" fills the chorus and doesn't make up for the lack of talent in this song.
2/5
8. RTO
Another punk song with a thrash-metal edge? Okay bring it on, but hopefully it is better than the last punk song. In a way it is, but the song is more of a hip-hop song than a punk song. Big B this time lends his annoying voice in this track with some untalented rhymes and raps. Jahred somewhat does a nice job radiating energy from the track to your ears, but an average song.
3/5
9. Mirrorballin'
Jesus Christ. What the hell just came out from my headphones? Utter garbage. Totally worthless song with some slut talking like a ho in the chorus, or what seems to be the chorus. And the lyrics are really stupid I can't stress that enough. How can someone that is in his 40's write a song like this? Sure, everyone has the right to write or compose a worthless track but it seems (Hed)P.E. have abused the privilege.
1/5
10. Tienanmen Squared
After almost going deaf listening to the previous track hopefully this song makes up for Mirrorballin'. The audio quality of the song is really bad. It sounds like it was recorded in a lousy record studio with some 3rd rate equipment found in Elton John's yard sale. The drums especially sound very lo-fi. Tienanmen Squared is a punk song with some metal influences and it features a tiny guitar solo from Jaxon. Mediocre song with some decent lyrics.
3.5/5
11. Children
When I first heard this song I was very surprised at what I was hearing. It is actually a remake of Buffalo Springfield's For what it's Worth, but it hides it's self in the name, Children. This song is very heavily sampled. But it fares okay. The only rant about the song is the abrupt punk riff that happens in the middle of the song. It just seems so out of place. Anyways, a good song.
4/5
12. Atlantis A.D.
Finally we hear some rap-metal from (Hed)P.E. Atlantis A.D. is greatly done song, about the future which takes place in the year 2025. Jahred raps about politics and conspiracies and the lyrics are nice, though, not great. The chorus is the weak point of the song. It doesn't seem right to me. Again the sound quality of the recording sounds so poorly done, but that hardly matters because the song is actually pretty good.
4.5/5
13. Wind Me Up
Another rap song and what sounds like that slut from Mirrorballin' saying "Daddy". This song is not that interesting. Jahred starts the song off by rhyming a few lines. It features the annoying rapping from Daddy X which just happens to be from that loser rap band Kottonmouth Kings. Next verse is done by Tech N9ne, whom, I am not too familiar with, but his rapping doesn't sound too good nor smooth. In fact Jahred shows Daddy X and Tech N9ne up in this song showing that he has a smoother style and can rap better. And guess what? Daddy X gets another verse. How fine. I thought this was a (Hed)P.E. song?
2.5/5
14. Don't Let Me Down
The final track on this long CD. DLMD is basically a pop-punk song. It sounds very poppy, and I thought Jahred hated pop-punk. Well whatever the case is, the quality again is very poorly produced. And the quality of the music is bad too. It is a really bad way to end an album which was filled with less than average songs. It also features a very, very, very bad quality hidden track.
2/5
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All in all, (Hed)P.E. really blew this one up. The CD did however feature some good tracks like, Walk on By and Suffa, but those hardly make up for the bumps and bruises that the other songs gave to them album. Do yourself a favor, go check out Blackout or Broke if you want to get into this band.
