Stuck Mojo

Rising

(c)1998 Magic Arts Publishing

(p)1998 Century Media Records

Review by Vladimir Levin

Thanks to Century Media for the CD

I have heard much about Stuck Mojo in the past without the benefit of actually listening to any of their previous albums. The reviews given to their earlier albums here at TOC have been negative to say the least, so I did not look forward to the chore of reviewing their latest offering, Rising.

So given this state of affairs, what's the scoop on Stuck Mojo's newest material? Stuck Mojo offers up very fast, punchy rap-metal. Tough, energetic and very well-played, I enjoyed this album quite a lot. Whether this reflects a tremendous improvement or a misdiagnosis on the part of our past reviewers, I can't say. This album contains 13 tracks and clocks in at 47 minutes. That suggests an average length per song of about 3 to 4 minutes, and indeed the songs on Rising seem fairly short and pre-processed for radio-play; the length of the songs fits well with the style of music, offering up a battery of brisk aggressive songs.

The vocals range from rap to harmonized singing and also fit well with the music. The guitar sound is quite reminiscent of Corrosion of Conformity, and given their southern U.S. roots in common - SM is from Atlanta, Georgia - this similarity is not entirely unexpected. It seems that it's been quite some time since a band has approached rap metal in such a refreshing way. The Century Media web page described SM as a very live-oriented band that tours continuously to garner support and this too is evident in the style and dynamics of their music.

Lyrically, Rising is a politically motivated album, focussing on the ills of American society in the late 90's. The first track, "Crooked Figurehead", indicts US President Bill Clinton and the shallowness of both the public and the news media for its disregard for issues such as Watergate and concentrating instead on such things as the name of his dog. It's just too bad that this album didn't wait for the Monica Lewinsky affair. Perhaps the live version on the road will incorporate these current events!

So is the Mojo Rising? Well I'd say so. If you haven't heard Stuck Mojo before, I would definitely recommend Rising as a good introduction. I am also sure Stuck Mojo fans will enjoy this new offering.

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