Biohazard - State of the World Address (UPDATE - 5/18/04)
Written: Nov 17 '99 (Updated May 18 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: You have to respect the pioneers, a good effort.
Cons: Album ends up flat and mediocre.
The Bottom Line: It's not bad, but it is not good either. When you absolutely must have something from Biohazard and already have Urban Discipline, check it out.
Mr_D's Full Review: State of the World Address by Biohazard
Quick Facts:
Biohazard – State of the World Address. Released 1994, on Warner Bros. Rock/Rap genre. Album contains 14 songs, 57:39 album length.
Full Review:
State of the World Address is Biohazard’s 2nd big label album, and third release overall. At one time, Biohazard brought the relatively underground thrash/hardcore brand of hip hop flavored metal to the mainstream, at a time when hip-hop was dominating the pop culture scene, in the early 90’s. They weren’t the first band to do this of course, but they received a large amount of street cred early on because of their strong following, and become a powerhouse and pioneer early, enjoying great success and popularity in the early 90’s.
Unfortunately, once the lid was off of the style, and the copycats came out, Biohazard would lose some of their luster. State of the World Address largely falls into the standard sophomore slump pitfalls. The songs never ride above mediocrity, and none of the tracks really stand out to make this a must have release – and it never rises to the level if ingenuity of 1992’s Urban Discipline.
The band does incorporate a larger quantity of sound bytes and other song introducing techniques, which was become increasingly popular about this time. Musically however, most of the songs stick to a similar formula, hard pulsing drums, thrashing guitars, and the essayish, preachy lyrics talking about the strife of urban life and the sad state of affairs the world is in. (Also popular at about this time)
There are a few moments where the album tries to break apart from its own style, which make for the more interesting moments. “Failed Territory” starts off with a pretty cool acoustic introduction and “Lack There Of” sheds for a song the hardcore influence and ends up as a solid metal track. “Love Denied” also starts off with a power ballad sound, which is a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, even the better cuts, like “Each Day” and “Human Animal” sound more repetitious than anything else.
The lyrical style I find annoying. It’s tough to make out many of the lines, and the words seem to be forced into the phrasing which makes it sound clumsy, and without flow. I think it is this clumsiness that takes away from the album, overall. The music is actually pretty solid, but it becomes tough to really get IN to any of the songs in particular.
State of the World Address is probably most known for being the last album for founding member and guitarist Bobby Hambel.
Here's the track listing (Favorite cuts are *'d)
1. *State Of The World Address
2. Down For Life
3. What Makes Us Tick
4. Tales From The Hard Side
5. How It Is
6. Remember
7. Five Blocks To The Subway
8. *Each Day
9. *Failed Territory
10. *Lack There Of
11. Pride
12. *Human Animal
13. Cornered
14. *Love Denied
I’m not going to give the album a track by track breakdown; there really isn’t much to say. Many of the songs have a very similar feel and sound. And while I appreciate the rebellious attitude, the lack of cohesiveness in the lyrics makes it difficult to really hear the voice of the songs. A few cuts try to divert, and make for the more interesting moments. “Love Denied” and “Failed Territory” end up as pretty solid standard metal tracks. “State of the World Address”, “Each Day”, “Lack There Of”, “Human Animal” are the better songs here, but frankly, they never rise above the level of simply being better than the bad songs. You’ll never crave them, and you’ll never really crave this album. It is perfect mediocrity. That’s the tough thing about this album. It’s not bad enough to say it’s bad, and it’s not good enough to say it is good. State of the World Address is just there.
”I am an animal! The Human Animal!!!" (Human Animal)
What I liked :
Some of the sound bytes were neat.
Alternative song intros on a couple of cuts were refreshing.
Decent metal sound.
What I didn't like :
Lyrics were clumsy.
Songs ended up sounding very similar.
Nothing here stands out.
Overall :
This is a tough album to review, because it is hard to have a strong opinion on it. I don’t think it is a bad release, but State of the World Address is also not memorable. Fans of the band or the genre may want it, but there is much better fare available, even from Biohazard themselves.
Mr_D
NOTE: This Epinion was revised 5/18/04. The original follows for comparison purposes.
***
Biohazard is one of the Pioneering Hardcore acts. Long before Limp Bizkit and the like, Biohazard was doing something different. Meshing Hard Core metal and urban hip hop vocals and stylings into one sound, that appealed to both Metal Heads and those who liked the message of Urban music. Even some people into hip hop could appreciate some of the things they were doing. Biohazard's third release, "State of the World Address" released in 1994, really had some interesting tunes to it. Biohazard has always talked about social issues, such as racism, politics, and the economy, and this album may be their crown jewel in that arena. This album also contains the anti-Gang song "How it is" with special guest Cypress Hill. But, this album is strong most of the way through, from the opening title track, through the musical tribute to Vietnam Veterans "Remember", and the cynical look at people "Human Animal". The sound isn't one that everyone will like, but if you are into hardcore, and strong message based music, Biohazard may be the band for you.
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