Riff Knives
Ape flip
self-released
A Swedish Limp Bizkit is the best way to describe this Stockholm crew, although it's more the Fred Durst-ian vocals than the music that finds Riff Knives out limpin' with the Bizkit. The title track here is actually pretty killer and is probably the most Bizkity in terms of the music itself, with a damn fine chorus riff and a cool vocal style to match. From there things kinda go downhill a little, with the remainder of the tunes sounding off like it's the red capped fool himself behind the mic. If that's your bag, you'll probably be in rap metal heaven. For me, however, it just sounds like they worship Durst and aspire to sound exactly like him. In places this harks back to the early '90s output of funk metal icons Mordred, but offer nothing near the creative excitement output by the San Fran thrashers back in the day. "Ape flip" is a fine effort, but it's going to take a lot more than this to detonate an explosive resurgence in the rap metal genre.
- John Norby
