Think about every cliché that you possibly can have that concerns electronic music, and you have "Legion of Boom", the latest effort from The Crystal Method. Big fat beats, futuristic sounding noises, excessive sampling, and even some guy rapping over one of the tracks before being torn apart in a hail of electronic distortion... it's all here. Given all this predictable, mundane work, I can't figure out exactly why I like this record as much as I do.

Perhaps it is because it sounds like an old-fashioned techno record, albeit one that has been very well put together. The content and style of this album wouldn't have raised very many eyebrows had it been released ten years ago, it would hardly have been original or revolutionary even then. However, what this record lacks in flair and inventiveness, it does make up in catchiness and sheer beat-powered force. Having listened to what seems like a million bad IDM records in the past three months; it's refreshing to hear someone reduce the formula to something so simple, yet so effective and enjoyable to listen to.

The album begins with Starting Over, which starts relatively sedately, before sheets of distorted electronic noise fly ever closer, eventually assaulting you with a barrage of bassy beats and... well, that's about it actually. Later on, a few cut-up vocal samples are thrown into the song to make things a bit more interesting, but for the most part, it's simply doing what the title says, and starting over, taking the duo back to what made them famous in the first place.

A little more adventurous and interesting is Born Too Slow, which revolving guitar samples, blasts of angular noise, and vocals contributed by John Garcia, former vocalist of rock band Kyuss. American Way is a sample-heavy track built around a relatively simple bassline and some guest rapping from Rahzel. Wide Open is a seven minute opus which again features guest vocals, this time from San Francisco poet Hanifah.

As you might have guessed, this album is rather heavy on the guest appearances. This isn't a bad thing, while The Crystal Method are certainly adept at laying down very danceable beats and good techno, their particular brand of musical talent would wear a bit thin on its own after an hour or so. On "Legion of Boom", The Crystal Method have crafted an old-fashioned techno record (well, as old-fashioned as a techno record can be), which provides a lot of great mindless dance music, but sadly not much else.

Think about every cliché that you possibly can have that concerns electronic music, and you have "Legion of Boom", the latest effort from The Crystal Method. Big fat beats, futuristic sounding noises, excessive sampling, and even some guy rapping over one of the tracks before being torn apart in a hail of electronic distortion... it's all here. Given all this predictable, mundane work, I can't figure out exactly why I like this record as much as I do.

Perhaps it is because it sounds like an old-fashioned techno record, albeit one that has been very well put together. The content and style of this album wouldn't have raised very many eyebrows had it been released ten years ago, it would hardly have been original or revolutionary even then. However, what this record lacks in flair and inventiveness, it does make up in catchiness and sheer beat-powered force. Having listened to what seems like a million bad IDM records in the past three months; it's refreshing to hear someone reduce the formula to something so simple, yet so effective and enjoyable to listen to.

The album begins with Starting Over, which starts relatively sedately, before sheets of distorted electronic noise fly ever closer, eventually assaulting you with a barrage of bassy beats and... well, that's about it actually. Later on, a few cut-up vocal samples are thrown into the song to make things a bit more interesting, but for the most part, it's simply doing what the title says, and starting over, taking the duo back to what made them famous in the first place.

A little more adventurous and interesting is Born Too Slow, which revolving guitar samples, blasts of angular noise, and vocals contributed by John Garcia, former vocalist of rock band Kyuss. American Way is a sample-heavy track built around a relatively simple bassline and some guest rapping from Rahzel. Wide Open is a seven minute opus which again features guest vocals, this time from San Francisco poet Hanifah.

As you might have guessed, this album is rather heavy on the guest appearances. This isn't a bad thing, while The Crystal Method are certainly adept at laying down very danceable beats and good techno, their particular brand of musical talent would wear a bit thin on its own after an hour or so. On "Legion of Boom", The Crystal Method have crafted an old-fashioned techno record (well, as old-fashioned as a techno record can be), which provides a lot of great mindless dance music, but sadly not much else.