Band:	Limp Bizkit
Album:	Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Style:	Alternative metal, Nu metal
Release date:	October 17, 2000
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Intro
02. Hot Dog
03. My Generation
04. Full Nelson
05. My Way
06. Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)
07. Livin' It Up
08. The One
09. Getcha Groove On [feat. Xzibit]
10. Take A Look Around
11. It'll Be OK
12. Boiler
13. Hold On [feat. Scott Weiland]
14. Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle) [feat. DMX and Method Man & Redman]
15. Outro
16. Snake In Your Face [bonus]
17. Back O'da Bus [bonus]
18. It's Like That Y'All [feat. Run-DMC] [US limited edition bonus]

"Alright partner, Keep on Rollin' Baby, you know what time it is".

This was a number one album in multiple countries... Yep, let that sink in; the Limp Bizkit train was rollin' all the way to the bank alright. Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water (or Starfish from here on out) is the peak of the band's career; they reached the top of the mountain and were soon tumbling down afterwards, but, let's go through what took them to the top of the mountain for their time on top.

The music is easily the highlight on Starfish; the band behind Durst construct some well-crafted songs that show that even with a ton of crap thrown on top, its quality can shine through. "My Way", "Hold On" and "It'll Be Ok" have some class musicianship that manages to create a collage of sounds before bursting into life and kicking your ass. Rivers' bass work is highly underrated in the grand schemes of things, underwriting the cheques the band cash in; between Rivers and Lethal, they create a strong framework the rest of the band can build upon and flesh their ideas out on.

For as cheesy as it is, I'll give kudos to the band in that "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" is enjoyable like a McDonald's burger; sure you know it's bad for you, but sometimes it's something that hits the spot. "Take A Look Around" is like a Five Guys burger (other burger products are available, p.s. I'm open to advertising, hit me up Burger King) in comparison; one of the best nu-metal songs period.

Terry Date and the band's production skills are solid, creating an album that is heavy yet balances well with the aforementioned collage of sounds, without either sounding forced into place or the lesser of the two. "My Generation" is a good example of this; while having heavy moments, you can hear all the intricacies of what goes into the song, especially in the bridges. "Hold On" balances this as a whole track amongst a host of heavier ones.

Complaining about Limp Bizkit lyrics is like pointing out cancer is a bad thing; we all know it by now and it's like shouting into the wind. The only exception to this is "Hot Dog", which sums up Durst's lyrical skills neatly in its four-minute duration, revelling in its repeated "fucked up?" lines ad nauseum before going on to copy Nine Inch Nails. Managing to find a new low, it sticks out like a sore thumb and encapsulates much of Durst's input.

Where the band totally fall flat though is when they go full-on rap; if you think Durst is a bad metal vocalist oh boy, he is Freddie Mercury compared to his rap skills. "Getcha Groove On" and "Rollin' (Urban Assault vehicle)" are dire; the band take a back seat as Durst rides up front with guest features from actual rappers who (understandably) phone in their performances.

Starfish is a mixed bag of an album, featuring some great instrumental work that is held back by Durst, who pulls the album down several pegs. Limp Bizkit's time at the top is easy to understand when you consider their peers and the band's instrumental skills. It's also easy to see why they came tumbling down, the red baseball cap tipping the scales from finely balanced to nigh-on self-parody.