Band:	(hed) p.e.
Album:	Insomnia
Style:	Fusion, Nu metal
Release date:	July 17, 2007
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Madhouse
02. Walk On By
03. Game Over
04. Habeus
05. Suffa
06. Comeova2nite
07. C2GU
08. RTO
09. Mirrorballin
10. Tienanman Squared
11. Children
12. Atlantis A.D.
13. Wind Me Up
14. Don't Let Me Down

Another year, another (Hed) PE album, or so it seems... Hot off the heels of Back 2 Base X, this talented rap-metal band releases Insomnia. Is this album yet more proof of this band's absolute dominance of the genre? Well? Not really. A clear lack of focus bogs down this release and implies that (Hed) PE would perhaps be wiser to work a little harder on a follow-up next time.

It seems that (Hed) PE proverbially blew their load with Only In America, possibly the best rap-metal album of all time. In hindsight, the band was quite wise in adapting a different direction than their trademark brutal rap-metal on Back 2 Base X. With Insomnia it becomes obvious that the boys are having a hard time coming up with a follow-up. Not all is bad though. In fact, the first salvo of tracks (1-5) is really good and makes a great first impression. "Walk On By" is classic (Hed) PE with rapped and grunted lyrics over a memorable metallic background. "Game Over" and "Habeus" are both catchy punk metal songs, while "Suffa" is the highlight of the album, and also the single. Sadly, after this initial attack the band starts to stumble. "Comeova2nite" and "Wind Me Up" are both atrocious hip-hop songs with poor lyrics and pointless guest appearances. "Don't Let Me Down" is a ridiculous pop-punk song that sounds very out of place. "Mirrorballin" is just too weird for its own good, mixing near death-metal with southern/gangsta rap. In between these duds there are some gems, in the form of the hip-hop-meets-thrash-metal of "RTO" and the interesting and hardcore punk "Tienamman Squared". This; however, fails to wash away the bad taste left behind by the missteps of this album.

(Hed) PE still has a lot of potential and the good tracks on Insomnia are proof of this. Next time the band should simply not rush the recording process so much so that the filler can be weeded out. I sure hope the review of their next album won't be as negative.