Limpbizkit’s fourth studio release is an important one for the band. Waning popularity and/or credibility have accompanied the rise of frontman Fred Durst’s tabloid profile – a feat no doubt aided by the relative disappointment surrounding Chocolate Starfish… and Durst’s fling with Britney Spears.
Results May Vary, then, is the excuse most fans are waiting for to stop being bothered with Limpbizkit. Album openers ‘Eat You Alive’ and ‘Gimme The Mic’ and, later on, ‘Head For The Barricades’ are the closest you get to Durst’s former throat wrenching squawl, yer’ man mainly sticking to a whingey rap that sounds curiously like Linkin Park (particularly in ‘Lonely World’); though he does grant himself the odd four minutes grace to indulge with an acoustic guitar and a gaudy lament (see both ‘Build A Bridge’ and ‘Behind Blue Eyes’).
To add further force to the blow, sheer musicality is at an all time low – grit and ferocity have been replaced by glossy production (a job undertaken in the main by Durst), exposing the weakness of the songs rather than distracting you from it.
From this release, it would appear that Limpbizkit have become consumed by the genre they played such a pivotal role in creating, and Fred Durst’s ego has assumed centre stage against a score of one dimensional nu-metal muzak: “My life is my mind and my mind is my life”, he announces on the album’s inlay. There’s no doubt about it, Limpbizkit are well and truly flaccid.