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CONCERT REVIEW
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.... METHODS OF
MAYHEM- "Tommy Lee on the Prowl"
...
........................................................................................................................3/20/00 Warfield SF
...Methods of
Mayhem, which performed Monday at the Fillmore in San Francisco, Lee
successfully salutes the world of heavy metal while combining elements of
techno and acid industrial into a CD full of heavy metal dance grooves that are
puffed up with cameos from Snoop Doggy Dogg, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Kid
Rock, Lil' Kim, The Crystal Method, Wu Tang's U-GOD and George Clinton, among
others.
.....The road to Mayhem began when Lee was in the
slam. TiLo quit his band, Head P.E., and began communicating with Lee while he
was in jail. From there, Mayhem grew from a casual side project for both
artists into a full-time partnership, culminating with a record deal with MCA.
Enlisting the renowned DJ skills of The Beastie Boys' Mix Master Mike, Lee and
TiLo traverse the rap-metal landscape with a selection of nasty and sonically
brash mixes that represent a departure for the Cre drummer. To many '80s hard
rockers, hip-hop and rap were the enemy, representing a conflicting lifestyle
and culture from the other side of the tracks.
.....Lee may be the first former Party Rock God to
officially make the jump into the rap-metal camp. The results of that jump may
not be for everyone: The profanity overkill on most of Methods of Mayhem's
tracks follows the music industry's currently
 accepted obscenity standards, although for radio play
the legion of vulgarities have been bleeped out. The deletions sometimes leave
songs sounding like they have a damaged vocal track. In the context of the
album, however, some of the tracks work. The dance-oriented power grooves and
savvy mixes throughout the CD would seem at home at raves on both coasts;
heaping portions of rock guitar crunch are laced throughout, giving an arena
rock cachet to the hip-hop funk. The highly sequenced "Get Naked" and
the slightly heavier "New Skin" are receiving airplay on alternative
rock radio, but they are two of the more sonically courteous tracks on the CD.
The muscle dirge of "Who the Hell Cares" and the repetitive
"Crash" hark back to the hollow depths of the rockin' '80s when hair
bands ruled and Mötley Crüe left its mark. As a solo performer, Lee's
skill as a vocalist is immaterial in a genre of performance art where melody is
relatively
 nonexistent and attitude and delivery have the most
impact. Singing is absent, but raps abound amid the din of frequency overload
with Lee and the bevy of guest performers injecting street into the mix. Lee
seems serious about making his commitment to Methods of Mayhem stick.
By
Randy Cohen
WEB SITE: www.methodsofmayhem.com
CDNOW: For info on Tommy Lee's Methods of
Mayhem on CDNOW
This is the
official Rock Publication web site © 1999
Music
Relations Inc.®
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