Lostprophets - The Fake Sound of Progress (2000)^{Release ID: 29448}

Seeing a review for this album appear on this site made me remember this band that has split up and been "cancelled" due to crimes committed by one of the band's founding members. In my younger times when I was following my brother's alt-rock/metal footsteps in music before switching to "real" metal, one of those bands was Lostprophets. I listened to a few songs; one that my brother likes, one in which I've seen its music video on TV, and one more on my own. I thought that band was OK. However, just a few months after I first listened to that band, their lead singer Ian Watkins was arrested for various sexual offenses against children and even an animal! F***ing sick (as in disgusting), right?!? A year later, that band split up, and Watkins was sentenced to nearly 3 decades in prison.

That wasn't the end of the story though. The music industry wanted nothing to do with the band anymore, and people were destroying album copies in attempt to cease the band's existence. The remaining members formed a new band No Devotion, with Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly. With all that said, Lostprophets had pretty much become the Dark Lord of the rock/metal realms. However, they were quite popular in the days before sh*t went down. Out of the ashes of Fleshbind and Public Disturbance, Lostprophets made their debut The Fake Sound of Progress that was released in 2000 via Visible Noise, with a more successful re-release via Columbia Records the following year.

The album begins with an "Obscure Intro". Then the single "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" is a prime example of the album's nu metal, along with videogame references in the title. The 6-minute title track actually has some similarities to Opeth with its calm groove and somewhat progressive structure, while the nu metal sound stays intact. Then the first of 4 noise interludes appear. "Five Is a Four Letter Word" is more effective despite not being a single. Also effective is the vocals in "...And She Told Me to Leave", along with post-ish guitar chords that can remind listeners more of the emo-rock of Sunny Day Real Estate than the metal of In Flames that seems to take on some influence for the album, and other modern metal releases.

The second noise interlude follows, having some DJ scratching. That also occurs at the end of "Kobrakai". The song itself has some screamed vocals that fit together with the singing. "The Handsome Life of Swing" is basically hardcore metal that's diversified by some jazz sections. The third interlude comes on, sounding nice and soft. "A Thousand Apologies" (yeah that's what Ian Watkins should be writing) has some more nu metal reminiscent of Demon Hunter's debut. "Still Laughing" (but that's what Ian Watkins would be doing if he still has some evilness) has some hardcore-ish hard rock that Eighteen Visions would adopt for their mid-2000s material.

Then we have the 4th and last interlude that's like the "Cure for the Itch" of this album. "For Sure" has more melody that for sure sounds like it has bled into metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage and Underoath. "Awkward" is indeed a little too awkward for what I like and comes out as more of a throwaway track. Honestly, I thought "Ode to Summer" was gonna be just an outro, but it turned out be to be one more track with some nu metal reminiscent of Demon Hunter's debut. A solid ending!

I wouldn't say The Fake Sound of Progress is a super awesome album, but it has certainly never failed. Lostprophets have shown some potential in their debut. Whether or not you wanna avoid this band like a plague because of the vocalist's horrid actions, this album should catch on in the nu metal community. The sound of progress is real....

Favorites: "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja", "The Fake Sound of Progress", "Five Is a Four Letter Word", "The Handsome Life of Swing", "A Thousand Apologies", "Still Laughing", "For Sure", "Ode to Summer"

It’s the summer of 2001 and nu metal is at its absolute peak. Thanks to Kerrang TV, which had debuted in the UK a few months prior, there was an absolute abundance of bands soaking up the airwaves with hit after hit. Most of these bands wouldn’t be around for more than another year or two, but every now and then a group would come out with a bit more hype around it than others, which would see them survive a bit longer than most.

Similarly, out of nowhere, came ‘Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja’, by Welsh rockers Lostprophets.

With its punchy yet melodic guitar riffs, powerful vocals and an apparent knack for a catchy hook, this band immediately had their foot in the door and garnered a strong fanbase. Follow-up single ‘The Fake Sound of Progress’ displayed a similar level of songwriting abilities, and it wasn’t long before Lostprophets (and that’s “lostprophets”… one word only), were on the rise above the flailing nu metal genre.

Of course, then their album came out, and it became a bit more obvious that, while the band certainly had a lot of talent and potential, we’d already heard the best two songs that they’d written.

The rest of ‘The Fake Sound of Progress’ is a bit hit-or-miss. There are some good songs on here that make the album worth a listen, in particular ‘’Five is a Four Letter Word’ (lame song title, though), ‘For Sure’, ‘Awkward’, and especially ‘A Thousand Apologies’, but there’s also loads of filler material that date this album squarely in 2001 where it belongs amidst the countless other bands that never made it past 2003.

In short, ‘The Fake Sound…’ is a typical nu metal album of its time. Some would argue its punk, hardcore and emo sensibilities, but ultimately I hear a 2001 nu metal album. There are some good songs that make it worth a listen, but it’s not an album I intend to come back to very often.