What can I say about Crossbreed? I remember seeing these guys years ago in Atlanta with their musical doppelgangers Orgy. Let me tell you these guys have been around forever, and you can always count on them to entertain you!

After groups like Mudvayne and Slipknot unmasked, it seemed as though the whole gimmick factor was falling away. But then here comes Crossbreed out of left field bringing it right back. After seeing the artwork for this album, which is set to drop September 15, 2009, it’s obvious they still have their style after thirteen years. I thought I was looking at the Blue Man Group’s evil cousins.

Gimmicks aside, first thoughts on this record were what I expected- a mixture of early Korn and Orgy, with a hint of Ultraspank tossed in for flavor. Don’t get me wrong, though. There was a time in my life where industrial rock frequented my stereo. I could be found at the local club on any given Thursday, checking out bands just like Crossbreed. But that, my friends, was ten years ago. Lately, it seems these bands go away for long periods of time without dropping new albums, and when they finally return, they have nothing new to offer. Times are changing, and music is, too. However, these bands are staying the same. So what does that all mean in relation to this album? Not much about KE 101 is different than the last Crossbreed album I heard years ago.

In songs like “Hollow,” you get a nice, crunchy driving guitar riff, but might have a hard time distinguishing between vocalist James Rietz and Korn’s Jonathan Davis. By the time you get to “The Calling” halfway through the album, everything has started to sound the same.  This track is a monotonous, monotone song that, had it not been so noisy, might have put you to sleep.

The album ends with “Beg,” which opens with a guitar riff you might swear was used in Korn’s hit “Faggot.” James gives it up vocally, screaming his lungs out through the entire song, but the over-distorted guitar riffs have become white noise at this point. If you’ve made it this far, it’s likely you have forgotten why you were listening in the first place. Personally, I think the music scene has outgrown these guys. They just signed under Head’s new label “Driven Music Group” in June of last year, and you can clearly hear his influences on this album. Not a bad thing necessarily, but this is just a straightforward industrial/electronic/metal album and nothing more.

They are playing locally in Florida, but have yet to post any tour dates on their MySpace page. Their official .com is not up and running yet, so I’m unsure of what their plans are after the album drops.

If you miss Korn’s earlier work, and still enjoy throwing on your big black baggy pants with all the zippers you bought at Hot Topic nine years ago, then I’m sure you will enjoy this album. I personally feel that when you have industrial metal giants like Rob Zombie and Trent Reznor, who have cornered this genre and are still making music, you need to bring something new. It’s a decent album for industrial metal that didn’t make my ears bleed, but still, it’s very dated.

1.5/5