Album Details

• Artist: Rebel Inc.
• EP:
Rebel Inc.
• Label: None
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: toddlevinsonfrank on 2009-12-13

I bet that Rebel, Inc. gets compared to Rage Against the Machine all the time, and I bet they hate it. But they really do sound like a poor-man's Rage. I'm generally not a fan of comparisons, but this one is too obvious to ignore.

The thing about sounding like RATM is that, on the one hand it could be a compliment. There's certainly worse bands to imitate. It sure beats sounding like a poor-man's Creed (who was a homeless-man's Pearl Jam). But the problem is that Rage was really, really good and therefore anything similar is certain to pale in comparison.

Rebel, Inc. does have some stuff going for them. They seem to have a lot of energy and in general I think the musical chops are there. They just need to dig a little deeper and find their own sound. The guitarist would benefit from varying his sound and settings, as too many of these tracks have the exact same guitar sound. The production isn't bad, but the snare sound isn't always great and the kick drum lacks the kind of punch necessary for this kind of music. The vocalist should listen to a little more hip-hop to hear some examples of more varied flows and perhaps find more influences.

Lyrically, again, very Rage-esque platitudes about "freedom" and dropping F-bombs against the system. Hey, I'm down with that, but perhaps getting more specific and poetic might help give these songs their own voice. One of the bright spots is a short but sweet guitar solo in "Broken Man," but unfortunately that comes as the last track.

All in all, this isn't so much a bad effort, but the RATM influence is so painfully obvious that it's hard to enjoy this on its own merits.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2009-11-25 rebelincmusic Said:

Gary Poppa Bear Schmaltz WHYS 96.3FM
"Rebel Inc- Rebel Inc. 4 stars out of 4
Rebel Inc is a Baltimore based rabble rousing band by way of Detroit whose self-titled debut is a high energy, kick in your door, in your face combination of punk, metal, rap and rock that isnt just entertainment; its a call to action!
Rough lead and bass guitar riffs build to a menacing pace before literal explosions of sound while tribal sounding drums pound out warnings that war is eminent. Adding gasoline to the flames the raspy, strong vocals delivered by these musical Che Guevaras with the fury and fervour of a televangelist has a sobering message of rejection of the status quo, their fallen, false morality and the efforts made to control each and every one of our lives. Theyve left us no choice but to start a revolution!
Each one of the tracks on this debut stands as a gem, and as a collective its a national treasure.
Rebel Incs new release is everything you need, everything youll love!"
Rating: 10/10