Limp Bizkit: Rock Im Park 2001

Introduction

Fred Durst and his band Limp Bizkit have been around for a while now and alongside the likes of Korn and Linkin Park have been credited with the popularity of the nu metal genre. Limp Bizkit have sold over 33 million albums worldwide to date, which is quite a lot and also landed themselves with the theme song to Mission Impossible 2.

The nu metal genre mixes rap, hip hop beats and metal riffs, and whilst completely alien to my ears, seems to have struck a chord with music fans of the late nineties when it first came to fruition. Front man Fred Durst has also raised the profile of his band by engaging in feuds with such stars as Eminem and also allowing talk of unproven affairs with the likes of Britney Spears.



This DVD captures the band arguably at their prime in 2001 at the Rock Im Park in Nuremburg in June 2001. Band member DJ Lethal describes this set as their best ever in the accompanying interview as he claims that US audiences are a bit spoiled and static whereas the German audience really get into the music, which is demonstrated quite amply by synchronised hordes of the audience bouncing up and down. Still, it's not quite as awe-inspiring as the Live Aid audience deciding to be extras in a Queen video. That's just me, though.

The concert set is presented in two versions. The one presented first at the menu stage is a revamped set remixed by DJ Lethal that is a little shorter and containing more loops and a bit more keyboards, not enough mind in my opinion. The other set is the original concert in all its glory.

Visual

As you'll be able to tell from the screenshots, it's a mix of formats. The Remixed set is presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen with a lot of on-screen graphics at times and lots of editing tracks. The original set is presented in 4:3 and I've taken most of the screenshots from this set purely as they'll present better on the page.

Audio

Choice of both 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo soundtracks. No subtitles, but that's probably a blessing considering some of Durst's on-stage banter and lyrics.

Extras

DJ Lethal interview - 8 minute piece of fluff that seems to have been recorded on the spur of the moment as it isn't the most coherent interview ever. Still, it's probably good enough for the newer MTV generation.

Booklet - containing a potted history of the group from formation to the point where they signed with Flip Records.

Overall

I'm not a fan of this genre at all, although my son loves it. Still, this is not a bad release at all. Granted the interview is wasted on someone as old as myself who believes that interviews should be coherent and have a structure, but then I'm from a slightly earlier generation and this is not aimed at me at all. The music is not quite my cup of tea either, the only rap I pretty much like belonged to Sugar Hill Records, Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. I've also never been a metal fan, much preferring the power of the analogue synthesiser.

This could have been a straight forward concert release with a single set list and that may have been enough for some fans. Frankly I think it's a master stroke to have a remixed setlist on this release. It's not too different musically but I guess it shows just where the band might be some seven years on in terms of their sound. I much preferred the Remixed set myself, but then I'm also not waiting on tenterhooks for the new album, so real fans will be able to judge that sound themselves.



Personally I'm a bit luke warm about the music but I can see that this is a pretty good release for the genre, and some thought was put into it. My son loved it so that tells me all I need to know on how it'll probably go down with nu metal fans out there.

Fine if you're into this kind of thing.