Stuck Mojo was formed in 1989 by guitarist Rich Ward and was probably one of the first bands to incorporate heavy metal with rap vocals thus predating the nu-metal explosion by a good few years. The 1996 album Pigwalk is I believe one of the albums that had a huge impact on the then burgeoning nu-metal scene. Their third album “Rising,” released in 1998 was a big commercial success and great things were expected from the band. Things however didn't quite go that way and as the nu-metal explosion died down, Stuck Mojo in spite of predating the trend, were discarded quite unfairly. The band broke up in 2000 after tensions between the band and their then record label Century Media.

I had all but forgotten Stuck Mojo in the intervening years till, thanks to Sri I discovered that Ward had revived the band and released a new album. For the album in question, Southern Born Killers, Ward stayed away from the whole record label scenario to record and release the album on his own. The album in fact is available for download off the band's official website.

Now then, history lesson complete, lets move on to the album.

The album starts with the effect laden “For The Cause Of Allah” which sets the tone for the rest of the album. “Home” is a great song with a kickass thrash groove before going off into a modern rock style during the chorus. The singing parts are handled by Ward who does a decent job while rapping duties are handled by new vocalist Lord Nelson. The stand out track on the album though is the superb “Open Season” which has a terrific groovy riff, a remarkably bhangraesque sample that plays through out the song and a terrific performance from Lord Nelson. The song is quite an aggressive piece of music and is further enhanced by the lyrics which take a critical look at terrorism and the jihadi mind set. The songs alternate between heavy riffing and some melodic parts that lean more towards hard rock territory. The band also make use of keyboards rather nicely as can be heard on “The Sky Is Falling.”

The one thing that made Stuck Mojo stand out from the crowd right through the nineties was the guitar playing of Rich Ward. Ward was always Heavy fucking Metal and that made the difference between Stuck Mojo and the countless pretenders. Southern Born Killers is no different. The album is filled with groovy thrash riffs that counterpoint the melody of the songs and rapping style of new vocalist Lord Nelson. Lord Nelson in fact is a quality rapper. Sounding at times like he's been heavily influenced by Ice Cube (which is not at all a bad place to be), Nelson has a smooth style to his rapping that allows him to show off his anger and at the same time display a sense of groove in his delivery that only black rappers have.

While rap metal is way past its sell by date, Stuck Mojo have come back like the nu-metal explosion never went away. This is a strong and confident album from a band that I had thought was done. Again, apart from long time fans of the band I'm not sure who will actually be interested in this album. I can imagine the sneers and whispers of derision when i mention rap-metal but believe me when i say that Stuck Mojo have delivered a classy mature album that in spite of having the dice loaded against it does not sound dated at all.

Southern Born Killers is a very worthwhile comeback from an often ignored but pioneering band and is well worth your time.

Year Of Release - 2006

Label: Self-release