Limp Bizkit

Members: Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, DJ Lethal

Active: 1994-present

Limp Bizkit (Originally Lethal Injection) is a rapcore band who along with their founders Korn-are often credited with creating the nu metal genre and widening its popularity. The band is currently signed to Geffen Records and were previously signed to Interscope Records; both labels are part of the Universal Music Group. They were one of the most popular bands in the world during the early 00s, and their albums have sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Limp Bizkit's members are Fred Durst (the band's frontman and rapper), guitarist Wes Borland, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto (Rivers' cousin), and turntablist/sampler player DJ Lethal. Borland departed in 2001 following the release of their first three albums to be replaced by Mike Smith for the band's fourth release Results May Vary. In late 2004, Borland rejoined the band.

Though Limp Bizkit has enjoyed major success and sold well, they are often critically panned, particularly in recent years. Critics have labeled the group's hip-hop-influenced rhymes gimmicks, and heavily explicit content cartoonishand cotton candy. In addition, leading allmusic.com critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine accused Fred Durst of being the "worst frontman in the history of rock"in a negative review of the group's 2003 critical flop Results May Vary.

EARLY YEARS

There are many rumors about where the band found inspiration for their name, but the reason for the name is how a friend of the band described his brain like a "limp biscuit". The band was formed in 1994 as Limp by Fred Durst, Sam Rivers, John Otto, guitarist Rob Waters and, later, DJ Lethal from the former rap group House of Pain. Waters was replaced by Wes Borland shortly after. The band toured around their hometown to promote their four-track demo titled "Mental Aquaduct Records Demo". About this time, they became friends with rap music's House of Pain, which included DJ Lethal, who would join Limp Bizkit soon after House of Pain disbanded. Bizkit were discovered by Korn's bassist Reginald Arvizu in 1995, backstage at a Jacksonville Korn concert. They gave a Ross Robinson-produced demo tape which included tracks such as "Armpit", "Blind", "Phat Groove" and "Shove" to Arvizu. In 1996 they released another three song demo tape featuring the songs Pollution, Counterfeit, and Stuck which Durst gave to Robinson who was at the time working with Korn.

THREE DOLLAR BILL Y'ALL$

Three Dollar Bill Y'ALL$, their first full length recording, was released in 1997 on Interscope. The album fared poorly on the Billboard 200 at the time of its release and it wasn't until Limp Bizkit made further associations with Korn that they were able to promote their music via MTV, the Family Values Tour (Korn's own tour) and Ozzfest (where Borland's outlandish makeup and costumes made a memorable impression on viewers), which allowed the album to peak at number 25 on the chart. Although their first released single was "Counterfeit", they rose to fame on the back of the George Michael song Faith. The song appeared on the soundtrack of Peter Berg's 1998 movie "Very Bad Things" starring Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater and Jeremy Piven.

RECORD COMPANY

It was around this time that Fred Durst formed his own record company Flip and assisted the careers of a number of up-and-coming bands, particularly Staind, Cold, Puddle of Mudd and Taproot (who later rejected Durst's contract). Most of these bands have since tried to cement themselves as an independent, standalone band and denounce Limp Bizkit's aid and influence.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER AND ARISING CONTROVERSY

In 1999, Limp Bizkit found major worldwide success with their second album Significant Other, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and received generally positive reviews . The first single Nookie, was an enormous hit on rock radio, reaching the top 10 in both rock charts. The band followed-up the single with three simultaneously relesed singles - "Break Stuff," "Re-Arranged" and "N 2 Gether Now" (featuring Method Man). The latter did not find mainstream appeal until 2000, but it reached a respectable place in the Billboard Hot 100 and charted on both rock and rap charts once it did.

In the summer of 1999, Limp Bizkit played at the highly anticipated Woodstock '99 rally. However, violent action sprung up during and after their performance, including fans tearing plywood from the walls during a rendition of the band's single Break Stuff, and several rapes and sexual assaults reported in the aftermath of the concert, resulting in deliberately lit fires and looting when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played the next day. Some have blamed the band for this outbreak, although Fred Durst claimed that none of the instigations he had made at the concert were intended to cause damage. Consequently, the music video for the band's single "Rearranged" has the band being tried and punished for the Woodstock uproar.

Along with this episode, controversy involving the band's members began to arise. Durst particularly became involved in feuds with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (which gave basis to the belief that Durst practiced mafia-style tactics in the music industry), the nu-metal nonnet Slipknot, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Zakk Wylde, physical violence with Creed frontman Scott Stapp, verbal wars with rapper Eminem, and later, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. In addition, the band Taproot released on their website an answering machine message that Durst had left on the lead singer's phone as a 'revenge' for ending their record company contract with his record label.

CHOCOLATE STARFISH AND THE HOT DOG FLAVORED WATER

Less than a year later, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was released on the 17th of October 2000, selling over a million copies in the US in it's first week of release (a record for a rock album) and going on to sell almost 12 million worldwide. The first two singles "My Generation" and "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" (which became their biggest and most well-known hit) were released at the same time in promotion of the album. "Take A Look Around" was later added to the list as the theme song to the movie Mission: Impossible 2 starring Tom Cruise. A remix of "Rollin'" featuring Method Man, Redman and DMX was also a minor club hit. The fourth single "My Way" was commissioned as the opening theme for the WWF (now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)) Wrestlemania X-Seven. Despite this, the album received mediocre reviews from many critics [3]. In late 2000, the band also stirred up some discontent by allowing the controversial peer-to-peer file-sharing network Napster to sponsor their Back to Basics tour, advertised as a chance for fans to 'get closer to the band.' [citation needed]

Rumors began to arise that Durst was an egomaniac. In an interview in 2001, Borland himself expressed dissatisfaction for the band and had left by the summer of that year to play with his side project Big Dumb Face. His departure was interpreted as a major blow by fans and critics to the band. He was often cited as a vital creative force to the group, due in part to his eccentricity.

LEGAL TROUBLE

Controversy continued further in the event of a tragic death during a 2001 tour of Australia at the popular Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney. Teenager Jessica Michalik suffered from a heart attack when fans rushed the stage in the mosh pit. It was claimed by security and witnesses that Fred Durst was urging the crowd on in a possibly violent manner, or that he failed to attempt to calm the crowd after the accident. Jessica was announced clinically dead when she was pulled out of the pit by security guards, but regained consciousness after having air pumped into her lungs as well as an epinephrine shot to her heart from paramedics backstage. She was immediately rushed to Sydney's Concorde Hospital where she died a few hours later. In addition, Durst released contradictory statements to TV show Access Hollywood in America that he had 'visited the girl's bedside' and 'kept in touch with her family,' whereas police claimed he did 'no such thing.' Thirty fans were treated for minor injuries at the festival's medical tents.

Durst refused to fly to Australia in order to appear in court for the trial of the girl's death, which lawyers scoffed at [citation needed]. He claimed that he was a 'nervous flier' and 'couldn't fit it into his schedule,' although he provided some of the band's managers with testimony. At the hearing, he claimed via a video connection from America that he had warned the concert's organizers and promoter Vivian Lees of the potential dangers of such little security, even going so far as to say Limp Bizkit would 'pull out' if they weren't properly addressed. Big Day Out attorneys attempted to pin the blame on Limp Bizkit however, because the band did not stop playing when they received news of the incident, playing a computer-generated loop that Durst claimed was intended to soothe and calm the crowd. Although the guitars, drums and bass ceased, DJ Lethal played a quiet computer-generated loop. While admitting that Lethal took it upon himself to play the interlude, Durst claimed that the quiet melody did have a soothing effect on the crowd. Limp Bizkit were found not guilty on August 10, 2002, although the court decided the band 'could've been more helpful in efforts to aid the girl'. The security practices employed by festival organizers Creative Entertainment Australia bore the brunt of the blame. After viewing videotapes and hearing witness testimony, however, Milledge, the coroner, said it was evident that the density of the crowd was dangerous at the time Limp Bizkit took the stage.

RESULTS MARY VARY

With Borland's absence, Limp Bizkit began a nation-wide audition in 2002 for their new guitarist called "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is".Durst announced at the outset that he was interested in recruiting a possible female or more than one potential new member into the band . Thousands of hopefuls were said to queue up to participate, all of which were required to sign a document giving Limp Bizkit the full ownership of any riffs they played. Each auditionee was allowed only fifty seconds in the first round to prove themselves in the eyes of the band. The final contestants were Monte Lee Pittman, Anousch and Jonas Anderson.

On March 7, 2003, Limp Bizkit announced they would perform live again for the first time in two years, at the upcoming WWE's WrestleMania XIX taking place on March 30. They also signed up for several live tours, despite their lack of a guitarist. The guitarists for the Wrestlemania tour were later revealed when Durst wrote in a post on the official website: "We are playing Wrestlemania this weekend. On the guitars will be Head from Korn and Mike Smith from Snot. This live lineup performed the song Crack Addict, which was rumored to be placed on their upcoming album, although it was not.

For whatever reason, these members were rejected in favor of touring former Snot guitarist Mike Smith, reverting their logo to limpbizkit to promote their change of style.

After a near-three year break in the studio recording and re-recording their next release, Results May Vary, their fourth album and last top ten recording, was released on the 23rd of September, 2003, with Mike Smith contributing to at least five of the album's songs, and other guest guitarists including Brian "Head" Welch of Korn, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer and an unnamed studio engineer known as Elvis. The album was considered a commercial flop, breaking the group's number-1 spree on the Billboard 200, and receiving platinum certification (1 million copies sold) in the United States after fourteen weeks on the charts, in comparison with their previous work Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, which sold one million albums in its first week. The album received generally poor reviews by critics also. Although Rolling Stone's review was generally positive, Playlouder called it 'f**king crap' Yahoo! Launch labelled it 'a frightening insight into the vacuous state of 21st century culture,' and another review stating that it 'suffered from an utter lack of form and direction.' Nevertheless, an acoustic cover of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" was a moderate hit on mainstream radio, its video featuring actress Halle Berry. "Eat You Alive" was released as the first single off the album, cracking the top 20 of both American rock charts with an accompanying video that features actress Thora Birch being berated. The album's ballad "Build a Bridge" was the official theme song of WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November 2003, although it was never released as an official single due to Mike Smith's departure. Another song from the album, Almost Over, cracked the Rock Top 40, however it was also never released with a single or video.

Results May Vary is considered by many fans to be the last mainstream album to ever be released by the band since their latest album 'The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)' received limited advertisement and comparitive commercial failure to that received by the bands previous albums.

THE UNQUESTIONABLE TRUTH

Throughout July of 2004, various rumors on the internet began circulating claiming that Wes Borland had been playing with the band again. By July 8, a fansite released an official report that Wes Borland was recording with the band in London. Photos appeared on the band's official website of him playing with the band, and a live video of them playing a new song The Truth in studio was also posted on the website.

Durst said of Borland's re-entry, "We are very content with Mike being gone. We are the type of people that stay true to our family and our instincts and at any moment will act on intuition as a whole. Mike wasn't the guy. We had fun playing with him, but always knew, in the back of our minds, that he wasn't where we needed him to be mentally."At this stage, they reverted back to the use of their original logo.

Two months prior to the release of their fifth album The Unquestionable Truth, a homemade pornographic film starring Fred Durst was leaked onto the internet. The T Mobile Terrorist group claimed responsibility, although later Durst mentioned to MTV that it had been spotted by "a man who came to repair his computer" who then stole it and spread it about the net. Durst was later approached by a company asking him if he wanted to sell the film on the market. Durst declined and filed a lawsuit against the hacker.

The band returned to the studio with producer Ross Robinson, who had worked with them on Three Dollar Bill Y'All$, to create a seven track EP titled The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Drummer John Otto was only able to contribute to one track on the album due to personal matters, with Sammy Siegler providing percussion on the remaining tracks. Durst promised fans before its release that it would be a return to the 'rawer, more abrasive style' of their first album. [citation needed]

The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) was released as a 7-track EP internationally on May 3, 2005 with little fanfare or advertising, debuting at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and selling only 37,000 copies in it's first week. The mini-album has not been certified gold or platinum by RIAA. [The EP was intended to be a politically-aimed protest, but it also received mediocre reviews, with many critics thinking that Durst was trying too hard to imitate Rage Against the Machine's lead singer Zack de la Rocha

GREATEST HITZ

Limp Bizkit's first greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hitz, was released on November the 8th in 2005, containing material from the band's first four albums (nothing was included from The Unquestionable Truth because no singles were released from it). An additional DVD, which featured music videos for most of their major hits, was released in conjunction with the CD. The album and DVD were heavily promoted by the band's label, even to the point where Durst claimed he was being forced to do interviews about a compilation he wasn't very excited about. The endorsement did not pay off, with the album debuting at number 47. The compilation album featured 3 previously unreleased songs, "Why" and "Lean On Me," which were acoustic-based leftovers from Results May Vary, dropped in turn for heavier songs, and a medley of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" titled Bittersweet Home, which was released to radio but did not receive much, if any, airplay.

THE FUTURE

Limp Bizkit's future remains uncertain. There was a mention of future Limp Bizkit albums when The Unquestionable Truth was released, including a follow-up to it, (The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2), but there is currently no basis to this belief. The band has remained extremely quiet as a whole, making no public appearances, and with many of the members pursuing personal goals. Several of the band's members worked with solo hard rock artist Rob Zombie on his latest release Educated Horses.

Wes Borland has spoken a number of times regarding the status of Limp Bizkit, including an interview with MTV in March 2006, where he said that the band were on 'extended hiatus'. In other interviews, he has declared that Limp Bizkit has split and that The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2 will not be released, although he does not rule out the possibility of Limp Bizkit re-uniting ever.

Surprisingly, Durst contradicted Borland's assertions, leading to myspace wars by both members on the future of the band. Durst has assured press that The Unquestionable Truth Part 2 will be coming out and that the band will tour to support it, but with songs that do not feature Borland on guitar. He has also claimed it will be a full length release rather than an EP and will be even more experimental and aggressive than the first. Borland has been focusing on his side project Black Light Burns of late, while Durst has plans to direct his first motion picture film. He claimed to be touring in the northeastern United States.

To help fans keep hope in Limp Bizkit, Fred has been posting multiple songs on the myspace such as these: "Poison Ivy", "Cowgirls From Hell" (Formerly known as Cowgirls From Heaven), "When It Rains", "Relentless", "Masterbation", "Crack Addict", as well as earlier songs. Most of the "new" songs (not including the two interludes) added are the some of the original 19 tracks recorded for the "Less Is More" album, before ex-guitarist Mike Smith joined the band and before the release of Results May Vary.

ALBUMS:

1997 - Three Dollar Bill Y'All

1999 - Significant Other

2000 - Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water

2001 - New Old Songs (REMIX ALBUM)

2003 - Results May Vary

2005 - The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)

2005 - Greatest Hitz ( COMPILATION)