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Formed by frontman Jared Gomes (aka M.C.U.D (MC Underdog)) and guitarist Wes Geer, the two met amidst the Orange County, California, hardcore punk scene. The duo soon recruited the help of guitarist Chizad, bassist Mawk and drummers B.C. Caught and DJ Product © 1969 and named themselves ‘Hed’, short for Higher Education. Soon after changing their name to (Hed) P.E. for legal reasons.
Before long, the group had built a devoted following; known for their aggressive and energetic live shows, they signed with Jive Records, and released their eponymously-titled debut in 1997. The album highlighted the strong punk, metal and rap influences including the likes of the Beastie Boys, Black Sabbath and Rage Against the Machine, however the album performed poorly in the charts and led to the band owing Jive Records a considerable amount of money.
(Hed) P.E. released their second studio album “Broke” in August 2000, following an guest appearance on the Black Sabbath tribute album “Nativity in Black II” where they covered the single “Sabbra Cadabra”. Following the release (Hed) P.E. embarked on the U.S. Ozzfest tour alongside the likes of Korn and Systems of a Down. The release of the band’s subsequent album “Blackout” (2003) marked a change of label and personnel for the band, with a move away from Jive to Koch Records and welcoming guitarist Jaxon and drummer Moke to the mix.
The band’s fourth album “Only in Amerika” released in 2004 reached No. 186 on the Billboard 200, compared to No. 33 for the album’s predecessor. In 2006 (Hed) P.E. signed with Suburban Noize Records through which they release their fifth studio album “Back 2 Base X”, which focused on actual instrumentation as opposed to digital and studio enhancements. Similar to “Only in Amerika” the album’s political commentary gets lost in the overly aggressive and offensive nature of the lyrics. Subsequently the band has released the albums “Insomnia” in 2007, “The D.I.Y. Guys” in 2008, “New World Orphans” in 2009, “Truth Rising” in 2010, and “Evolution” in 2014.
Californian rap-metallers (Hed) P.E. have always suffered a tough time in the UK music press, particularly when it’s debated how they’ve managed to sustain a 20 year career with eight studio albums. The simple truth is that they make a distinctive fusion of hip hop, punk and metal; instead of the wave of nu-metal bands that simply featured token rapping, (Hed) P.E. actually feature an able rapper-MC and a sample-laden sound that feeds off Gangsta rap.
I actually saw them in their home county of California years ago, when they were touring their third and biggest album, Blackout. They were really, really enjoyable, with frontman Jared Gomes – then known as M.C.U.D. – charismatically roaming the stage, moshing when he was screaming and shouting, and bouncing when he was spitting his rhymes. The riffs were crunchy and the DJ added silly but effective scratching, as well as growled backing vocals.
I couldn’t have asked for a better setlist, with the band unleashing the best cuts from my favourite album, Broke, such as ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Feel Good’, as well as a throwback to their hardcore punk beginnings with ‘Firsty’ from their self-titled debut. Best of all was the title track from Blackout, which had everyone screaming the chorus. In my humble opinion, (Hed) P.E. are one of the more underrated bands to emerge from the nu-metal scene around the turn of the millennium.
cliverozario
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