Never was a tale of more woe than that of DJ Mysterons and the band who didn’t want to know. Alright, it’s not quite Elizabethan levels of tragedy but there’s certainly some common ground. Our tragic hero is, of course, DJ Mysterons – owner of Mind The Wax (a label specialising in hip-hop and downtempo beats whose works have graced the virtual pages of MB from time to time) but also formerly a member of a nu-metal band who shall remain nameless. And knowing the genre as you do, I hear you speculating that his tragic character flaw was being a member of such a band. Incredible as it may seem though, Mysterons’ fatal flaw was not playing in a nu-metal band. His fatal flaw was offering to remix (or perhaps that should be re-wired) the album of a nu-metal band that he played in, in a hip-hop style. And thus he precipitated his fall from grace – or at least his falling out with the band.
It had all started to well – a year and a half’s worth of remixes were lauded by said band, interviews mentioned the project and a merchandise cd release was mooted. But then, three days before the release of the first single – betrayal! The hitherto lauded remixes were denounced by the other members of the band as terrible and something they didn’t want to be associated with. The irony of a band playing in a genre that numbers Limp Bizkit among its luminaries passing negative judgement on other music is prodigious. Especially when the remixes were heavily informed by hip-hop culture from which nu-metal has appropriated multiple aspects over the years. The upshot of this epic fallout was that Mysterons and the band went their separate ways. Thankfully, here we deviate from Elizabethan tragedic convention for Mysterons did not end up dead. Far from it. Not only has he released the remixed LP under his own moniker but the experience gave his remix LP a name – Rejected. Well, he certainly hasn’t lost his sense of humour.
Still, perhaps the remixes really were bad? Well, objectively at least, they’re not bad remixes at all – they’re actually really good hip-hop style remixes of ten nu-metal tracks. Something you would have thought nu-metallers who find the stylings and trappings of hip-hop so attractive would appreciate. And maybe nu-metal fans of the band will even if the band don’t. After all, have not the likes of Linkin Park, Korn and P.O.D. (to name but a few) all been remixed in the past and successfully found an audience? Conversely, while those who come from a hip-hop background may appreciate the beats – especially the middle six cuts in the set from Love, Sex And Drugs to SPF (and The Moth in particular), they are liable to find the nu-metal style vocals, well, too nu-metal. And that perhaps could be the most tragic aspect of Rejected in the end – on the one hand being spurned by the very band being remixed for a spurious reason, and on the other being passed over by the hip-hop community because remixes of nu-metal must still maintain a certain amount of nu-metal DNA. Still, let us remember the words of Hamlet, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” If nothing else, we know DJ Mysterons has impressive remix chops.
(Out now HERE)