The Fake Sound of Progress

The Fake Sound of Progress Lostprophets

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Release Date

October 16, 2001

Duration

49:48

Genre

Styles

Recording Location

DEP International

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The Fake Sound of Progress Review by Brian O'Neill

Lostprophets are to nu metal what Bush was to grunge: Both are British groups that approximate the overall sound of those respective genres, both arrived right at the point said genres started to reach a critical mass, and both artists had vocalists who convincingly aped influential singers who came before them. In fact, as much as Gavin Rossdale was accused of trying to grift Kurt Cobain's very essence, Ian Watkins is just as guilty of reproducing Mike Patton's multi-faceted voice; whether it was sweet melodic intervention, the pseudo-rapping, or maniacal screaming, the entire Faith No More repertoire seems to be unleashed in The Fake Sound of Progress, the title alone a perfect set-up straight-line if you get right down to it. As hard as it was to get past Sixteen Stone's Johnny-come-lately vibe, so it is here on Lostprophets' debut. The contrived nature would be overlooked gladly if only any of the 11 tracks were well-written enough to stick in your head for a few minutes after fading out, but even that meager desire sadly remains unattained. The only redeeming quality is the great production by Michael Barbiero, that allows all instruments to be heard perfectly in all their ennui-inducing glory, proving that no matter how much you polish up a turd, it's still a turd.

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Simone Appolloni March 24, 2023
The term "cancel culture" is used to define people, concepts or things considered so morally unacceptable that don't even deserve to be named, remembered or considered. No other musical band on Earth suffered this phenomenon so much than UK's Lostprophets, who, to this day, are widely remembered solely for vocalist Ian David Karslake Watkins (died in 2025, murdered while in prison, aged 48) and his conviction for sexual assault of children, possessing pedophilic images and conspiracy in order to continuing his controversial activity: as a result, copies of their albums were totally destroyed, and the band was censored by the whole international industry. Other band members disbanded immediately the project, formed another one (No Devotion) but, to this day, are virtually forgotten for the exact same reason. In other words, one of the dark chapters of the music industry that have gone to history for the wrong reasons.

Because, back in the heyday, Lostprophets were quite popular. Formed by ex-members of Fleshbind and Public Disturbance, they gained support from the local promotional press and released their first album, The Fake Sound of Progress, in 2001. The band's sound was drenched in In Flames (Drop C tuning, C-minor intervals), Sunny Days Real Estate (major-key chords and Post-Rock-oriented clean guitar arpeggios/effects, triad-major vocal lines on "...And She Told Me to Leave"), Alice in Chains (especially Watkins' vocals) and Korn (syncopated accents, chugging rhythmic attack and associations with contemporary Post-Hardcore dynamics), all evident on the two singles, "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" (videogame maniacs galore) and the longer title track (slightly reminiscent of contemporary Opeth in its grooves and taking a calmer, more arranged E-minor route): the original edition also included some noisy interludes.

Compared to other Nu Metal releases of the period, there's very few rapping here, almost totally absent presence of DJ production/scratching/sampling (see the coda of "Kobrakai") and also occasional falsetto shrieking vocals in addition to singing. In addition to the singles, another effective cut is the G/E-flat insistent "Five Is a Four Letter Word", while the rest is more repetitive and conventional. However, on a constitutional level, it's not a failure, but rather a potential release that suggested more things to come from the band.

Highlights: "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja", "Five Is a Four Letter Word".
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All Credits
Gerard Babitts A&R
Michael Barbiero Mixing, Producer, Vocal Producer
Lostprophets Bass, Composer, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Loops, Primary Artist, Turntables, Vocals
Vladimir Meller Mastering
Mike Scielzi Assistant
Danny Sprigg Engineer, Producer
Jamie Travers Assistant
The Fake Sound Of Progress 2001 CD The Fake Sound Of Progress Visible Noise - TORMENT 010CD
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The Fake Sound of Progress [Japan Bonus Track] 2001 CD The Fake Sound of Progress [Japan Bonus Track] Epic - 30
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