''Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

by American band

The Aquabats The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1994. Throughout many fluctuations in the group's line-up, singer the MC Bat Commander and bassist Crash McLarson have remained the band's two constant fixtures. ...

, released on May 17, 2000 by

Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

. The album is a collection of studio outtakes, b-sides and miscellaneous unreleased tracks recorded during the production of the band's 1999 studio album, ''

The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death! ''The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!'' is the third studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on October 26, 1999, on Goldenvoice Records. After the success of ''The Fury of The Aquabats!'', ''Floating Eye'' found the band m ...

''.

Overview

Following the release of their 1997 album '' The Fury of The Aquabats!'', The Aquabats began writing scores of new material in preparation for their next studio album, producing upwards of forty different songs, partial songs and

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

recordings. Approximately thirty of those songs received professional recordings during the sessions for what would become 1999's ''

'', with only fourteen ultimately selected to appear on the official album and the remaining tracks released on ''Myths & Legends''. A large number of unfinished demos and unreleased b-sides were released for free on The Aquabats' website in April 2000 to coincide with the compilation's release. ''Myths & Legends'' covers a broad range of musical styles, as The Aquabats had stated they wanted to explore more diverse musical textures after predominantly showcasing

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

music on their first two albums. Much like ''Floating Eye'', most of the tracks on ''Myths'' draw heavily upon punk rock and new wave-influenced sounds, with a pronounced usage of keyboards and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s. The compilation also includes songs in

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

("Worms Make Dirt"), ska punk ("Pizza Day") and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

("Radiation Song") styles, as well as a parody of

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

bands such as

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

and

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

("I Fell Asleep on My Arm"). As with ''Floating Eye'', ''Myths & Legends'' represents the final Aquabats studio material to feature drummer Dr. Rock, lead guitarist The Mysterious Kyu and co-founding trumpeter Catboy, all of whom would part ways with The Aquabats prior to the recording of their next album.

Reception

Jeremy Salmon of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Myths & Legends'' two stars out of five, saying that "for all the weirdness, oddballity, and the delighted sense of stupid that one gets from the songs, one is disappointed by their uneven quality. Some of these tracks are relatively poor, but more are enjoyable in spite of themselves. If nothing else, this release shows that the Aquabats are as capable with track editing and song inclusion as they are with making their silly songs."

Track listing

All songs written by

Personnel

The Aquabats

The MC Bat Commander Christian Richards Jacobs (born January 11, 1972) is an American musician, television producer, and actor. He is perhaps most recognized as the co-creator of the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', on which he additionally serves a ...

– vocals *

Prince Adam He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...

- synthesizers, trumpet, theremin * Jimmy the Robot – keyboards, woodwinds *

Crash McLarson Chad Albert Larson (born October 27, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and bass guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Crash McLarson. From 2012 t ...

– bass guitar * Doctor Rock (Gabe Palmer) – drums * Catboy – trumpet, vocals * The Mysterious Kyu – guitar, banjo * Chainsaw the Prince of Karate – guitar

Production

*Produced by Cameron Webb and The Aquabats *"Adventure Today" recorded and produced by Thom Wilson

References

{{Authority control The Aquabats albums B-side compilation albums 2000 compilation albums