Still Sucks is the sixth studio album by American rap rock band Limp Bizkit, released on October 31, 2021, through Suretone Records. Work on the album began in 2012, but the album lingered in development hell for the next 9 years. The album's lead single "Dad Vibes" was premiered at the end of a performance at Lollapalooza on August 2, 2021, and officially released on September 30, 2021, marking their first brand-new material to be released for seven years.
Background
After the release of Gold Cobra in 2011 and subsequent touring, Limp Bizkit left their longtime label Interscope Records in December of the same year owing to creative differences and poor sales of the album. On February 24, Limp Bizkit signed with Cash Money Records, and revealed plans to release a new single, "Ready to Go", a full-length album and a sequel to their 2005 EP, The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Cash Money co-founder Birdman said, "If we find some great talent, we're gonna embrace it. Limp Bizkit, to me, is just a perfect match for us… It was something that Fred Durst was interested in doing, and I was already a fan, and I was like, 'Let's do it.' It's good for the brand, it will bring a different look for us, and we're definitely trying to expand on that side of music."
However, after a dispute between frontman Fred Durst over his and John Otto's "partying habits" and drug abuse, DJ Lethal was fired from the band in March 2012.
Guitarist Wes Borland released a second studio album with his side project Black Light Burns in mid 2012 and toured in support of the album throughout 2012. It was only in December that the band's first offering for Cash Money was seen. A song called "Lightz (City of Angels)" was prematurely leaked via YouTube. In October 2012, DJ Lethal posted an apology using his Twitter account and was accepted back by the band, but he was dismissed again and left out of their upcoming 2013 tour of the US, replaced by touring turntablist DJ Skeletor.
In December 2015, Durst was rumored to possibly be holding back the release because he was not happy with the recordings. In February 2016, Metal Injection reported that the band was still in the studio recording the new album. Lethal returned to the band in 2018.
Borland provided an album update in June 2021, detailing the struggles with the album:
At Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL in July 2021, the band ended their set with a song called "Dad Vibes," which Durst said is from the upcoming record. As well as this, a hip-hop track called "Turn It Up, Bitch!" according to DJ Lethal, has been used as the outro for shows in Chicago and Wallingford, with it being announced at the latter to be the fourth track from the new album.
Recording and composition
The band started working on the album in 2012, when they signed with Cash Money. The single, "Ready to Go" was produced by hip hop producer Polow da Don. Durst had then told Billboard that he was putting the finishing touches on the track in March 2013.
In their positive review of the single, Artistdirect wrote, ""Ready to Go" feels like a band reawakened in many ways. At the same time, it's the Bizkit the world knows and loves from Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water".
In May 2013, amidst their tour of the United States, Borland told Billboard, "We're really trying to get it hammered out here. We're done with most of the music, pretty much all the music. I've mixed two songs and have a lot more mixing to do. The lyrics and vocals are probably 30 percent done, and Fred is working as we speak, on tour." Describing the album's sound, he said, "[It's] a little more pressure-free and a little more fun. I think it's a little bit more sort of playful, taking chances, a little less pop structured type of stuff. I don't want to say it (sounds) younger, but maybe a little more carefree, musically, to where we don't over-think what we're doing. We're leaving mistakes in and going, 'Oh, that sounds great, leave that in.' That's sort of the thinking instead of polishing too much or trying to stay within the parameters of a formula." He also said that producer Ross Robinson (who previously produced the band's debut album and The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)) has worked on "a little bit" of the album, along with the label's producer Detail, although it was primarily "a do-it-yourself affair." He further explained the album title, saying, "[It's] just from being stupid. I think we saw a disco ball elephant in the window of a shop somewhere. We were like, 'Look, it's a disco elephant. We should call our record Stampede of the Disco Elephants.' It's just a 10-second conversation that snowballed."