Ready To Go Without Lethal

What happened to Lethal?

Earlier today, the music video for Ready To Go was released. The video consists of a mix between live footage from the recent US tour as well as the unreleased "old" Ready To Go music video which was filmed with Lethal last November. In this video, it looks like Lethal has been edited out. Sam most likely played the bass in the original video and was later digitally removed during post production. A new Sam Rivers behind DJ decks has been slapped in front of Lethal for this video. It appears that Fred and Wes are carrying out a damnatio memoriae against Lethal.

You will notice Lethal right behind Sam in the bottom left

This isn't all bad news. With Sam behind the DJ decks instead of DJ Sk3l3tor, that still leaves the door open for Lethal's possible return. Lethal, if you are reading this, please get together with Fred and work out your differences. All of us fans miss you.

You can watch the new music video on YouTube below. Skip to 1:37 to see a glimpse of Lethal.

Moving Forward Post Lethal

Why is DJ Sk3l3tor present at a Limp Bizkit press conference?

Earlier today, Fred, Wes, and surprisingly DJ Sk3l3tor held a press conference in Russia. They announced an upcoming 16 city Russian tour and discussed DJ Lethal's status in the band. Lethal is out and the door is now closed for his return. Fred has made it clear that he has chosen to move forward without him and has no intention to reconcile.

Which brings up the question of why DJ Sk3l3tor was at the press conference. Is he now Lethal's permanent replacement? It looks that way. He is much more involved in the band than before. He is now taking pictures with LB fans and even signing "DJ SK3L3TOR" on their CDs. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous because he isn't on any of those albums. In addition, DJ Sk3l3tor has been playing a much larger role in the recent live shows. He is no longer confined behind John Otto. He is still in the back but much closer to Lethal's spot on the stage. He is now doing back up vocals as well as adding in his own sound effects on songs like Boiler. Lastly, he is no longer wearing his skeleton mask and as mentioned before, attending Limp Bizkit press conferences.

Perhaps, Fred brought DJ Sk3l3tor along to the press conference as another snide jab against Lethal. The announcement of a Lethal-less Russian tour could also be interpreted as Fred severing his ties to Lethal. Lethal is originally from Russia and for Fred to do a tour in Lee's home country without him, is a new low.

You can watch the full press conference on YouTube below. Skip to 51:30 for the discussion regarding Lethal.

X Limp Bizkit?

Will Lethal ever be back in LB?

Earlier today, DJ Lethal changed the "OG Limp Bizkit" in his twitter description to "X Limp Bizkit?" As to why he did this is unclear.

It now says "X Limp Bizkit" instead of "OG Limp Bizkit"

A few days ago, Wes did an interview for ultimateguitar.com and was asked a few questions about DJ Lethal. Surprisingly he didn't badmouth Lethal. Instead he said,

DJ Lethal has left the band? 

We've had a lot of differences with him and we're not incredibly in a place to talk about all the ins and outs and whys just out of respect for him and personal things. We're in communication with him and we are talking with him and everything isn't completely severed. We're speaking to him but right now we have some issues we're working on and trying to work out. 

My point was really more about his musical contribution—has his absence impacted the sound of the album? 

No, he is not on the new album as of yet or is not going to be. It's still up in the air. I don't really feel like it's impacted it at all. A lot of the stuff that is sort of the icing on top, I've kind of taken over doing some of that and Sam (Rivers), our bass player has taken over doing some of that. I dunno, I don't feel like it's changed the sound that much because at our core we're a drums/bass/guitar band. 

There is still a chance that Lethal will be a part of the new LB album. The perfect time for Lethal and the rest of LB to make amends would be right after the European leg of the tour. Fred, Wes, John, and Sam should fly to Vegas after their June 29th show in Saint Petersburg, Russia and pay Lethal a visit. Fred, Wes, and Lethal would finally be able to sit face to face and resolve their issues. It's highly unlikely that this will happen however this is most likely the only way to put an end to all the band drama.

You can read the full interview on ultimate guitar here.

Cash Money or DJ Lethal?

The first band pic without Lethal since 1996

It's no secret that the Cash Money record deal has created problems for Lethal while presenting opportunities for Fred. Now that Fred and Wes have Cash Money producers at their disposal, they feel that Lethal outlived his usefulness and decided to shrug him off. It's like throwing away your old television when you get a new one. Wes, Polow Da Don, and Detailz provided the samples and sound effects on Lightz and Ready To Go. Why Fred and Wes would sacrifice a 16 year friendship for an opportunity to work with various Cash Money artists and producers (who are the worst hip hop has to offer) is beyond me. Perhaps Fred and Wes were only pretending to be Lethal's friend since 1996 in an effort to advance their careers.

As of now, it looks like the door is closed for Lethal's return. Wes has been badmouthing Lethal in recent interviews and Fred recently made a few immature jabs against Lethal on twitter. The band also recently posed for their first band picture without Lethal since he joined the band in 1996. Further indicating that they have no intention to reconcile with Lethal. DJ Skeletor, who plays Lethal's parts live, has been seen taking part in autograph sessions. He's actually signing DJ Skeletor on people's LB CDs, which is flat out disrespectful because Lethal was the DJ on those albums. It doesn't sound like he will step down.

DJ Lethal > All the Cash Money DJs and Producers combined

DJ Lethal joined Limp Bizkit back when they were a bunch of nobodies. He was a well respected DJ for House of Pain while Fred, Wes, Sam and John were just starting their careers. They must have felt honored when H.O.P.'s DJ Lethal agreed to join their band. Lethal was the missing piece of the puzzle. His unique samples, sound effects and scratching completed Limp Bizkit's sound. In addition, Lethal brought hip hop credibility to Limp Bizkit, introduced Fred to many of the biggest names in hip hop at the time, and did a few tours for free out of his own pocket. This man put his heart and soul into Limp Bizkit. He was there when Fred and Wes needed him. They should be grateful to have met a friend like him.

Where were Fred and Wes when Lethal needed them? Probably busy hanging out with Lil Wayne.

Fred Says Goodbye to Lethal

OGLB = Lee + John + Sam + Wes + Fred

A few weeks ago, it sounded like Fred was ready to put his differences aside and finally reconcile with DJ Lethal. From his recent tweets, it now sounds like Fred wants nothing to do with DJ Lethal.

A reference to DJ Lethal?

A true friend would rather die trying to hold on than turn their back on their friends. And it didn't stop there. A few days later, Fred made a snide jab against Lethal.

Ouch!! Was this snide jab against Lethal really necessary?

Now that was just uncalled for. Lethal recently put "OG Limp Bizkit" in his twitter description. This is most likely Fred's way of telling Lethal off. Why is Wes considered a part of OGLB but not Lethal? Wes is not an original member. Rob Waters was the original guitarist. Adding further fuel to the fire, Fred recently did an interview for Spin and suggested that Lethal shifted the blame on him.

"Before parting ways with DJ Lethal he called you a dictator. Fair? 

Every ship needs a captain for sure. Some people, instead of looking at themselves or maybe troubleshooting something internally, it's real easy for them to point the finger. And I'm a scapegoat, no doubt about it. That's the easy way out, to take a stab at me. That was really hurtful but I'm just going to let it be what it is. I'll always have mad love for him."

Sounds like Fred is shifting the blame back on Lethal and making him the scapegoat. He should take his own advice and look at himself and troubleshoot his internal issues. Claiming to be a scapegoat instead of taking resposibility, now that's the easy way out. Lethal hasn't said a single negative thing about Fred since last September. Reigniting a feud with Lethal isn't a smart move on Fred's part. C'mon Fred, get it together. You were so close to making amends with Lethal and you blew it. Is it really that hard to let go of past grudges and start with a clean slate? It's not complicated. Just apologize and let Lethal back in the band then everything will eventually go back to normal.

It doesn't sound like Lethal will be rejoining Limp Bizkit anytime soon.

You can read the full interview on Spin here.

Wes Borland on DJ Lethal

Is Wes the reason why Lethal wasn't invited to be a part of the US tour?

Wes Borland recently did an interview with Billboard. Unlike Fred in his recent interview, Wes didn't have anything positive to say about Lethal.

"He's been in and out and in and out. I know what he wants to do but don't know what he would do if he came back into the band. He's kind of all over the place, and I don't know if he wants to be in the band. When we had him back, nothing materialized as far as material coming out of him to add to the record. We're talking to him. We've opened up dialogue back with him recently, and we'll see what happens."

It's surprising to hear Wes say "I don't know if he wants to be in the band". I'm guessing Wes didn't read any of  Lethal's recent tweets where he mentioned how much he wants to be back in the band. It sounds like Wes doesn't want Lethal to be in the band. When asked on twitter about Lethal's status in the band, he responded with the following,

Wow! What an asshole!!

In addition to his juvenile response to a fan's question, Wes has been blocking people on twitter that ask him to let Lethal back in the band. Perhaps Wes is not yet ready to reconcile with Lethal. On the other hand, Fred is ready and willing to make amends. From what Wes had to say, it sounds like he'll quit the band if Fred lets Lethal back in.

You can read the full interview on Billboard here.

Fred Durst on DJ Lethal

Sounds like Fred is ready to patch things up with Lethal

In a May 7th Interview with AltSounds, Fred had the following to say about Lethal,

"Besides the fact that we miss [DJ] Lethal we’re getting along really good. Our camaraderie is at an all-time high. The family is really tight and we’ve really evolved to know how to share close space with each other and get along great. The process has been as interesting as any but we like to think we’ve reached a positive result. Besides Lethal not being here everything’s great. 

We’re just taking a break because we’re all not seeing things eye to eye. But we’ve been in communications and we love him to death. We’re very supportive of him and we want him to be happy. We do miss him, how could we not you know? 

No one that you could really call a fill in. All we did was have his technician playing the parts. We didn’t find anyone to replace him. It’s just more of a rock outfit now."

Does this mean Fred Durst is finally ready to make amends with Lethal? The perfect time for Fred and Lethal to make amends would be before the May 22nd show in Reno, NV. Since Fred is going to be in Nevada, he should drop by Lethal's bar in Vegas to say "Hi". Then they should sit down face to face and resolve their issues. Hopefully, Lethal will be back in LB soon.

You can read the full interview on AltSounds here.

Operation: Bring Back DJ Lethal

The only man who belongs behind the DJ decks at a Limp Bizkit show

As many of you already know, DJ Lethal will not be touring with LB this year. We still don't know why Fred has decided to go on tour without Lethal. I wouldn't be surprised if Lethal doesn't even know why. Fred has a habit of keeping people in the dark. At this point it is safe to assume, Fred will have Lethal edited out of the Ready To Go music video. Lee's contributions to the new album will most likely be removed and Cash Money DJs will fill in.

Let's help our friend DJ Lethal get back in Limp Bizkit. LB isn't the same without Lethal. Lethal's turntables and unique samples are a big part of what makes LB. The icing he lays out on each track gives them a unique edge which allows the rest of the band to shine even brighter. Lee wants to be a part of LB again. We all want to see the signature lineup of Sam, Lee, Fred, John, and Wes together again. Let's make this dream a reality.

How you can help:

1) Sign this petition

2) Tweet Fred and Wes asking them to let Lethal back in the band

3) Bring a sign to the live shows that says "Bring Back Lethal"

A Recap of Events

The way It should be. 5 homies, a team!!

2012:
-March 5th: Fred, Sam, Wes, and John play their final show with Lethal
-Mid-March: Fred fires Lethal and John from LB
-March 30th: Lethal goes on a twitter rant against Fred
-April 3rd: Fred confirms John has rejoined the band
-April 5th: #LoveForLB twitter campaign is started
-May 25th: Fred, Wes, Sam, and John play their first show without Lethal since 1996
-May 27th: Lethal has a second twitter rant
-July 5th: Wes goes on a twitter rant against Lethal
-July 6th: Lethal responds with another twitter rant
-Sept 21st: Lethal has another twitter rant
-Oct 10th: Lethal issues an apology to the band and rejoins the band
-Mid-Oct: LB begins recording SOTDE with Lethal. Music video for Ready To Go is filmed.

2013:
-March 20th: Lethal confirms that he will not be touring this year
-March 24th: Ready To Go is released with Lethal's contributions removed
-April 25th: Fred, Sam, Wes, and John tour the US without Lethal