Personnel: Rob Van Winkle (a.k.a. Vanilla Ice), Casey Chaos (vocals); Sonny (guitar); Scott Borland (keyboards, bass); Doug Ardito (bass); Shannon Larkin (drums); DJ Swamp (scratches); Cyco, Zero, Jimmy Pop, Rod J (background vocals).
Recorded at Indigo Ranch Studios, Malibu, California.
In what is without a doubt the strangest comeback of 1998, Vanilla Ice returns with HARD TO SWALLOW. Never exactly one of pop's most subtle personalities, Ice again chooses a musical style which allows for plenty of bombast, utilizing the thick, guitar-heavy sound of thrash as a backdrop for his rapping skills. A true musical chameleon, Ice creates a sound that fits his message perfectly, much as his initial use of the dance/rap format once served his sonic needs in an unlikely, but undeniably successful way.
Vanilla Ice doesn't do things half-heartedly. As a rapper, he walked the walk, and as the leader of a rock band, he jumps in headfirst. From the opening strains of "Living," he and the band come on strong, laying down an impossibly thick sound reminiscent of Korn , with catchy, repetitive grooves on par with Rage against The Machine. The Iceman doesn't deny what put him on the map (for better or for worse), and he revives the ghost of his famous "Ice Ice Baby" more than once, through several lyrical references. Displaying a rarely seen introspective side with the very genuine rage of "Scars."
