Post by reccollectah on May 29, 2010 6:01:48 GMT -5
Warghosts aka Bomshot and Holocaust … not what one would call mainstream artists or controversy free mc’s . In fact it’s safer to say that these two are amongst the most heavily discussed underground mc’s out there nowadays. Both are also the “love ‘em or hate em “ type of cats. Check any rap forum where these two are discussed and you get an extremely varied range of viewpoints about their styles . Bomshot comments go from “being the nuts” to “being nuts” while Holocaust is puked out by some as “an offbeat nutcase” and heralded as “the most underrated genius behind the mic ever” by others …
Needless to say that when two artists like that team up to form a group, their debut will also spark up some heavy pro and anti discussions on internetville. Need proof ? Cough, I quote : “These f**kers are both possibly the worst in the game right now, and now they came together and formed a group!? you gotta be f**king with me... Horrible flows, even worse lyrics. Their mothers should have held these lames heads under the bathtub water when they were growing up.” ( file under “not that impressed by the album”) as opposed to : “This album is fantastic. I had goosebumps when I first heard some songs.” (file under “Hooked for life”) Also Holocaust’s contributions here result (business as usual) in very opposite reactions: “sorry, I can't stand Holocaust. I appreciate he's bringing a different style but it’s downright unlistenable” as opposed to “Holocaust is a Wu legend. His style is so tight u suckaz can't comprehend the skills.”
So is this group, it’s line-up and it’s debut worth all this fuss ? And who is right ??
After listening to the Warghosts album again and again last weeks several conclusions came to mind:
1. You’ll really have to listen for yourself to see what you get out of this: some will indeed love it , others will ask for a refund. If you want to know what this is like : Don’t read reviews ( … yeah, I know: “Why write one then ?” ) but check this out yourself and give it at least a few spins before you make up your mind.
2. If you never heard a Holocaust album before, I recommend you try to get to know his other work first before you tap into this. Try his collabo album with Blue Sky Black Death first as the music on there is very accessible and downright brilliant. Then move onto his legendary Warcloud solos “Nightmares resurface” and “Smuggling booze” to get used to him on more underground beats (especially the amazing Skarekrow productions !!! ) Then have a go at this one. It might go down easier then.
3. The mc’s : If you never liked Bomshot before … you probably won’t change your mind after hearing this.
On several tracks he has trouble finding the pace of the track. Check first track “Sound of mystery” where he sometimes has to rush to get his line done and slows down or pauses another one to pick up the beat again. This reoccurs here and there through other songs too. Plus subject wise he pales when compared to Holocaust’s verses. When Bomshot goes horrorcore it sounds more like a style he chooses. When Holocaust goes into the booth describing his gothic scenes , you immediately feel the difference: he sounds like he’s tapped into another universe. When Holo rhymes about lakes, skeletons, forests, dungeons, tombstones and all his other favorite subjects he means every single word. This man sounds like he lives this nuts ! To get an idea of what I mean : Take Clive Barker’s horror feel, Bukowski’s mad poetry (*) and Tolkien’s fantasy world . Put all 3 in a blender , mix it and inject it into a rapper who doesn’t care if he’s on the beat or not and you’ll get an idea of what to expect. Not everyone’s cup of tea but a unique brand for sure !!!
(*) Charles Bukowski aka one of the original American Poets …
4. Musicwise then : you’ll have a hard case on this one if you’re looking for smooth beats or mainstream hiphop you can digest instantly . But then again , you wouldn’t even be reading this, would you ? If you want an underground, cinematic and apocalyptic sound to hit your ears … sit back and enjoy.
Production jumps from Wu-underground Fam names like Krohme, Semantix tha Sorcera and Amos the Ancient Prophet to more unknown newcomers to the game. Special mention here goes to Imperial Skillz Empera aka Imbrator, a German/Morrocon producer who’s been slowly building up his skillz and credit over the years in the horrorcore scene resulting in two off the dopest tracks on this album: “In The Hills Of The Dark Land Tragic” and “Chase The Dragon”. Other musical highlights are “Chinese Fire Arrow” ( by Semantix) , “Corinthians” and “Arctic warrior” (both by Amos) while “It’s not yours” ( by Pablobaluba) comes closest to a regular Wu type of beat.
5. This is a rather short album: only 10 tracks, even including an old Jedi Mind Tricks diss track ( and a rather poor one, adding nothing to this album). Haters will sigh with relief they only have to go through 10 tracks. Fans will be left disappointed, expecting more than just 9 tracks and a filler diss track.
Final conclusion :
After hearing this haters will still hate this while Holocaust adepts will spend a lot of time with this album in 2010. Which camp you belong to is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. Pros in my opinion are Holocaust’s vivid images laced throughout this collaboration and some very surprising music here and there. Cons : Bomshot ‘s flow and timing is a bit off now and then and some of his verses are rather poor, the short tracklist and some filler tracks ( especially the JMT diss).
Feel free to (dis)agree.