Los Angeles, CA emcee Skribbal teams up with his uncle Katfish and the multifaceted SVH for his 4th studio LP. Coming in 2016 on the strength of his full-length debut Drug Spun Funkwould catch the attention of Wisconsin's up-and-coming underground label Force 5 Records, and they would release his sophomore effort Skinwalker a few years later. He just dropped his debut EP Quarantine sessions A month after the start of the pandemic, he would leave the label to start his own Splatterbrain Records and celebrated this newfound independence with the release of his 3rd album Black-eyed children distancing himself from horrorcore in favor of a more hardcore style of hip hop. The last time I covered him was the winter of 2022 with the Road to Dystopia EP & Electric Lungs now making a bold turn from underground hip hop to nu metal/
After the intro, first song “Gaslight” sets the tone for what's to come with this nu metal opener rapping about the opps tactics of giving them away and losing his sight, while “Suffer the Fall” works on some heavier guitars except him singing this time trying to make people believe. “Forged in Fire” kind of has that industrial hip hop vibe that warns of a violent storm forming as the Devil rises when the beat drops and leads to “Torn” going full rap metal to talk about being ready for war.
“Iron Sky” after the interlude of “Military Industrial Complex” continues to be hip hop and metal music together giving room for conscious lyricism, while “Start All Over (Bad Side)” is somewhat reminiscent of early LINKIN PARK production 2000s that discusses coming from a broken home. & having a broken mind. “This Graveyard Earth” goes the boom bap route organically bringing hardcore lyricism to the table, but then the trap metal inspired “Breaking Out” promises to never let them take away who they are.
Ashes Like Rain joins Skribbal on the song “Shadow Bleeding” and returns to his nu metal bag of rap lyrics and extreme screams on the hook, speaking to all those jackasses today who embrace propaganda while “Run Rabbit!” with Myalansky of former Wu-Syndicate1 fame and praise just before the outro ends properly Electric Lungs with more hip hop diehards talking closer about the haters who are mad about their return from Hell to steal their chains from the rappers.
Combining the lyrical depth and underground sensibilities of hip-hop with the aggressive instrumentation of metal, the Splatterbrain Records founder takes us on a style journey tackling topics from government corruption to dark occult conspiracies and inviting listeners to embrace the power and their personality. in a world that often seems oppressive because of his confidence and courage.
Rating: 8/10
