A year after releasing their debut, the hardcore rap group Killarmy, closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan, releases album number two. This is very important because, at the time of release, Killarmy are among the few acts to have produced two LPs, along with RZA's two groups (Wu-Tang himself and Gravediggaz), with GZA (the former is released before the birth of the Staten Island supergroup) and with the Wu-affiliate Shyheim who's the second to get two solo records (after GZA) and whose second album comes out even before the debut of that of his cousin, Tony Starks. Method Man, Raekwon, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah and Cappadonna are down to one, while Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa haven't yet to release a solo LP. Killarmy's cousin group Sunz of Man released their first record about a month earlier, while the third collective of the trinity of groups closest to Wu-Tang, Royal Fam, have gone into a development hell involving everything they have attempted to produce.
As in the previous disc, the production is almost entirely entrusted to 4th Disciple. RZA is replaced by another Wu-Elements member, Allah Mathematics, who provides two beats. Russ Prez has a beat. The rapper at the time still a member of the Black Knights Holocaust aka Warcloud is the only credited guest on the effort. Killah Priest of Sunz of Man is uncredited.
Skit from "War and Peace", first beat of Allah Mathematics for Killarmy. Vibrant powerful bass, dry downtempo drum, excellent sample from "I'm Afraid of Losing You" by Mad Lads. Chorus by Dom Pachino, he opens the disc, then the first verse by Islord, a rapper who's much more involved in this second LP of the group than in his debut. The sample starts to get annoying after a while. A pity, because the Beretta 9 is better than usual, he has a better flow than a year before. Chorus by Dom Pachino, then verse by him, closes 9th Prince with the fourth stanza: the boy delivers with his hasty and agitated style, he goes back to eating his words to spit as frantically as possible, with his spaghetti rap. Outro skit from the TV series "Spawn". Certainly not one of Mathematics' top beats, honest track.
2. "Allah Sees Everything" (Dom Pachino, Islord & 9th Prince ft. Killah Priest)
First beat by 4th Disciple, who's the main producer of the edition. Excellent soul sample from "This is My Country" by The Impressions, boom bap, honest drum, good bassline, stretched/dilated keys in the background, nice melody. Hook provided by Killah Priest of Sunz of Man, uncredited. First verse by Dom Pachino, he's practically always the one to open the songs on this LP. Good flow, good smooth delivery over a solid, clean beat. There's Islord, his rap is still fragmented and insecure, 9th Prince is the last rapper of the song for the second time in a row. Rhythm breathe half a minute to the end.
3. "5 Stages of Consciousness" (Killa Sin, Dom Pachino, Beretta 9, Islord, 9th Prince & Shogun Assason)
First and only track to feature all six Killarmy rappers. 4th Disciple produces it, so all the members of the supergroup are there, historical track. Boom bap, hard drum, background keyboard, good bassline, robust rhythm from the producer. Energetic entry by Killa Sin who immediately imposes a precise direction on the track, smoothness flow, hardcore rap. This is one of his few appearances on the record. Dom Pachino takes the momentum from the previous verse, but fails to maintain it and wraps up in a verse that is probably too long. Beretta 9 on the third verse, it seems like some of these guys are trying to mimic RZA's flow and rapping, not the best rapper in the Wu-Tang Clan.
Short break before Islord, present three times in a row on the disc, here the boy recites a few bars about his incarceration, trying to give a socio-political tone to his text, without too much inventiveness, even if his effort is to be appreciated. 9th Prince dedicates his verse to the band's manager, General Wise, who was killed in late 1997, just months after the release of Killarmy's first album. It closes Shogun Assason to verse number six with a sharp and venomous line, which proves that he's one of the best in this group. Robust hardcore rap, there's also a Hot 97 diss line that comes a year after Ghostface's Summer Jam episode that made the emcee antagonize New York radio stations.
4. "Unite to Fight" (Shogun Assason, Beretta 9 & 9th Prince)
Very short track, two verses by Shogun and 9th Prince, break by Beretta 9. The beat of 4th Disciple is a quiet boom bap with dry downtempo drum, warm bassline, melodic samples. There's a great guitar from a sample I can't locate: the same one will later be used by Warcloud — aka Holocaust, guest here a couple of times — for his track "Juggernaut" with his group Armor of God on the album of the same name. This is not Shogun's best verse nor his best flow, a bit rough, not too inspired, not very fit here. One bar of Beretta 9, then the leader of the wolfpack 9th Prince closes the third track in the first four. This is also the only song out of the first eleven where Dom Pachino isn't featured.
5. "Murder Venue" (Islord, Beretta 9, Dom Pachino, 9th Prince & Killa Sin)
Not particularly inspired production of 4th Disciple. Boom bap, tired midtempo drum, weak bass, haunting, almost irritating loop. Hook by Islord, verses by Beretta 9 & Dom Pachino, another hook, then closes the natural duo of the group, the guys from Staten Island 9th Prince and Killa Sin. This last is easily the best here as well. Final chorus. Song that doesn't take off.
6. "Doomsday" (Beretta 9 & Dom Pachino ft. Holocaust)
Basically it's a track by Warcloud aka Holocaust to which verses by Beretta 9 and Dom Pachino are added. This is because there should also be a 9th Prince verse right after Warcloud's here, but his contribution is removed from Priority Records, because RZA's brother was dissing a lot of rappers out there. The rhythm is dark, darker than those present in the Killarmy records, and definitely much closer to those inserted by Skarekrow in the Warcloud songs of the early 2000s. 4th Disciple does a nice job here, thumping drum, good bass, some melodic sound, rhythm that holds a dark mood that fits closely with the same cold and thick delivery of Warcloud. Beretta 9 fits to the rhythm impressively and boasts one of his most competent flows, unlike Dom Pachino, who spits half of his lyrics on a break.
7. "Red Dawn" (Dom Pachino, 9th Prince, Beretta 9)
Booming bass, but for some reason weak. Bored tired drum, great sax sample. The rhythm of 4th Disciple seems to be born for a slow jam, while the boys are doing something else. Dom Pachino and 9th Prince are fine, harmless, for the hook Dom Pachino is stealing that Voltron thing from the Wu-Tang Clan. Beretta 9 infiltrates with another step and maybe he has understood the rhythm better than the others, he sounds better. Outro with samples from the tv series "Spawn".
8. "The Shoot Out" (Dom Pachino, Beretta 9, Islord & Killa Sin)
Sample from the TV series "Spawn", then boom bap, skeletal drum, good booming bass, tense and gloomy violins. Dom Pachino inspired, enters hardcore and blazes a good path for the track, Beretta 9 with a good flow, also greeted with a short break from 4th Disciple, whose rhythm is one of the best on this CD. Islord rips the cut (what the fuck did I write?), then Dom Pachino returns and gives another stretch before the fifth verse signed by Killa Sin. He waits for the rhythm and attacks it with an unstoppable flow, dope. This is the first and perhaps only single from this second Killarmy album.
To explain the importance of this piece: Freddie Gibbs pays homage to a line by Dom Pachino at the beginning of his song "Scarface" in the classic album "Piñata" (2014) made together with Madlib. In 2006, the Devil'z Rejectz pay homage to another line by Dom Pachino, the one just before the one mentioned by Gibbs, for "5 Pillars" of their album "Necronomicon" (2006). J57 pays homage to the first line of Dom Pachino in an EP released in 2012. Maybe Dom Pachino's contribution in this track (and in general) has been underestimated. Finally, Westside Gunn wisely pays homage to Killa Sin's first line for 2017's golden project "Raw Is Flygod".
9. "Bastard Swordsman" (Dom Pachino, 9th Prince, Killa Sin & Shogun Assason ft. Holocaust)
Second and final beat of Allah Mathematics, the boy samples Al Green's "Stop and Check Myself". Booming powerful bass, hard midtempo drum, solid boom bap. Dom Pachino actually starts well, hardcore, with good energy and good flow in this cut. Holocaust spits on a different level and is here to raise the Wu-Tang flag. The others aren't at that level, not even the guy who preceded him and it's a shame because he did really well here. Killa Sin recites the hook in back n forth with Warcloud as the same host had done before with Dom Pachino. Killa Sin doesn't have a verse here. There's room instead for Shogun, who closes the song, returning to spit after five tracks.
10. "Last Poet" (Dom Pachino, Islord & 9th Prince)
Unique beat by Russ Prez, producer of Wu-Tang Clan affiliate group Deadly Venoms. Surprisingly it's not bad, it takes a sample from Cilla Black's "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" which gives a post-battle vibes, "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) vibes. If you close your eyes you can see the Joker peace pin and Animal holding his M60. Powerful bass, thin drum, melodic sample, good boom bap. Inside Dom Pachino, Islord and 9th Prince, the first doesn't disappoint, the same cannot be said for the others, not completely suited to the production proposed by Prez. The constant obsession of these guys for that dictator continues also in this album. Closes a skit by George H. W. Bush.
11. "Serving Justice" (Dom Pachino, 9th Prince & Killa Sin)
Another page of history written by Killarmy. You wouldn't believe it right? Instead that's exactly what happened here, where no one looks, not even them. 4th Disciple returns after two tracks produced by other guys and sets a milestone. A Wu-Tang Clan rhythm. A soundscape that the Wu-Tang Clan should envy. A beat that The RZA should envy. It's the best beat on the record, and by a wide margin. Intro. Then a rhythm emerges, and that's where the kids write the story. More than the rappers, it's precisely 4th Disciple who puts his signature in this cut. The beat is pretty simple, solid circular bass line, hard drum, melodic sample and the key is there.
This is the seventh time Dom Pachino is the first rapper, the fifth in a row in the last five tracks, and it's also the last appearance for the emcee of Puerto Rican descent, up until now in basically every track on the record. New York cut, Dom Pachino and Killa Sin exchange short verses that make the song seem almost a back and forth between the two of them, closes a long stanza of 9th Prince.
Back to the beat: the sample is a flute sound from an instrumental piece ("The Lonely Shepherd") composed by James Last and performed together with Gheorghe Zamfir aka "The Master of the Pan Flute". And I haven't said anything so far. But if you listen to the song this is a sound you've heard before: the Bride visits Hattori Hanzō and has a katana made, in Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece "Kill Bill: Volume 1" (2003). If Wu-Tang Clan sampled this [now classic] song in any of their tracks from any album, that tune would literally enter the legend, but having been sampled by Killarmy it unfortunately remains forgotten, despite being iconic.
12. "Where I Rest At" (Beretta 9, Killa Sin & Shogun Assason)
Epic sample of "Part Time Love" by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Infinite hook from Beretta 9, then space for Killa Sin who devastates the cut with one of the best verses of this record. Shogun isn't at that level, but who is there? Solid boom bap from 4th Disciple, good bass, hard dry drum, melodic sample, good tempo.
13. "Pain" (Shogun Assason, Islord, Beretta 9, 9th Prince & Killa Sin)
Skit from the TV series "Spawn". Dark boom bap, good vibrating bass, midtempo hard dry drum, solid beat. Shogun decent, Islord bad, Beretta 9 and 9th Prince average, Killa Sin clearly superior to all the others. Track with five of the six rappers from Killarmy, Dom Pachino is absent here for some reason.
Final Thoughts
The quality of this CD is close to that of the debut, but it's not there for some details, it doesn't have the same great feeling of the previous year's cuts, even if the music in general isn't bad. The record is short and compact, the music is similar and maintains the typical Wu-Tang sound of the best years, again done largely by 4th Disciple, again better than the rap provided by these guys. Allah Mathematics replaces a RZA near to retirement and plays the role of him putting two beats, which would be Bobby Steels' contribution to the effort a year earlier. The unknown beatmaker Russ Prez, linked to one of the many groups affiliated with the double v, the all-female act Deadly Venomz, is credited to a rhythm.
No one from the Wu-Tang Clan comes. Nobody. Not even RZA, the brother of the 9th Prince. Why? What happened? I don't know. Perhaps the international tours have busy everyone. There's Warcloud from the Black Knights. Twice. There's Killah Priest of Sunz of Man. Uncredited. End. The rest has to be done by the Killarmy guys. Sometimes they succeed, often they don't. The skits are reduced, the rappers are the same, the lyrics are similar, militarism lyricism (Dom Pachino builds an entire prolific career as a solo artist around it, with more lows than highs actually, often due to a cheap production that hasn't helped elevate his lyrical efforts over the years, but that's another matter), braggadocio and battle rap performed with a hardcore style.
As in the previous disc, the boys are indistinguishable. Dom Pachino and the group's de facto leader 9th Prince are the main performers with 10 appearances apiece, closely followed by Beretta 9 (9), Islord (7), Killa Sin (7) and Shogun Assason (5), who as the second most featured artist on the album released a year earlier finds himself getting only five appearances in thirteen songs, is present in more or less a third of the album. Serious, tepid, not very memorable, the record goes unnoticed by critics and the public. You can point the finger at the radios that had set out to sabotage Wu-Tang and everything around it for over a year, you can point the finger at Priority who understood that the ship was sinking, it's in fact the last disk released by the major among those published by Wu-Tang Records. The commercial result doesn't see it among the flops and indeed, it gets better rankings than the U-God album on Billboard. Those who can carry the weight of the Wu-Tang flag might hear it, for the casual listener it's not ideal listening.
Rating: 6.5/10.
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