Their debut had destroyed the old school by sweeping it into another space-time dimension. However, staying relevant six years later had not been easy and in fact, the same Run-D.M.C. that had changed the game at the time, did not succeed. The boys arrive on the eve of the album in unfavorable conditions: Run has entered a depressive phase and is unable to go on stage, DMC begins an alcohol addiction and Jam Master Jay is in debt to the IRS for almost half a million dollars in taxes to pay.
The new disk is produced by Run-D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay, co-produced by Frank Inglese, Glen E. Friedman, Russell Simmons, Stanley Brown, Davy D, Larry Smith and David Reeves, with guitar played live by Tony Battaglia in "Word is Born". The samples arrive from James Brown, George Clinton, Bob James, Grace Jones and Syl Johnson ("Different Strokes", as usual). Jam Master Jay is rapping for the first time in several tracks ("Pause", "Faces" and "Not Just Another Groove").
They bring out the fifth album, which is pretty disappointing, even if there are no really bad cuts: left without ideas, the group takes refuge in the trend of violent rap, introducing vulgar lyrics to its usual braggadocio and combining them with another trend of the moment, the soft-n-minimal new jack swing sound. To make room for these trends, rap rock, humorous lyrics and shouted back and forth deliveries that made the duo famous, are put aside: it seems that someone has taken away his energy, both sounds out of condition, very little inspired on these pop/soft rap tracks. The part around the title track is the strongest moment on the record, with several good pieces and where you get to hear a bit of rap rock typical of the group, the other ones are quite flat with some discreet scattered choices.
Distributed by Profile, the LP spawned three singles, the anti-drug and anti-crime "Pause" (#11 on the rap chart), "What's It All About" (fourth among rap singles) and "Faces" (#13 on the rap chart), and peaks #16 on the hip-hop album chart. The commercial result is a significant rebound compared to the rest of the group's previous discography, which included two CDs that charted in the top ten of the Billboard 200, both certified platinum, and were critical successes, both considered among their finest works and consequently among the best rap albums ever released in the 1980s.
The album's sales flop, despite exceeding 300,000 physical copies in just a few years, was accompanied by a particularly unfavorable critical response: "Back from Hell" received what was, at the time, the worst critical reception of any of their albums. The legendary group's career seems to be coming to a rapid end after the release of this controversial effort, which is not recommended despite not being as bad as critics would have you believe.
Highlights: "The Ave.", "Word Is Bond", "Back from Hell".
Rating: 6/10.
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