8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 11, 2000
'X' MAN PURRS LOUDER THAN WOLVERINE
Armored Saint
Exploding with theatrical charismaDMX and his
crew of Ruff Ryders' push the evolving genre of rap
music to dramatic extremes on their new album.
While his producers weave some of the most cine-
matic beats outside of techro, X drags listeners into
his life of virtuous spirituality and survival. Most may
feel that the Ruff Ryder lifestyle may be a little too
much, but listeners can't help submerging themselves
in a musical world so full of paradoxical conflict.
There is a certain passive sense of power and dan-
ger that listeners experience when listening to DMX's
new album, "And Then There Was X." The hero's
character seems to come straight from male idealistic
fantasy, mentally and physically overflowing with
strength, knowledge, power and sexuality. As arro-
gant and contradictory as he may seem to you, when
the hero raps with such finesse overtop such color-
fully bleak flowing beats, you can't help but idealize
the man who calls himself X.
The actor behind the character, Earl Simmons, has
been rewarded for his efforts as DMX with multi-
platinum album sales, superstar status and has even
DMX
And Then There Was X
Def Jam
Reviewed by
Daily Arts Editor
Jason Birchmeier
starred as the lead character in
Hype Williams' film "Belly."
But his Ruff Ryder crew begs
equal credit - the names
Swizz Beatz, Grease and P
Killer deserving as much
acclaim as Simmons' reluctant
hero. In the same way that
Public Enemy needed the
Bomb Squad, NWA needed
Dr. Dre and Wu-Tang needed
RZA to elevate their rap tales
But keep in mind that this isn't a movie. This is a
rap album, probably the most lowbrow and disre-
spected forms of modern art in our culture. Even
though rap artists such as Will Smith, Puff Daddy and
Eminem want to be taken seriously, it's really hard to
identify with such ridiculous and pompous personas.
A lot of rappers in this day have talent but few prove
as truly interesting and developed as the character of
DMX. Almost straight from a comic book or action
film, DMX is the sort of man we all wish we could
feel like but never become.
When you sit down and listen closely, there isn't
much on "And Then There Was X" that wasn't on
DMX's two previous albums. He's just as dramatic
and as conflicted between God and evil as ever, and
the Ruff Ryders lay down more of the same kind of
beats that made "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" such a huge
hit last year. "And Then There Was X" fully attains its
goals the way the previous two albums never quite
could. DMX is able to develop his character fully,
express his views concisely, preach about virtues and
command respect for himself while his producers
keep the beats pumping like never before.
Each song seems to express one side of DMX's
character. On "What's My Name?" Simmons retains.
his pride with verbal attacks at his competitors. Lines
such as "I shed blood" and "in a minute you're gonna
have grandma being the only family member left"
may seem a bit over-the-top and comical, but the
deadly serious hardcore tone won't let you laugh.
Similarly, in "The Professional" when DMX tells
about when he "looks through the eleventh floor win-
dow/ takes one last puff of the endo/ looks through
the scope/ and lets like ten go," it isn't hard to image
our hero as a psychotic murderer.
This side of DMX's character may keep you inter-
ested with flamboyance and action, but it is the
opposing side of his character that allows you to iden-
tify with him. At one point on the album, he pro-
claims "let us pray" and recites a prayer full of lines
such as "Lord I am not perfect by a long shot I con-
fess to you daily. But I work hard everyday and I hope
that you hear me. In my heart I mean well, but if you
help me grow then what I have in my heart will begin
to show." Moments such as these and when DMX
confesses "I gonna be the voice of the streets until I
die" provoke you to forgive him for his evil ways and
cheer for the opposing good-natured side of his char-
acter to exorcise the evil inside him.
Unfortunately, these shining moments of hope are
eclipsed at the album's conclusion by the looming
shadow of DMX's dark side. One example of this
occurs on the song "Good Girls, Bad Guys" when
DMX explains that he likes to corrupt good girls
with his evil powers. When a female replies to him,
"but I'm a good girl," DMX confesses "that's why I
like her ... turn a church girl to a straight Ruff
Ryder/ take her to the Ramada and make it an all-
nighter." The downright evil sexism and selfish
arrogance of DMX makes it difficult to sympathize
with him regardless of how much he repents. You
really can't believe that he regrets his sins when he
spends the majority of the album continually con-
tradicting his prayers to God.
The ambition'of Simmons to make us identify
with his character is disrupted by his contradictions.
On one song he is preaching about being loyal to his
friends, faithful to God and his disgust with materi-
alism, but he never fully follows through with his
virtuous preaching. Luckily, the aggressive and
haunting hip-hop -soundtrack provided by DMX's
Ruff Ryder producers more than compensates for
the flawed thematic content. Only once or twice a
year does a rap album come along this well devel-
oped with such a charismatic hero and fresh beats.
If Sinner's new album hasn't quite
satisfied your hunger for Metal this
week, perhaps you should investigate
Armored Saint's comeback release,
titled "Revelations," that features its
original singer (and current Anthrax
singer) John Bush back on the mic.
The band is probably most well
known for the fact that Bush was
originally asked by Metallica's
James Hetfield to be the group's
singer way before Metallica became
the tired and creatively exhausted
supergroup it is today.
Despite its long absence from the
Metal scene, Armored Saint appears
to be in prime form on this release.
makes 'Revelation'
on comeback album
0
Armored Saint
Revelations
Metal Blade
Reviewed by
Daily Arts Writer
Adlin Rosli
Track after
track, the band
proves it can
still rock as hard
as it did on its
many previous
releases. "The
Pillar" and
"Tension" are
two great hard
and heavy tracks
that do not fail
enced metal track complete with el-
mariachi acoustic guitar playing in
the beginning and Bush singing i
Spanish. No other track inm recen
history has been so potent in making
you want to wrestle a bull.
Undoubtedly, the shining point to
this-album is Bush's manly and raspy
voice, which delivers even the worst
of lines with plenty of conviction.
Not just anyone can sing ridiculous
lines such as, "I'll never lose my
shirt, someday I'll hit paydirt," from
"Pay Dirt" and "Beat my bloody fists
to a pulp, then I'll switch hands,"*
from "Control Issues," without
sounding like a complete jackass.
With "Revelations," Armored
Saint provides something that is
rather rare, a comeback album that
isn't an embarrassment to the group
or a debauchery when compared to
its older material. Although this is
prime Armored Saint, it is not likely
to win them many new fans unless
metal suddenly becomes cool to lisa
ten to again.
with character-developing musical soundtracks, these
three Ruff Ryder producers give DMX considerable
credibility.
The pounding bass beats and phantasmic synthe-
sizers underlying tracks such as "What's My Name?"
and "The Professional" fuel the aggressive masculin-
ity of DMX. If the music doesn't get your adrenaline
flowing, then the muscular verbal assault of DMX's
raps will surely raise your pulse The synergy pro-
duced by the music and the rhymes suture you like
great cinema, effectively making you envision the
hero, identify with his conflicted emotions and feel
what he feels.
in raising the testosterone level for
the listener.
The album isn't all just one big
aggressive monster, however. On the
track "Den of Thieves," the band
manages to find a delicate balance
for the co-existence of metal and
poppy vocal melodies that result in
an ethereal, catchy yet aggressive
sounding number.
Then on "No Mes Digas," the band
completely throws the listener off
guard by delivering a Spanish influ-
Sasha spins two disc opus
The latest domestically released version of the
extensive "Global Underground" series just may
be the collection's best volume yet. Though per-
sonal taste plays a factor in your liking or dislik-
ing of the style of electronic music featured on
Sasha's "Ibiza" album, the many sublime tracks
and lack of formulaic filler make it hard to dislike
this volume of sensual trance. Though smooth
flowing and moderately paced at first, the few
truly magic moments on this
album keep your emotions in
a volatile state of euphoric
flux as you drift along on
Sasha Sasha's tour through the
world of dreamy trance.
These few magic moments
Ibiza come specifically with certain
Global Underground songs in the epic double
Reviewed by album that break away from
Daily Arts Writer the continuity. About hllfway
Jason Birchmeier through Sasha's first set, the
momentum builds from trick-
ling energized ambience to thunderous sensory
overload. It is at this peak that Sasha drops the
first of the four masterpieces on the album. A
drastically reworked track off Orbital's cosmic
"Middle of Nowhere" album, Breeder's remix of
"Nothing Left" elevates the tone of the music
beyond euphoria towards the distant planes of
feeling attainable only through such inhuman
music.
Ironically though, just when the mood becomes
so non-secular, it is the human female vocals on
the track singing "loving you" that provide the
ultimate sensations. Sasha's first set journeys
toward up-tempo rhythms that take the already
established sensations to further levels of feeling
that settle upon a lulling moment of mournful vio-
lin-like synthesizers at the beginning of Pariah's
remix of "Stage One" This calming sensual
moment only proves to be the eye of the storm as
the music again lifts off toward frenzied intensity,
Sasha abandoning the modulating tempos of
trance and finishing the set with some straight-
ahead progressive house tracks.
The second set is a less even affair, shifting
between questionable, dull moments when Sasha
spins progressive house and other splices of sheer
beauty in which he disrupts,the driving rhythms
with some ethereal trance anthems. This set never
really takes off until late in the first track, BT's
"Fibonacci Sequence," and then not again until
halfway through the set when Sasha's monstrous
epic trance composition, "Xpander," rises from the
mediocre aura created by the preceding progres-
sive house tracks. Lasting over ten minutes,
"Xpander" proves that Sasha's talent lies not only
in his ability to create a seamless montage of emo-
tional electronic music but also in his vision as a
composer.
Breaking Record
- Classic
**** k - Excellent
* -Good
**-Fair
*Poor
No stars - Don't Bother
Is Star System
- If you missed a week
of Breaking Records,
you can check out
the Daily's archives
online at>
www.michigandailycom
4'
.#;
Upncoming Releases
A few minutes later, Sasha drops the second of
three tracks that make his second set such a drain-
ing experience. Arguably the best of the many bril-
liant songs written by BT, "Mercury and Solace"
again injects non-secular beauty into an already
blistering mood. Featuring an angelic female
vocalist singing unintelligible hymns, this track's
aura radiates emotion that lingers until Sasha
finally concludes the album with a Bedrock track
by his close friend, producer John Digweed. The
anthemic synthesizer melodies of "Heaven Scent"
prove a fitting way to end a colorful journey
through some of the best trance music of the
moment.
Also released today
D'Angelo - Voodoo
"American Beauty" - Original scoi
Janruary. 18
Enigma - Behind the Mirror
Flavor Flav - It's About Time
Lo-Fidelity Allstars '- On the floor
Boutique
i
re
ii
at the
'V
Sinner riffs on plenty of metal 'Decade'
Jan uaryyl25
Mickey Hart - Spirit Into Sound
ice Cube - War & Peace Vol. 2: The
T'Pai- fDick
,#
Sinner extends its longevity into the
new century by releasing a "best of"
album entitled simply, "The Second
Decade." What? You have never heard of
this band? Well, you and many others are
forgiven as Sinner has generally been
huge in Europe and its native Germany
(yes the land where David Hasslehoff is
a superstar pop singer).
With Sinner's sound that harkens to
the glory days of Iron Maiden, it's no
surprise that this band hasn't seen too
much attention from rap/metal hungry
mainstream America. .
Lack of notoriety aside, this "best of"
collection is actually quite good. There's
plenty of unabashed guitar heroics going
on in the soloing and twin guitar riffing
that, by as early as the second spin of this
disc, may send you into uncontrolled
spasms of air guitar. The bass and drums
rhythm section rocks in a simple but
solid manner, allowing for the listener's
attention to always remain firmly with
the massive sounding guitars.
Bassist/singer Mat Sinner, the man
responsible for this group's name-
sake, tops all of this off with his
throaty yet soulful
Sinner
The Second Decade
Nuclear Blast America
Reviewed by
Daily Arts Writer
Adlin Rosli
metal voice - a
voice that is rem-
iniscent of a less
operatic Bruce
Dickinson, if you
will.
"Devil's River"
and "Used To The
Truth" are two of
many great tracks
of this collection
that showcase the
group at its head banging best. "Devil's
River" for instance, with its massive
manly riffs and lyrics that warn of bad
things about the "Devil's River" is just an
ideal guilty pleasure track to enjoy in
today's '80s metal bashing music world.
Another plus about this CD is its neat
packaging. The CD is in a completely
shiny silver digipak jewel case -
undoubtedly to demonstrate this group's
commitment to metal.
Certainly this is not an album that will
change your life or rank with The
Beatles's all white album, but you won't
need to look any further than Sinner's
"The Second Decade" if you are in
the mood for some really good mid
'80s style Metal.
"Scream .3
Original soundtrack
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