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 I HAVING QUALMS ABOUT CHER'S GRAMMY NOMINATION? THEN WRITE FOR THE MUSIC STAFF. YOUR REVIEWS COULD APPEAR ON THESE PAGES. CALL 763-0379. -. r European Beer Night $1.00 off pints of Continental European Brews 9 p.m.-Close M K I