Review Summary: Viktor Vaughn's second record is interesting, but not so much as to cover up the problems.
Venomous Villain, unlike a lot of albums known in today’s world, actually suffers from the formerly often prescribed sophomore slump.
Venomous Villain attempts to re-create the drab, cold electronic atmospheres of the excellent
Vaudiville Villain, and DOOM attempts to bring out almost fully outside producers for this effort like he did for the last one. The difference between
Venomous Villain and
Vaudville Villain? Just in degree of effort and consistency.
Venomous Villain starts off at its best, with two of the best songs of the series place squarely at the front: “Back End” and “Fall Back – Titty Fat”. These songs meshing Viktor Vaughn’s streaming off-the-cuff style of MCing and shape shifting, glitch-y electronic atmospheres building up upon layers and almost randomly switching from idea to idea. Under normally circumstances, these ideas would sound jarring placed together, mixing grooving, swaying reggae-esqe parts with robotic funeral walks in “Fall Back – Titty Fat”, but they're built up to perfection.
The album falters, however, in everywhere else that involves consistency. “R.A.P.G.A.M.E.” features boring piano loops and bland ‘tough guy’ underground rappers, while the plastic horns and the Busta Rhymes-esqe pacing of “Dope Skill” make it sound uncomfortable for DOOM to spit. Viktor Vaughn doesn’t rap on
Venomous Villain very much, allowing a lot of time for the beats to wander way too much or drone the listener out, and for the guests or worthless sound-bites to interrupt the flow of the record. The back end and middle of the record in particular, is filled to the brim with awkward filler, only brightened up by the spazzy DOOM/Kool Keith collaboration of “Doper Skiller”, a track loaded and armed with fuzzy synths and bombastic verses from hip hops two weirdest MC’s.
Venomous Villain just proves that DOOM is better in the hands of himself or those who have proven themselves, as this seems more of a concoction of fans who happened to have gotten the rappers number. His MCing, although as good as usual lyrically, sounds lazy even by his standards, and not for the lethargic effect of
Vaudiville Villain. His issues with the production of the album are even in his lyrics, especially over the albums worst beat “R.A.P.G.A.M.E.”. Overall,
Venomous Villain is good, but feels patchy and is only good in pieces, one of the few DOOM records to be rid much with inconsistency. A disappointment, but not epically so.
