Review Summary: Somewhat of a return to form for the stoner SoCal trio but notch below their first two albums.
After the greatness of their first two albums, their third "III (Temples of Boom)" was a huge disappointment and while "IV" might not be on the level of the first two, it's a major step up from their previous effort. After making nursery rhymes about killing cops on their debut, (the song "Pigs") Cypress Hill do a song from the other side's perspective. B-Real embodies the persona of a corrupt(obviously) police officer on "Looking Throug the Eye of a Pig" and tells a incredibly harsh tale about the things he's seen:
Hookers hustlers killers and thieves, out on the streets
Got my mind warped, just found another corpse on the beat
Bound gagged raped, I'm frustrated, I hate it
Found a woman in the dumpster, body was mutilated
But then admits "I'm worse than some of these motherf***ers I put away" an unexpectedly gripping story come from this group, also talks about seeing one of his friends taking evidence but "That doesn't concern me, we never rat on each other we went through the academy, just like frat brothers" over an electric guitar-laced beat which might of been a sign of things to come. A definite highlight of the album and maybe of their career, it ends on a somewhat lighter note with this "officer" pulling over a "Mr. Freese" (which is B-Real's last name). Unfortunately most of the album can't sustain the momentum of the first track, most of these songs are very average to below average but there are some outstanding tracks here even if they are few and far between. "Tequila Sunrise" is a looped mariachi sample that works amazingly well with a guest spot from Cypress Hill protégé Barron Ricks but the beat is the most memorable part of the track, DJ Muggs at the top of his game even though the rest of the crew might not be.
Of course there is the obligatory ode to the ganja "High Times," the Cheech and Chong soundbytes and although they broke no new ground with "Dr. Greenthumb," it's one of the best songs of the album and ranks right up there with "Insane in the Brain" as far as recognizable songs for the group. Sen Dog really does nothing to distinguish himself from the newbies Barron Ricks and Chace Infinite, sounding like a newcomer himself in the few spots he has. MC Eiht's appearance on "Prelude to a Come Up" is a welcome change of pace to B-Real's nasally whine and the other subpar rapping performances. He mentions a certain female on "I Remember That Freak Bitch (From the Club)" which apparently was in Playboy and Baywatch (the giveaway was "With those ELECTRic eyes")
A continuation of "Clash of the Titans" is listed on the credits as "Dust" which was also the name of DJ Muggs electronica/trip-hop album, giving a glimpse of what he would do in the future just like the metal-infused "Lightning Strikes" was a precursor to "Rock Superstar." Overall not a great album but it does however feature what are probably some of the best tracks of the groups career and it's worth having this if only for "Looking Throug the Eye of a Pig," "Tequila Sunrise" and "Dr. Greenthumb."
