Review Summary: A strong album with very good lyrics and dark beats that is marred by the occasional flawed song but still is the best in Death Rap creator Necro's discography.
Necro is something of an oddity within the hip-hop community for one very special reason. His previous experiences within a death metal band (named Injustice) and his obsession with the extreme metal world have lead him to blend elements from both his beloved metal scene and hip hop to create death rap. Featuring darker and heavier beats than what is expected from the rap genre and the occasional moments of death metal instrumentals and vocals on top of much more morbid and gruesome lyrics than usual, this is not exactly what one has come to expect from a genre that usually bases itself around "cash and hoes". As both the creator and most famous artist in the genre, certain standards should be expected from Necro but on his album Death Rap he finally outdoes his past works that include the fantastic The Pre-Fix For Death and equally solid I Need Drugs.
Following his sidetrack from the usual death-focussed lyrics of his sub-genre on The Sexorcist in 2005 Necro spent two years writing the album that marked his return to pure Death-Rap and completely out-did himself. Whilst his past material had been solid enough his 2007 outing stands out as his most honed and focussed album to date as songs such as No Remorse and Technician Of Execution show. The metal references are numerous and the flows are tight with some incredible beats to accompany them, all elements that have made Necro stand out. On here he set a record by becoming the first rapper ever to rap over a blast beat on the song Suffocated To Death By God's Shadow. This song also happens to feature ex-Death bassist Steve DiGiorgio, Lamb Of God guitarist Mark Morton and Brian Fair on drums making for an interesting listen. The song is fast and the flow is as tight as can be with the first verse being delivered at lightning pace culminating in another homage to a metal band, referencing the Metallica song The Unforgiven.
The story of Charles Manson is told in the opening song Creepy Crawl with an infectious chorus of "stabbin an' stabbin an' stabbin until you die, viciously stab you to death" that you will be repeating all evening before launching into a prolonged sample of an interview with the infamous psycho himself for the second half of the song. This is a classic among Necro's extended discography containing very graphic and violent lyrics and showing off his ability as a story teller as well as the rhyming being really well written and the flow being tight. The beat to this song is really fun and is amusing to hear accompanying such disgusting over the top lyrics. The second verse of No Remorse stands out as well after a less-than-impressive opening verse, with Necro coming back in for the second half sounding fresh and completely demented with a lot of energy and passion thrown behind his lyrics that more than makes up for that first verse and makes this one of the better songs on the album.
Unfortunately the album feels a little disjointed at times and is just too long for its own good, despite clocking in at less than forty minutes. Forensic Pathology, Keep On Driving and Some Get Back (Revenge) sound very corny with the over-use of the references that Necro throws in to metal bands and the beat to the latter of the three is the worst on the album. On songs such as these it feels like Necro has just gone through the motions to create something as violent and disgusting as possible but without ever remembering what made his earlier works groundbreaking enough that they have lived on and become infamous in the underground hip-hop scene. Whilst this is undoubtedly Necro's finest release to date given the content of songs such as Creepy Crawl and Belligerent Gangsters, it at times disrupts its own flow with the aforementioned weaker songs.
Overall this is an album I recommend to anyone looking for something a little more varied and intense than what is found in the ten-for-a-pound hip hop of today as this is certainly a powerful album. There are enough quality tracks on here to more than make up for the inconsistancies that occasionally break up the album and make this one hell of an album to listen to. It has a lot of replay value in its songs and there is a lot to enjoy about this with it being Necro's strongest lyrical performance, although perhaps not as varied as The Pre-Fix for Death but still comes out on top as the superior of the two. Check out Creepy Crawl and Suffocated To Death By God's Shadow for the two best songs off here and see if they draw you in first, but I highly recommend this album.
