Review Summary: I give Swan Songs a 3/5 because of great songs like "Undead", but because of terrible ones like "Bottle and a Gun"
In 2005, two young men by the names of Deuce and J-Dog recorded a track called "The Kids" and posted it on their MySpace. They then added Charlie Scene, Da Kurlzz, Funny Man, Johnny 3 Tears, and Shady Jeff. After recording a good amount of good music, Shady Jeff left, leaving the band with a remaining six members.
After spending a couple years looking for a label who wouldn't try to censor their music, they signed with A&M/Octone Records and released their debut album, Swan Songs. It contains fourteen tracks with only a few terrible ones. The album starts out with "Undead". Their most popular song, samples the riff from "Crazy Train" and is about their haters. "Sell Your Soul" contains two sung verses by Deuce and an amazing rap by Johnny 3 Tears. "Everywhere I Go", "No Other Place", and "No. 5" are all party jams. "Everywhere I Go" is the best of the three. "Young" is the best track on the album. It talks about problems faced by the youth of today. "Black Dahlia" is one of the darkest tracks on the album. It seems to be about an ex-lover. "This Love, This Hate" contains samples from their earlier song "Knife Called Lust". "Bottle and a Gun" is the most terrible track on the album due to an annoying hook and some lyrics that are just plain stupid. "California", another party song, and "City" are two more tracks that aren't that good. The ending of the album would've been better if "Pimpin" wasn't between "The Diary" and "Paradise Lost". "The Diary" is about J3T's life and "Paradise Lost" is one hell of an ending.
In conclusion, Swan Songs is one of the better rap/rock albums of the decade. If it wasn't for tracks like "Bottle and a Gun" and "Pimpin'" and had some of their better unreleased work, like "Circles", the album would have been way better. So I give Swan Songs a 3/5.
Tracks you need to hear:
"Undead"
"Sell Your Soul"
"Young"
"Black Dahlia"
"The Diary"
"Paradise Lost"
Tracks to avoid:
"Bottle and a Gun"
"Pimpin'"
