These men are underground rap legends. No doubt about it. From the days of the Amber Probe EP until Violent by Design, they were the baddest group of the scene. Vinnie Paz and Jus Allah brought the dark rhymes while Stoupe worked magic with his productions. It was the perfect mix for the underground heads.
Unfortunately, something went bad after a while. Jus Allah left the group to continue working on a solo project, and Stoupe started taking a more commercial route, producing tracks with higher BPM’s and more upbeat samples. Vinnie on the other hand stopped rapping about conspiracies and started hating on the homosexuals in almost every track. Things were not looking too great for JMT.
Now we are faced with “Legacy of Blood”, basically the album that will show us if JMT are here to stay or not. Many people are hoping for a return to Violent by Design, and even if this is not fully possible, anything away from Visions of Gandhi would be nice.
Listening to the album, we can definitely see that the darkness is coming back. In the intro alone, there are great samples of which at least three different tracks could have been made. We are then bombarded with “The Age of Sacred Terror”, the best track on the album with a dope vocal sample underlined by hard Vinnie Paz rhymes. Unfortunately his obsession with gays and killing has not ended. But damn, what a voice…
Stoupe continues showing his classical music influence with the track “On the Eve of War” featuring GZA. The beat really reminds me of “Animal Rap” which was a collabo done with Kool G on the last record. Coincidence or not, they also happen to be the 6th track on both albums.
The first 12" from this record is “Before the Great Collapse” with the B side being “On the Eve of War.” A strange combination, but the production on “Collapse” kills it with Paz talking about killing himself and saying his last goodbyes.
The album has an impressive lineup of featurings including Killah Priest, Sean Price, and Des Devious. They add a good flavor to the record but as we all know, nothing can beat the Vinnie P-Jus Allah-Stoupe harmony we saw in the earlier records. Killah Priest is a great MC, but just doesn’t do it for me in the track “Saviorself” which has immense production and dope rhymes by Vinnie P.
Although this is not the perfect album, it definitely is in the right direction which shows hope for the future. Having been hit with the news last week that Jus Allah has returned to JMT, things only look better for the future of the legendary Jedi Mind Tricks.
More info: http://www.babygrande.com
Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. The Age of Sacred Terror
03. Scars of the Cricifix
04. Death Falls Silent (Interlude)
05. Saviorself (feat. Killah Priest)
06. On The Eve of War (Julio Caesar Chavez Mix feat. GZA/Genius)
07. The Darkest Throne (Interlude)
08. The Worst
09. Verses of the Bleeding (feat. Des Devious)
10. Beyond The Gates of Pain (feat. Sean Price)
11. Farewell To The Flesh (Interlude)
12. And So It Burns
13. The Spirit of Hate (Interlude)
14. Me Ne Shalto
15. On The Eve of War (Meldrick Taylor Mix feat. GZA/Genius)
16. Winds Drowning Men (Interlude)
17. The Philosophy of Horror
18. Of The Spirit And The Sun (Interlude)
19. Before The Great Collapse
