Writer
5
By Dave Wedge
Rap-metal may not be burning up the charts like it did a decade ago, but it’s still a potent formula when done right. The Arizona rapper Intrinzik (born Scott Glass) takes a bit of Korn, a touch of Kid Rock, a little Eminem and some Shootyz Groove, adds some juggalo love, street-wise hardcore and a serious death crunch, and serves it all up with a sneer. Like his friends in Twiztid and genre kingpins Insane Clown Posse, Intrinzik knows the best metal/rap rock results when heartfelt, real-life rhymes are slung over melodic guitar lines; when heavy and thundering riffs and interspersed between killer hooks. That’s the order of the day on the staggering 22 tracks included on this comp, one of the best of which is the Spanish guitar-driven “Bandaleros,” a renegade rhyme journey accented by a memorable cameo from Shadowman Boogie. But this isn’t just a bunch of tough guy rap posing. The metal is heavy as hell, as evidenced by the skull-crushing “From the Cradle to the Grave,” which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Hatebreed album.