After completing the trilogy of terror--The Illness, The Second Coming and The End--The Overlord of the Underground otherwise known as The Ill Saint a.k.a. Spectre convened at his hinterland retreat, The Temple of Smoke in order to partake of the manna of the Gods and await further illumination from the Mighty Unseen Force. But during his dark days in the wilderness, new revelations fell from the sky like comets, and he inscribed his visions into the sonic tablet you now hold. "And Lo, Out of the darkness.....came Light."
Parts Unknown presents a schizophrenic amalgalm of styles, flavors, colors, textures, and moods.These are sounds from the beyond to take you even further out, surpassing the realm of the senses to where space and time have no meaning. Parts Unknown is a new strain of The Illness, complex yet simple, wayward and unpredictable, and lethal in its impact. Blasting off with "The Bassick," Spectre barrels us over with sheer infectious groove, the horn fanfare announcing his triumphant return to the surface world. But beneath the surface lurks a sophisticated beast skilled with the savage beats. Check "Heist" and "The Edge," which use minimalism for maxium effect -- the Ill Saint's signature -- creating depth like a bottomlesspit. Sensational makes his first appearance on "Skrippin'" with Bed-Stuy hustler Guess over a bashing break and off-kilter piano riff that would make Sun Ra proud. Then the chills begin on "Danse of the Dead Pt. 2" whose spooky strings and frenetic riddim approximate a sudden rush of endorphines in the face of this Holy Terror. The polyrhythmic attack continues on "Telemundo," a dance-floor destroyer that might seem a departure for The Ill Saint, but just as there is light from the darkness, there is also darkness in light. Ponder that one next time you are having a good time. Sensational jumps back into the festivities on the reggafied"Jamdown" and the fast-burning "Power Cipher Sniper" which showcase his versatility on different tempos and patented, cotton-mouthed flow. Next, "4 Horsemen" couples the live drums of Ted Parsons (Teledubgnosis) with Spectre's factory sounds--all played live--to create a truly moody yet uplifting transmission from the Aether. "Alamut," the mountain fortress of Hassan I-Sabbah and his Assassins, provides the mythical fodder for this remix off CROOKED: The Original Score (WordSound), a Spectre favorite. And MCs from all over will fiend for a chance to spit on the radical hip-hop dynamics of "Mint," an instrumental with hit potential. Sensational's lo-fi banger "Makin Huge Bucks" comes complete with dusted vocals and a bowel-shaking Bass before Spectre shows us that he is still light years ahead of the pack with "Constant Elevation," a broken beat reconstructed into junkyard art. Culled from Spectre's private vaults, Parts Unknown, represents the heart of darkness, brought to the light.
W. Nobel Savage Skiz Fernando
Writer/Producer/Director
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 17 March, 2005. Customer reviews
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