Necro

Pretty much anything Necro touches is drenched in a gory orgy of sex, drugs and violence. Brutality Part 1 is no exception. Although the emphasis is strongly biased towards Necro, this 17-track album is more of a crew comp for his Psycho+Logical label. It may carry Necro’s name, but there’s a solo track each from Non-Phixion members Ill Bill and Goretex (who also gets a much better remixing of his song, "The Big Sleep”). Necro gets six solos, and on the rest he’s one half of a duo that alternates between Ill Bill, Goretex and Mr Hyde. Ill Bill comes, well, the illest with his appearances, especially his verses on "Reign in Blood,” a dark, bottom-heavy creeper. And even though Necro brags "I’m as morbid as it gets” on "Morbid Shit,” it still doesn’t stop the subject matter from wearing thin by the end of the album. Ill Bill even shows up his brother Necro’s limitations by reaching deeper for lyrics and adding another dimension to Brutality on "Our Life.” However, what makes it Necro’s show is the production, for which he deserves full credit. The backbone is strictly dark, gritty New York street beats fleshed out with horror soundtracks, reggae, funk, and a whole lot of strings and synth. It’s not always suitable for the rappers (or maybe subject matter), but there’s no denying the talent and variety displayed in the beats here. Hopefully the ultra violent (and poor) graphics won’t scare away potential Brutality listeners.