Non Phixion

Having severed their ties with Matador a while back, this Non-Phixion album comes with the "long-awaited" prefix underlined by the fact that it includes older tracks like "Black Helicopters." As well as sticking to their usual rebellious and politically-charged lyrics for much of the album, Ill Bill, Goretex and Sabac Red team up with Large Professor, Pete Rock and DJ Premier to bring their own flavour to their abrasive sound, most of which is supplied by Necro. The result is a consistently hard-hitting and thought-provoking album. Thematic tracks like the ominous "Cult Leader," produced by Dave One (of Montreal's Audio Research label) and "Suicide Bomb," helmed by the Beatnuts, either obliquely or directly address the events of September 11th, and like much of Non Phixion's work, these viewpoints come from a rarely heard yet valid perspective.