Hot off the heels of Nevermind (and, to a lesser extent, Gish) Butch Vig was the producer of the hour in 1992. It wasn't too much of a stretch to combine his grunge rock skills with a rap group - Anthrax and Public Enemy had already basked in significant success with their "Bring The Noise" genre blend - House Of Pain was riding high on the strength of "Jump Around" and was a perfect contender. For the second single to the platinum eponymous debut, House Of Pain brought on Vig to remix "Shamrocks And Shenanigans" into a ridiculously titled "Metal Mix". In actuality, it's more crossover and works pretty well for the most part, partially since the original song is a tad dull. The CD-single version has a few other mixes - DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill offers a pretty smooth version much truer to its hip hop origins and Salaam Remi (later to work with Nas and Amy Winehouse of all people) has a solid offering. While House Of Pain would never really match the success of their first album, this remix clearly paved the way for the metal/rap collaborations on the Judgement Night soundtrack (including one between House Of Pain and Helmet) in 1993.
Showing posts with label HOUSE OF PAIN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HOUSE OF PAIN. Show all posts
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Fine Malt Lyrics
Hot off the heels of Nevermind (and, to a lesser extent, Gish) Butch Vig was the producer of the hour in 1992. It wasn't too much of a stretch to combine his grunge rock skills with a rap group - Anthrax and Public Enemy had already basked in significant success with their "Bring The Noise" genre blend - House Of Pain was riding high on the strength of "Jump Around" and was a perfect contender. For the second single to the platinum eponymous debut, House Of Pain brought on Vig to remix "Shamrocks And Shenanigans" into a ridiculously titled "Metal Mix". In actuality, it's more crossover and works pretty well for the most part, partially since the original song is a tad dull. The CD-single version has a few other mixes - DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill offers a pretty smooth version much truer to its hip hop origins and Salaam Remi (later to work with Nas and Amy Winehouse of all people) has a solid offering. While House Of Pain would never really match the success of their first album, this remix clearly paved the way for the metal/rap collaborations on the Judgement Night soundtrack (including one between House Of Pain and Helmet) in 1993.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Latvian Pride
By 1996 House Of Pain had definitely worn out their welcome in the rap world. Their 1994 sophomore effort Same As It Ever Was (while an incredible release) didn't strike #1 single gold like their first album did, a major falling out with old pals Cypress Hill drove producers away, and Everlast converted to Islam, a religion whose teachings contrasted starkly with the pseudo-Irish-hooligan lifestyle of the band, causing significant conflict between members of the group. Out of the mishmash came Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again (yep, that's a typo on the album's front cover) - a forgettable look at what happens to a great band when they piecemeal a record together. To be honest, Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again doesn't just not sound like a House Of Pain album, it barely can be called one. The more significant rapping duties are covered by a up-and-coming duo called the Scheme Team (Divine Styler and Cockni O'Dire) in lieu of Everlast and Danny Boy. What a mistake. The two founding rappers actually sound like guest appearances on this album. Sadat X and Guru submit legitimate guest appearances to try and add some life - but the beats are weak and it just seems to fall apart. So why am I posting this do you ask? The same reason I actually like Phantom Menace a decade after Jar Jar Binks made me want to puke in my movie theater seat. Once you get past shattered expectations and obvious bad creative decisions, the flick is not too bad. It'll never be great, but that's OK. So take a listen to Truth, for the second time.
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