Rating: 4 stars
Artist Damien Streets’ introduction, Damien’s Ladder, will make you penetrate-step by step- into a dark atmosphere of contained rage that is about to explode.
Guts & Glory, the album’s second track opens the first chapter to Damien’s Ladder. Trumpets, drums, violins and keyboard sounds intensify the scary reality of the streets made of murder. Welcome to Damien Streets’ living nightmare. Street soldiers are always on the run. You gotta fight to stay alive.
Unsafe world made of kids possessing guns. Instrumentals introduce ugliness and feelings of fear, injustice, addiction and struggle.
Welcome to the jungle where survival is an every day goal.
Most of the instrumentals will make you think of classical musician Igor Stravinsky. Desert Eagles is an offensive song made of hopelessness, the presence of trumpets intensify it. Damien Street has a nice flow delivery, a dark voice and well thought lyrics that will make the listener enjoy the CD.
The Way It Is featuring Pumpkinhead is a beautiful piece of work that contrasts with the preceding songs by its softness.
Built on soft violin melodies that will totally underline Damien Streets and Pumpkinhead ‘s vocals, The Way It Is represents Phoenix, Arizona and Brooklyn through both artistic collaborations.
The Return Of The Mummy reintroduces you into a scary environment made of death , pain mixed up with some weed smoke. The vocals will make you feel the insecurity. Welcome to the Phoenix hell.
On the sixth track entitled Frank, Damien’s Streets and Half Dead combined their talents. Piano and keyboard sounds make you feel the cold sweated atmosphere. Feel the depression and the evilness of the track.
I particularly recommend you the very rhythmic track Horrors Of War that is a lyrical and instrumental jewel. The track denounces the horror of war and I highly enjoyed the political dimension of the track.
The Deadliest is also a very interesting track that starts like a symphony and gets lyrical in o time. Insane flow and the passion of Damien Streets who is determined to keep the passion for hip hop alive make this track very much enjoyable. Don’t sleep on that song!
Globally Damien’s Ladder is an interesting and original piece of work. The album is rich of various instrumentals and artistic collaborations such as Pumpkinhead of Brooklyn, Mayhem, Raymondd Redd of Arizona, Drop 1ne and many more. It is definitely worth your listen.
Copyright © 2006 by Isabelle Esling
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