Dylan Masvidal | Staff Writer
If De La Soul declared three to be the “magic number,” Cypress Hill saw it as witchcraft, moving them closer to the gates of hell.
Nothing was shocking about the West Coast hip-hop trio’s decision to step foot onto sinister territory with their third album. “Grim” was an appropriate way to describe the general aesthetic of their previous record.
What remains fascinating is the peas in a pod pairing of lyrics and sound on “Temples of Boom” meant riding the tidal wave of success “Black Sunday” brought was no longer an option, and they couldn’t care less (“I never rapped on an R&B record, and I never will”). Their commercial appeal was put out like the many blunts scattered on the group’s weed plate.
But it’s evident on the album’s opening track, “Spark Another Owl,” that the treatful toke is merely a ruse. A brief escape from South Gate’s harsh surroundings which will inevitably bring them back to mortal coil.
Each member plays their part in creating a palpable nocturnal atmosphere to a T.
Sen Dog’s out of breath adlibs are replaced with a fresh degree of poise while maintaining unfiltered mayhem in his battle cry. These fighting words fuel the uncontrollable fire in B-Real’s cruel observations.
Coming rough with his trademark nasal intonations and catchy cadence, the frontman laces his blunt reality checks with hypnotic rhythm, permeating a sinking stoner’s psychosis. “Illusions” finds him at his most paranoid, pushing away his loved ones in fear that his success is sparking jealousy in them (“I’m having illusions, all this confusion’s drivin’ me mad inside”).
To put the nail in the coffin of this thematic ambition is the scarily good arrangements from DJ Muggs. The underappreciated producer’s spellbook of sounds is the sun that keeps the other two in orbit.
Moral apathy reaches new heights of unsettling through whistling apparitions backed by abrasive organs (“Throw Your Set In the Air”) or an ominous coupling of a vibraphone and a horn (“Boom Biddy Bye Bye”). When Muggs is behind the boards, he can recontextualize a groovy bassline on “Make a Move” into the last sounds you hear before a masked lunatic slashes you in half.
“Temples of Boom” puts all these components in a pot, begins a chant starting with “double, double toil and trouble” and lays the foundation for the horrorcore subgenre that swept the late 90s. The track featuring Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and U-God is irrefutable evidence of the group’s vision.
“Temples of Boom” makes the very notion of horror less about the monsters hiding in your closet or masquerading as your coat rack and more about humanity’s fall to the dark side under the right circumstances. Its desensitized subtlety was a natural part of the trio’s evolution.
Cypress Hill was never about playing tiddlywinks or reciting nursery rhymes, so why start now? To be granted sanctuary in their temple, one must be comfortable wearing the black hat for a change.
CLASSIC/10.
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