Triple Darkness - 'Anathema' review

Reviewing an album whose title you’re scared of wrongly pronouncing is a daunting task but here I am listening to ‘Anathema’ by Triple Darkness and writing some words about it. According to the wealth of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Anathema can mean any of a few things: “something lifted up as an offering to the gods”, “banished” or “set apart”. Any of those definitions could be the reason for the naming of this album.

It was whilst MC Cyrus Malachi was “banished” from society with what may have been just a dictionary and a book on ancient systems of religion, that he really sharpened his lyrical skills, leading eventually, post release, to the line up of him, Nasheron and M9 (aka Melanin9). – Triple Darkness.

The beats, provided entirely by Beat Butcher and Chemo, really hit hard (as you’d expect) – I don’t recommend listening to this quietly. The production is largely dark and haunting, suiting the lyrics to a T. The guest list features features some high profile names in UK Hip Hop: Kyza, Skriblah and Blind Alphabetz.

The intelligent rhymes are what really “set apart” this crew from the rest, whether commenting on today’s streets or civilizations of days bygone you can rely on them to provoke thought; even if it is ‘What on earth does that word mean?’. The MC’s are not only socially and historically minded; Triple Darkness boast spiritual awareness unrivalled in the UK scene. That’s not to say they’re religious nuts, it’s just that they think of more than the usual carnal delights associated with Hip Hop – the reason why they may consider this album to be an “offering to the gods”, not that it’s easy to tell which gods they believe in.

I really recommend picking up a copy of this well presented piece of work unless, that is, you’re scared of having to think a bit more than during the average Hip Hop listening session.

Certified Bangers: ‘Anathema’, ‘Pyramid Warz’ & ‘Guerilla Penmanship’
Top Lyric: “Certified mic veterans, codex adeptus//With no thoughts of penance, only steel vengeance” (Hook from ‘Anathema’)

Silent Soundz

Silent Soundz is a label whose output is so consistent that I just wish I owned their entire back catalogue. The label is the home to some of the UK's best Hip Hop artists and the mix CD that came free with HHC a few months ago really proves my point. This is a CD to put on replay. It features tracks from all of their big album releases (past and upcoming) including Verb T and The Last Skeptic's 'Broken Window' (an amazing album, watch this space), Verb T and Harry Love's 'Bring It Back To Basics' (Yes, he's a busy man), Blind Alphabetz' 'Luvolution' (a good album) and Yungun and Mr Thing's 'Grown Man Business'. It also features loads of the tracks that were released as part of other projects. The CD really is a very generous slice of what Silent Soundz are all about; they're all about GREAT Hip Hop.

Silent Sound: The Showcase Mix CD (zshare link)

I'm not going to just wax lyrical about this CD as a whole, anyone could make that up. Here are my favourites:

All tracks on here by Brotherman are purely delightful but one grabbed me so hard that it stands out a mile; 'Who Knows What'. When the first 4 bars of a rappers verse are this awesome, I have no option but to be their captive audience, these are honestly some of the best lyrics I've ever heard. Who knew rapping about C-sections could be this lyrical and this beautiful; they are a perfectly painted picture: "I was born Ceasarian section, this first thing I saw in this world was a weapon//A blade cutting a line of light in the heaven, severing the life line on which I was depending". Enough said.

First Man produce some bangers for sure but the one that caught my attention was the track with Ayak. It's not common for me to feel a track with a female MC this much and all credit to the label for making this happen. Ayak is an MC and singer who also featured on Hi-Tek's 'Hi-Teknology 2', if that doesn't give you some inkling of her prowess then check this track: 'How I Feel'.

Blind Alphabetz put out a quality album last year and one of the tracks from that is the Kyza featuring, Beethoven sampling 'Concrete Lands'; a righteous and urgent yet chilled out piece of thoughtful Hip Hop.

Yungun was one of the first UK MC's who really grabbed my attention after I borrowed his album from Lancaster library (whoever was in charge of their CD library is a legend). A snippet of 'Spitfire Pt.2' from 'Grown Man Business' is included here and Mr. Thing's beat is a joy to behold, not to mention Yungun's oh so lovely flow. 'Jackin' 4 Breaks' is also just perfectly grin inducing. Yungun nimbly skitters over big tracks by Jay-Z, Biggie, Snoop, Nas and others, switching up his flow to mimick (but in a very original way) the MC's who first rocked the beats.

As I've already mentioned, Verb T and The Last Skeptic's album is brilliant and one of my favourite tracks from that release is 'March' which features Sway and Kyza. Verb's lyrics here are excellent and the two guests bring their own thing to the table; it's one of those collaborations when you can actually tell there are 3 different and original rappers on the mic.

Keep watching this label if you are a serious Hip Hop fan and acquaint yourself with their history too, what better way to do this than to listen to the excellent mix CD?

Yungun & Mr Thing - Jackin 4 Breaks.mp3
Yungun & Mr Thing - Spitfire Pt. 2.mp3
Session & Brotherman - Who Knows What.mp3
Blind Alphabetz - Concrete Lands ft. Kyza.mp3
Verb T & The Last Skeptic - March ft. Sway & Kyza.mp3
First Man & Ayak - How I Feel.mp3