CARL KAVORKIAN-TAINTED RAZORBLADES-COTE PRO
Wow! That was and still is my reaction to CK’s sophomore release “Tainted Razorblades”. From track to track (13 in all) it feels like your being hit with blunt object over and over and in the end, you’ll want more. Kavorkian doesn’t hide the fact that he likes Heavy Metal; in fact most of the album has a metal aesthetic to it. This is definitely a risk due to the many Linkin Park/Limp Bizkit wannabes out there. But please, do not put him in the same category as the mundane Hip-Rock groups out there. Listen for yourself and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The first track I must touch upon is “Burning Bush” where CK’s lyrics utilizes an angry style that is hardly full of nuance or variation, his focus instead one of getting the point across as subtly as a sledgehammer. You see, his objective is to not only bash Bush but, his minions as well. Here’s proof :
“Colin fills the description of what they’ve got in store
Rumsfeld stars in the war playin’ the role of Serpentor
And Condeleece spits liquid Bush between the gap in her teeth
defendin’ her sugar daddy while sittin’ in the hot seat
Which could be another scam, smoke-screened by the man
Pullin’ strings on his puppets with his invisible hands.
And knowing is half the battle, but what’chu gonna do
when 90% is confidential”.
Throughout the song there are audio clips of Bushs’ idiotic anecdotes that add fuel to this fire. Another track is “Stagnant Flux” where guest emcee Rummage and Carl build off of each other seamlessly on this twisted metal sonic hip-hop manifesto. This song alone boasts one of the illest lines on this whole CD:
“Go watch your Rap City and 106 & Park / and see the same damn videos 10 minutes apart.” How true is this? Other notable tracks are “Plug Pull People” featuring a solid lineup of Masai Bey, Greek and Rummage spewing acidic lyrics back and forth. “DWI” is a metal/hip hop track in the same vein as thrash artists MOD and is very effective. To me, the track “Sweet Incisions” is the one that will get the most replays. I won’t give it away as you need to go out and purchase this in order to experience this rawness.
The production is futuristic and atmospheric with enough power to create a consistently dark and catchy collection of songs and gives it a RAW sound that makes a good album even better. Even though there are many cameos (from artists known and unknown), it’s Kavork’s lyrics that stand out. Being able to produce, mix and rhyme on his own project is a testament as how talented he is. Along with 13 rugged tracks the CD comes with extra goodies like videos and hidden tracks. Kavorkian drops another Earbleeder on ya ass!!! Visit http://www.cotepro.com/ to support. Cypher777
