Man's Myth, Vol. 1

Album Review

Twiztid's Man's Myth is the first of two releases from the Insane Clown Posse-associated duo that focus on the myths America's youth are force-fed. The concluding album, Mutant, concerns itself with how all these myths mutate kids into adult freaks, but here the duo are all about the angst of growing up in a world where religious leaders, government leaders, and drug dealers all lie to you — at least that's the way Twiztid see it. Their comic book understanding of deep issues isn't all that different than ICP's, but while those juggaloos bog down their records with convoluted mythology that leads to nowhere, Twiztid just ask snide questions and express frustration, making them all the more in tune with teenage rebellion and are all the less ponderous. They've got fatter beats than ICP too, some of them shockingly original. The tight loop of Southern-fried guitar heard on "Off the Chain" is just one of the fresh ideas longtime producer and associate Lavel brings to the record. All of Lavel's tracks are tight, but you can't ignore Fritz the Cat's work on "Story of Our Lives" as he lays an infectious, robotic beat under Twiztid's Eminem-flavored verse and chorus. Minus the makeup and bombastic, theatrical intro, Man's Myth seems much more inspired by Slim Shady than ICP, and while the album doesn't have E-40 or Bushwick Bill guest shots like 2003's Green Book did, it reaches farther outside the suburban trash world of Psychopathic Records than anything the label has released previously. Twiztid keep growing lyrically too and the album is edited tightly with little filler. Faygo-swilling juggaloos should appreciate the solid effort, and if they play it loud enough, the Psychopathic-unfriendly will have to begrudgingly give it up to Twiztid.