11/27/2012
Flamazide
Album review: Diabolic
A Liar And A Thief
Artist-
Diabolic
Year
:2009
Rating:
8/10
Diabolic
was first heard on record with underground staple Immortal Technique
and instantly gained recognition from the hidden track on the album.
Diabolic made a name for himself in the battling community by locking
horns with the likes of legend Iron Soloman. Diabolic even tried his
hand at the mixtape circuit with the Foul Play project, but an album
was the missing piece to the puzzle that eluded his fans. This
changed in 2009 when Diabolic released the highly anticipated debut
“A Liar And A Thief”
With the exception of the song “Riot” the entire album is
produced by Engineer. Despite the fact the bulk of the album is
produced by the same person because of Engineer's diverse sounds none
of the sounds blend together. The production is top notch, but at the
same time hard to categorize. The album features an ensemble cast of
underground icons by the likes of Canibus, Ill Bill, Vinnie Paz, and
Immortal Technique to complete the cipher. The most impressive thing
is that Diabolic outraps every single person on the album and
makes it sound easy. The best way to describe Diabolic's lyricism is
a hybrid of Eminem in his prime and Immortal Technique. He perfectly
exemplifies how to create polysyllabic rhyme schemes while staying on
topic. How to rap politically without coming off as preachy. All
throughout the album he opens up a clinic of multis in one of the
most technical releases of the year.
In the opening song “Stand By” Diabolic bombards the listener
with a blitzkrieg of clever wordplay with punchlines and rhyme
schemes setting the tone for what he's all about as a rapper. Early
in the album the song “Riot” hits with rock production and
Diabolic's social commentary to show that he isn't just witty lines,
but that he comes with a message. The song is followed by “Reasons”,
a song with darker, grimier production and more introspective lyrics
all while touching on Diabolic's gripes with his current situation in
the music industry. Diabolic seamlessly switches between the two
different styles of rapping giving the album a more balanced sound
than if he approached it in just one direction.
The major flaws in the album come from a few of the features where
the artist clearly just phones his verse in. Luckily Diabolic is
there to come in and salvage the song so it isn't a total loss. Also,
the hook on “12 Shots” can be grating and the production doesn't
help it much. Definitely the most skippable song on the album.
A Liar And A Thief is a hip-hop purists dream album. If you care
about the technical aspects of rap, the rhyme schemes and the
original wordplay then this is just the album for you.
