Customer Reviews

Wraith: Shangri-La (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

My son, Christopher Colt Kelley, was murdered on December 21, 2001. He was 15 years old and he was a real Juggalo. He used to try and get me to play ICP cd's all the time whenever we were riding in the car together and I wouldn't listen to them. When he was murdered I took the time to sit and listen to what he was in to. I haven't stopped listening to ICP yet. I met Violent J once before Shangri-La came out and I told him all about my son. He held my hand and told me in these words that I will never forget, "You should not be sad that he is gone, you should always look at it like this, whenever it rains, that's him Raining Diamonds down on you." Then Shangri-La dropped and I heard It Rains Diamonds...and I could not stop crying. Now I am a 37 year old Juggalette and I'll be that way 'til I'm dead in the ground. My son was buried with an ICP shirt on and a Hatchetman round his neck. And I plan on going the same way. Everyone has their own thoughts about ICP and the Dark Carnival...but if you're not a true Juggalo....you'll never get it. MCL and R.I.P. Colt....we miss you.

This isn't their usual fare, but I love this album. I love almost all their albums and I didn't let any "reviews" get in the way of just sitting down and listening to the whole album.

I said "this isn't their usual fare" because this album structures its songs more like ROCK songs than RAP songs.

If you like the Insane Clown Posse, give this one a listen. Make sure you have an open mind, and it wouldn't hurt if you liked both rock and rap...

Final thought: Different, but GREAT!

A carnival of the dead, fresh with sin, bringing God to your very own doorstep...WITHOUT selling out! Think it can't be done? Well, "The Wraith: Shangri-La" will change your mind in a BIG way.

The point to this album is sin and how we choose to live our lives, as is the point to the whole Dark Carnival story. Why do you think Jesus, the Holy Son, died on the cross? He died so, through him, our sins can be forgiven. My sins...your sins...he died so we may find the light...God...and ICP makes this point very clear.

I've read some reviews of people saying that ICP sold out with this album and "how can they sing about killing and rape, and have the 6th Joker's Card be about God"?

Again, that's the whole point; The Dark Carnival is a fantasy, a cast of crazy characters who bring murder and rape right to your front door so you can see it in full view, the very things that happen around us each and every day, the very things which we turn a blind eye to and look away from, making believe that they never really happen at all. Sex, murder, love of money, not caring about others and only caring about ourselfs...THIS is the point to the Dark Carnival, and "Shangri-La" makes it clear that you have a choice;

Walk into the light or wait for your number to be called upon for your room in "Hell's Pit"...the message SHOULD be very clear.

As for the songs on this album, most are heavy and will rock your world. I listened to this album for the first time with my jaw in my lap because of all the "rap" stuff I heard about ICP before I got into them. There's very little rap on this album, which is fine with me because I'm a heavy metal/rock fan anyway. Oh, there's a little rap, which I have nothing against, it's just not my thing. There's even a little jazz and hip-hop here, and a little blues too. In other words, this album has it ALL and, combined with "Hell's Pit," The Wraith saga is the best story about Heaven & hell I've ever heard put to music, period.

"Walk Into the Light"..."Welcome to the Show"..."Get Ya Wicked On"..."Murder Rap"..."Blaaam!!!"...all great songs. "It Rains Diamonds" is heavy and one of my favorites. "The Staleness" sets up a song called "Hell's Forcast" which is a link to "Hell's Pit." "Welcome to the Show" also has a link to "Hell's Pit" which, by all rights, is the mark of master story tellers, no question.

"The Wraith" has the best line of the whole album;

"Nine times out of ten I wish he'd take me
instead of some of these poor childern we see."

Man, that song is one of the best on the album. And don't forget "Juggalo Homies" because if this song doesn't make you feel good, nothing else will. Friends should be family anyway, so be good to them..."hangin' till we old and gray." Man, I really love this song. :)

And "The Unveiling"...the song that says it all;

"The Carnival is God and may all Juggalos find Him!"

How can anyone have a problem with that? Man, if this album doesn't put a smile on your face and maybe, just maybe, a little tear of hope in your eye, then you may want to check your pulse because you may not be human after all.

All in all, song for song, "Shangri-La" is perfect and may very well end up being one of my favorite albums of all time. Man o man, I'm so very glad I desided to check out ICP because music this good is VERY hard to find, indeed.

Walk into the light, my firends, and may God bless you all.

It started like this....i had heard of icp from buddies but never was that interested. I heard them all talking about this song by the group and reciting the lyrics. It sounded hella funny so i asked, man could u burn me one of their CDs.
The next day, he brought to school a copy of the Amazing Jeckel Bros and i brought it home with me and listened to it all that weekend nonstop until i had memorized every beat and every lyric on the thing. It was like a religion to me. I studied it and analyzed them. When i came to school on monday, i told the kid how much i liked it. He said that you should buy a copy to support them. I went on amazon and ordered a copy of that CD and then Bizaar. I collected everything. Then Wraith came out.
I got home with the cd in my hands. I had been reading everything about this online. I sat down and listened to all one hour and five minutes of it. I had already heard one song, Blam!! and the rest were new. I said to myself when i was done with the thing, "What a strange CD!" The next day i listened to it again and it started to make sense. It was the greatest thing ever. I watched the Seminar thats included as a bonus DVD. I loved every thing on this. I read some of the other reviews and some say this is whack. Those are the people that dont understand the meaning of this. The are explaining everything, you idiots. They arent just out there for the money, this is for the true fans.

This CD had such great songs that really help you understand who iCP is. Each song has a great meaning and for that subject, a great beat with good lyrics.

1. Walk into the Light (8/10) --This song is the intro and a whole nother song. It's a great lead-in. After about a minute and a half, the intro stops and the song starts. It's a rock and roll song with rap in it. Shaggy shines really bright on this one. It explains everything they've been talking about in their last albums since Bassment Cuts.

2. Welcome to the Show (9/10) --The beat is exceptional. It's the happiest song of the album. It's very funny and the group does great arranging the lyrics. This explains all about the dark carnival is going to be like when u die.

3. Get Ya Wicked On (10/10) --Even though this is a happy album, they still show that they are the most wicked in this song. It is very funny. It resembles an older song from Bizaar called Whut. Shaggy is hogging the mic but thats alright. Even though its very short it's a great song to open the album with.

4. Murder Rap (8/10) -- It starts right out of track 3 and goes from there. It has the same kinda feel as Get ya Wicked On. The reasaon it isnt 10/10 is because the lyrics on shaggy's part werent that great and the chorus was kinda weak. It still is a classic song, but i have to say, they got a little lazy with it.

5. Birthday B*t*hes (10/10) -- This is an Icp song that has a plot. Shaggy is a birthday clown that doesnt want to work. He is hilarious and this is one of the best rhyming songs ever. The chorus is hella catchy. it end with Violent J saying It Ain't Mine Mothafaku! It's short but it's definitely worthwile

6. Blam!! (10/10) --ICP goes completely Heavy Metal on this song. It's still a great song and one of their best but its a lot different. The plot is that Violent J gets a magic lamp and his genie gives him everything he wants. It has funny. This is the song that shows ICP isnt all about money

7. It Rains DiamondS (10/10) --ICP hides a track in this song. After It Rains Diamonds is over, 2 minutes into the track, another song starts called B*tch Slappas (featuring Blaze Ya Dead Homie) It rains diamonds is an okay song that is metal and then B*Tch Slappas is a hilarious song with a tight old school beat. The track is worth a mil

8. The Staleness (7/10) -- This track was just alittle lame in the beginning. Some queer was doing the voices with Shaggy. I liked it by the end but it was dumb at Shaggy's part. U can tell in the track that shaggy wasnt even feelin it so its all good. Violent J was a great rapper in this song. He tells a tale of when he almost escaped from an asylum.

9. Hell's Forecast (10/10) --In the midst of all this happy, funny and wicked sh*t comes a forecast of what Hell's Pit is going to be like. J does a great job to portray the depths of Hell and the Wickedness.

10. Juggalo Homies (7/10) -- This is featuring Twiztid & ABK. It's a good song, but the lyrics drift off at Twiztid's part. Juggalo Homies represents that all ICps homeys will be up in Shangrila chillin.

11. Ain't Yo Bidness (10/10) -- This is my favorite song off the whole album. It shows the ICP that everyone knows in just the way u'd think. "It ain't yo bidness how we act. Ain't yo bidness, gonna get slapped. Ain't yo concern what we do, unless u want ur face slapped too" It contains another bonus track called Soopa Villains. It's a tight track with Esham

12. We Belong (10/10) --Instant classic. This song is all about the way ICP is. They don't belong anywhere but the carnival.

13. Cotton Candy & Popsicles (5/10) --Nothing great but it's okay i guess. Zug ISland is featured and they are great here but it's still not a great beat. Violent J is good and so is J, there's just something bad about it. If u have heard it u know what i mean.

14. Crossing the Bridge (10/10) --Another classic and the second most meaningful song. It's all about how they have never had a normal life. It's a great song because its like nothing they've ever done. It's a rock ballad and its hella hard

15. Ravens Mirror (9/10) -- Great song. Shaggy is the sun of this sh*t. It has an okay chorus, great beat and funny a*s lyrics.

16. The Wraith (9/10) --Good song. This represents what death is. Not in a wicked way, but who death is.

17. The Unveiling (10/10) --The most meaningful song throughout the album. It's the meaning of every joker card. It is so deep. This is the one that they end everything with. it's great. It's a raprock. "May the juggalo's find us."

Average song rating = 8.94/10

most meaningful cd out of psychopathic. mcl my juggalos.

So, my boyfriend introduced me to ICP (Insane Clown Posse), and I have to say that their beats are very chill. Especially this album in particular. These guys rap about anything and everything bizarre and often colaborate with other Hip Hop artists such as Snoop Dogg and Bone Thugs. If you're tired of the typical lyrics and stories that other Hop Hop artists are spitting, definitely check out ICP. They are anything but boring and are often hilarious in their descriptive lyrics!

After having been a fan of ICP for years, I really thought this album was a let down. I know that ICP has been developing their style, as there definitely was a difference in sound from the 4th to the 5th joker's card, but the wraith just sounds unpolished as an album. Without Mike E Clark, the wraith just didn't have a good sound (the truth is, the remix version of the album is, for me, much better).

What I also find troublesome about the wraith is that, after years of developing a story/mythology, they turn around and say it's all about God and christianity. I mean, the comparisons were there, and the biblical themes and all that, but to just say on the album that it was all a metaphor and that every fan of the album should follow God seems to be a little tactless. They could have left the meaning open to interpretation, or completed the story of the six joker's cards, without involving religion 100 percent.

I mean, what are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and fans of other religions supposed to think of ICP? Though jews and muslims and christians all follow the same god (just different messiahs, and have different guidelines), the message of the album is to be religious in a christian sense.

Though I understand that it is just music, I felt ICP could have ended their 10+ year old creation in a more pantheistic, fraternal, and creative manner. Paired with the fact that the songs don't seem developed, authentic, or appealing, I give this album 1 star.

If you are at all interested in ICP, I'd just stick to the Riddle Box, the Great Milenko, and the amazing Jeckel brothers.

I own this cd and I must say it is probably one of their best if not their best, My guess the only reason ya'll dont like is is because you don't understand it. This CD has amazing lyrics and beats, each song on it has powerfull meanings one of the main ones being 'Crossing The Bridge' This is the 6th Jokers Card and they left the saga off great. The last track is a huge surprise beleave me if your a juggalo you'll be pretty much shocked. The 1 hour and 5 minuites of this CD will get you moving. Some people say that they diden't put heart into this cd? What the hell do you think this cd is? Their laying it all on the line explaining everything to you, I felt the most Clown love on this cd then any of their others. So all I have to say is if your a True Juggalo then you WILL buy this. If you have any questions IM me at Flashbang13 on aim.

.:KZ:.

Insane clown posse at thier finest moment. Every track is a hillarious trip. Not as wicked as the others but as they said before it hit the shelves , it was never supposed to be.

Released in 2002, this album is the Insane Clown Posse's 8th studio LP, and it's a really good album. I'm in the majority of those who were disappointed after the first time around, but after a few spins it increased in its quality more and more.
The main issue of why I didn't like it at first was because it had fartoo many rock songs for my liking. As I am pretty much pro hip-hop, I expected more wicked raps in here. But then I realized, this is the 6th Joker's Card, so it had to be as spiritual as could be. It's the end of an era.

As for the lyrics themselves, Violent J didn't tell many stories here aside from a couple, he spent most of his mic time answering long awaited questions that many Juggalos wanted answers on. He also spits some good wicked raps on the first half of the album, but as the album passes track 10, he tones it down a bit. As for Shaggy 2 Dope, he was pretty impressive here as well, he didn't rap too much about his nuts here. He reached deep down and laid down some good thought-out raps, and they flowed very well. So altogether, the lyrics, whether it be sung or rapped, were great.

The production wasn't bad, but definitely not their best. A true let down was that their decade long producer Mike E. Clark had nothing to do with any beats. Instead newcomer Mike P. and ICP made the beats. Which is another theory of why there's so many rock songs, Mike P being the guitarist for the rock band Zug Izland. But despite that, he didn't too bad with the rap beats. The only complaint besides the guitars are some of his drum kicks sound a little off beat at times, but ICP overflow that so it's hardly noticeable.

Also, this album comes with a DVD which has great concert footage from the Gathering Of The Juggalos 2002. It was a great 30 minutes. I've never seen the Insane Clown Posse live, but this is persuading me. Another version of this album has a DVD which features an ICP seminar. I have yet to see that one.

Here's my individual track ratings.

DISC 1

01. "Thy Intro/Walk Into Thy Light (ft. Jumpsteady)" (A+)
02. "Welcome To Thy Show" (A+)
03. "Get Ya Wicked On" (A+)
04. "Murder Rap" (A+)
05. "Birthday B*t*hes" (B-)
06. "Blaaam!!!" (A)
07. "It Rains Diamonds/B*t*h Slappaz (ft. Blaze Ya Dead Homie)" (A)
08. "Thy Staleness" (A+)
09. "Hell's Forecast" (B+)
10. "Juggalo Homies (ft. Twiztid & Anybody Killa)" (A+)
11. "Ain't Yo Bidness/Soopa Villians (ft. Esham)" (A+)
12. "We Belong" (A+)
13. "Cotton Candy & Popsicles (ft. Zug Izland)" (B)
14. "Crossing Thy Bridge" (D-) (least favorite)
15. "Thy Raven's Mirror" (A-)
16. "Thy Wraith" (D+)
17. "Thy Unveiling" (A+)

DISC 2

DVD (A+)

There it is. I recommend this to all Juggalos, and fans of rock and rap. I wouldn't recommend this to horrorcore rap fans, for there's only about 2 real tracks here I would consider horrorcore. This is a great (and the most important) addition to the Psychopathic Records franchise. It would have gotten a higher rating from me if it were a little darker and had less guitar on it. But that's just me, you'll either love this or hate this album. Peace.

Jumpsteady appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.
Blaze Ya Dead Homie appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.
Twiztid appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.
Anybody Killa appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.
Esham appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.
Zug Izland appears courtesy of Psychopathic Records.

~ Raw Hide

I remember when I took the shrink wrap off of this cd, I couldn't believe that this was 6th Joker's Card. The excitement I felt when I popped it into was cd player was definitely an exciting moment. "Welcome To The Show" is an excellent opening track that gets you pumped up for the rest of the album in the same vein as "Hokus Pokus" on Milenko or like "The Show Must Go On" that opened The Riddle Box. The rest of the album is pretty much hit and miss with me. Some tracks are pretty good, while others are fairly disappointing. Overall, though, I feel that this record has a satisfying finish. I definitely did not see "Thy Unveiling" coming, that was a very pleasant suprise to say the least!

However, it should be noted, the style on this joker's card follows in the same vein as "Bizaar/Bizzar" than "Riddle Box" or "The Great Milenko." If you're expecting old-school ICP, then you're going to be disappointed. Out of all the jokers cards, this one and Carnival of Carnage probably receive the least amount of listening from me.

Top Cuts:

Welcome to the Show

It Rains Diamonds

Juggalo Homies

Cotton Candy & Popsicles

The Wraith

Thy Unveiling