Armed To The Teeth [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Swollen Members

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 2009)
• Original Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Suburban Noize
• ASIN: B002CLBJWI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,183 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2009 release from the Hip Hop outfit. Swollen Members have risen to the top of the underground Hip Hop scene with a series of classic albums that have made them one of the genre's brightest rising stars. Founded by two of the game's best MCs, Mad Child and Prevail, along with the help of DJ Rob The Viking, Swollen Members have created a huge fan base while staying completely independent under their own label Battle Axe Records. Swollen had taken a break over the past few years while Mad Child dealt with drug addiction and some legal issues, but, the group has come back stronger than ever with Armed To The Teeth, which features guest appearances from Talib Kweli and Tech N9NE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Half and Half, October 27, 2009

By	Alexander Cue (Cedar Falls) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a huge fan of Swollen Members, I was mildly put off by the haphazard collection of tracks on AT3. The dark sound is where Swollen Members have always killed it, and the instrumentation is so integral. Putting the same lame-sounding Pro Tools guitar riff in Warrior and Pornstar is weak work by Rob the Viking. They mess with auto-tune on Flyest, and it's hard to tell if they are satirizing the industry or trying for a more commercial sound; either way, it's out of place on a SM record. Certified Dope, Bollywood Chick and Pornstar suffer from lame choruses/hooks, which make it hard to enjoy the verses.

That said, their sound is tight as hell on Here We Come, Kyla, Meltdown, Funeral March and Concerto. The dark synth/harpsichord/cello/piano sound stands out especially on the closing track. I appreciate Mad Child's story on My Life and the beat is sick, but they're not compatible. The beat belongs in a party song, and the lyrics deserve something dark, like the beat from Prisoner of Doom. Bang Bang has a great party riff, and really showcases Battle Axe's newest member, Tre Nyce, but the duo really stand out on Lonely One; their flow is as tight as ever.

The disc also includes Reclaim The Throne (meh) and Red Dragon, an old track from Monsters In The Closet with a new verse by Moka Only. The verse is sick, but not worth repurchasing in my opinion. All the guest spots are integrated well, and Mad Child/Prevail match each line for line in terms of ability. Treat this as a stop-gap between Black Magic and the in-progress Beautiful Death Machine, and cherry pick the diamonds out of this. Trust me, you won't be missing much.

Cop it::
Here We Come
Kyla
Bang Bang
Meltdown
My Life
Posse Cut
Lonely One
Funeral March
Concerto

Drop it::
Warrior
Pornstar
Flyest
Certified Dope
Bollywood Chick
Red Dragon (only because it's a rehash; this track still sounds good 7 years later!)
Reclaim The Throne

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very inconsistent, October 28, 2009

By	Vorian "phuturistic" - See all my reviews

I agree w/ Alexander Cue that this album is massively inconsistent. He's listed the best tracks, which, not coincidentally are the ones that stay closest to the Swollen sound that they have worked hard to establish over the years. Dark with thoughtful yet brooding lyrics, these are very good tracks. It's the rest of the tracks that I have issues with.

First, there's Red Dragon. I actually like this track quite a bit. However, it was released on the Monsters in the Closet album. No point in having a track on the album that's already been released.

As for the rest of the tracks, they really veer away from the Swollen sound. Lost is the darker sound w/ good lyrics. Instead, they often seem to exemplify what's wrong with hip hop, namely a reliance on cursing, being derogatory towards women, and worst yet, promoting drug use. Sadly, with the drug use, Mad Child is the biggest culprit. He really doesn't need to brag about what drugs he's mixed together. That doesn't make for a good track. It just sounds like he's trying to justify what sounds like an impressive drug habit.

Otherwise, Prevail does a good job for the most part and the production isn't bad. Also, there's the addition of Tre Nyce of some of the tracks. His voice really isn't all that nice and typically detracts from the track.

Overall, if you like Swollen Members listen to the album and download the tracks you care for. The album itself isn't worth buying.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Half Swollen - Half Mainstream - Hence the 3 stars., October 28, 2009

By	Mick Swenson (Salem, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been a die-hard Swollen Members fan since their first publicly released album - Balance. They are a unique "dark" hip-hop sound with some thoughtful "lyrical wealth" in their songs. They have typically stayed away from the mainstream rap that only objectifies women and brags about how awesome and rich the said rapper is. Half of their album has stayed true to this image. The tracks that are all original Swollen Members are - Kyla, My Life, Concerto, Lonely One, Funeral March, and Meltdown. The other stuff is decent if you're into the more popular mainstream rappers, but they don't sound anything like the original Swollen Members. As a Swollen Members fanatic since the beginning, I was frankly disappointed with most of the album, but like the other reviews have said, there are a few redeeming tracks on the album that act as a respirator for the strangled and dying Swollen style on this album. Hopefully the next one sounds more like SM and less like Lil' Wayne or T-Pain, which is who this new Tre Nyce (who has apparently been added to the group in sort of a round-about way) reminds me of. If you're looking for some original Swollen Members I would recommend the albums Black Magic, Heavy, or Balance.