Mac Lethal - Irish Goodbye (2011)

Whenever the going gets tough and I'm no longer able to waste my days listening to music, watching shitty teen comedies and eating chocolate, but instead have to wake up early, do a ton of school work and go to bed late at night... I forgot where I was going with this.

Oh, right! I was going to say that whenever things get hectic or I get upset for whatever reason, I can always count on Uncle Mac to lift my spirits. 11:11 is Mac Lethal being young, crazy and always in a party mood. North Korean BBQ is Mac Lethal being dealt a bad hand at life, fighting a whole bunch of demons and trying to stay alive. Irish Goodbye, however, is Mac Lethal having triumphed over most of that shit, being slightly older, much wiser and content with living life one day at a time, taking as many lazy Sundays as he wants.

As such, Irish Goodbye is an album overflowing with positive mental attitude and pretty much my ultimate feel-good music ever. Without doing a tedious song-by-song analysis, I'd just like to point out the breadth of issues/life facts/nonsense/day-to-day happenings that Mac tackles on this release. Whether he's talking about his career, his boring life, his old job, his clothes, his favorite dishes, beer, wine, whiskey (well, he is actually Irish, after all...), getting fucked up in the morning because what the hell, drinking at night to fall asleep, his dreams, his wishes, his fantasies, his grandparents, the Westboro Baptist Church, love, death, staying motivated, working hard, happiness and a million other things barely contained within his lyrics, Mac always does so with confidence, clarity, humor and, above all, total honesty. Which is what anyone who has been following him over time has learned to expect from him.

I'm not very competent at describing technical aspects when it comes to hip-hop, but Irish Goodbye is definitely Mac Lethal's most polished and rich album to date. Seven's beats are stellar, the production is crisp and lively - and he recorded this at home, mind you - and Mac's vocal delivery is top-notch, especially his flow and fantastic choruses, for which he has had a penchant ever since the release of his first album.

The rest, as they say, is history. Mac Lethal is now bigger than ever, but he's still doing goofy fast rap videos in his living room and spending way too much time on Facebook. He's doing great, which leads me to believe that his mysterious next album, due to release this year, is going to completely blow me over and I'll probably have to get a plane straight to Kansas, take him out for some buffalo wings and thank him for all of his hard work. I'm gonna catch this dream before I die, bitch!

Chester's Top 10 Most Highly Anticipated Albums of 2013

Following the list of my favorite album covers of 2012, I would like to continue the prelude to TZEEEAC's listmania with a list of the albums I'm most looking forward to hearing in 2013. It's already shaping up to be a great year for metal, so here's a look at some sweet stuff bound for release sometime during the following 12 months.

1. Arctic Monkeys - ????

First up, Sheffield pimply-faced-teenagers-turned-world-famous-rock-stars Arctic Monkeys are going to release the follow-up to 2011's Suck It and See. As drummer Matt Helders' mum confirmed via Tweeter, the lads are in the desert, recording their new album. Frontman Alex Turner said the band is going in a heavier direction with the new songs, so it'll be interesting to see what they understand by "heavy". It'll probably be fucking great, anyway.

2. Cynic - ????

One of my all-time favorite bands, Cynic is set to put out a new album in early 2013. Guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal spoke about the new album and the direction in which the band is going:

“It’s almost like, I don’t know how to explain it, but if I had to put it in a box it’s more sci-fi, futuristic and alien but at the same time very song driven. It’s kind of like, to me, coming into Cynic’s body more. It feels very modern and at the same time it just feels really cool. I’m big in the space. It’s definitely new. It’s not like anything we’ve done before. It’s a new colour, a new space. I think people will really take note of even the guitar stuff. I’m really shifting gears, I’m trying things in a different way and the way stuff is played. It’s a new space for Cynic for sure. It definitely sounds like us, except completely new.”

There is no way in hell I won't love whatever they come up with, so I'm definitely eager to listen to this one.

3. Darkthrone - The Underground Resistance

This right here is the cover for Darkthrone's new album, about which the band says it'll be more "epic", "basically just metal" and a "step away from the last album as usual". Sounds good to me. Bring it!

4. Ghost - Infestissumam

Ghost are also gearing up for the release of their sophomore album in Spring 2013. The band says they're going for a lavish, divine atmosphere, which I'm guessing probably means a whole lot of keyboards and eerie intros. Anyway, I'm excited about this. There's even a track listing, which goes as follows:

1. INFESTISSUMAM
2. PER ASPERA AD INFERI
3. SECULAR HAZE
4. JIGOLO HAR MEGIDDO
5. GHULEH / ZOMBIE QUEEN
6. YEAR ZERO
7. IDOLATRINE
8. BODY AND BLOOD
9. DEPTH OF SATAN’S EYES
10. MONSTRANCE CLOCK

5. Mac Lethal - ????

Mac Lethal is pretty much my favorite rapper right now and he's always posting shit about his forthcoming album on his Facebook page. It's always vague, ambiguous shit, but he swears it's going to be awesome and I believe him. I can't wait to see what's he going to come up with this time. In the meantime, he keeps making these fast rap videos about current issues, which is cool, I guess. I just wish he'd stop wearing those stupid glasses.

6. Scale the Summit - ????

Progressive instrumental metal outfit Scale the Summit have begun writing songs for an upcoming new album. Their last album, The Collective, was basically flawless, so I have high hopes for this. Not much else is known at this point, so fingers crossed it's going to turn out as good as I expect it will.

7. Suffocation - Pinnacle of Bedlam

Even if nothing works out for them in 2013, at least Suffocation's new album will have a kickass cover. The guys have released a new song which will be on Pinnacle of Bedlam, and I will hopefully manage to embed it below. 

8. Summoning - ????

The news came out of the blue: Tolkien loremasters Silenius and Protector, alias Summoning, have announced that they have finished writing a bunch of songs and are beginning the recording process for their new album, set to release next year via Napalm Death. I honestly thought these guys quit music forever and they'd never release anything ever again, so I am fucking STOKED about this. SUMMONING, EVERYONE! BACK AT IT!

9. Tumbleweed Dealer - ????

Up-and-coming Canadian stoner bros Tumbleweed Dealer have caught my attention with their debut 3-song EP Death Rides Southwards, which you can listen and download at Moshpit Tragedy. Now, the guys have begun working on a full-length album that will be fueled by beer and weed, so I'm confident that it will turn out to be great.

10. Void Forger - ????

Last up, Romanian crust/black/doom mongers Void Forger are probably (hopefully) going to release an EP or an album, sometime next year. This is the only new release in my Top 10 that's not been officially confirmed by anyone in the band, so I guess this last alphabetical entry is sort of wishful thinking. Until further updates, you would do well to take a peek around their Bandcamp page and listen to their demo. It'll take you places.

FURTHER UPDATE: Void Forger's drummer Volo has confirmed that they will indeed release a 7" EP next year. YA BOI!


So there you have it, folks, a brief look at the albums and bands I will be most excited about in 2013. I will probably be gushing with excitement over every one of these, so get ready for some top-grade fanboy posts. You have been warned.

Mac Lethal - 11:11 (2007)

I've finally come to terms with the fact that Mac Lethal is my favorite rapper ever. For some time, the title was contested between him and Romanian psychedelic hip-hoppers Specii (whose debut album was masterfully reviewed by nerd queen Alina here), but they've since become Christian rappers or something, so Mac Lethal swooped in and stole their place in my tiny hip-hop heart space.

North Korean BBQ was one of my favorite 2011 releases by this Kansas-born rapper and it had a homemade feel to it, with rather simplistic beats and a casual approach to his personal, sentimental lyrics. Shortly after, Irish Goodbye came and established itself as his most professional album to date, with exquisite beats and a positive, live-and-let-live, be-the-best-that-you-can-be kind of attitude. So where does that leave his debut album, 11:11?

Well, it's certainly the most generic album this pale rapper has ever recorded, but it is also the most funnest. Mac's young age of 25 at the date this album was written means that he hasn't become as concerned with relationships and heartbreak as he will be on later releases. In fact, there are very few statements made on the subject, the most blatant one being that he plans to remain single forever. Now it's 2012 and he's married. How people and minds change in just 5 short years!

Wardrobes, too. CHECK DEM GLASSES.

Most of the songs on 11:11 are cheerful affairs. Mac Lethal talks about his Kansan accent, veganism, eating cereal for dinner, atheism, smoking weed, drinking beer, self-absorbed women, being loyal to his fanbase, asking Bjork to buy him a car, receiving a whole lot of money from a Nigerian president, wearing an Old Dirty Bastard t-shirt and how much he loves his native Kansas City. All these in a clear, confident voice which makes him and his stories really easy to listen to. Judging by the booming beats and the SICK BASS, I would say that this is definitely his most accessible album to the common rap fan. Hell, there's even a bombastic beer drinking anthem halfway through the album. If this isn't the lowest common denominator, I don't know what is.

11:11 is a glimpse into Mac Lethal's beginnings, long before he became a jaded guy fed up with life and even longer before he pieced everything back together and started thinking life is like the dopest shit ever again. It's just an honest hip-hop album from a young guy who had just recovered from some serious emotional trauma and who hadn't yet experienced all the shit and happiness life can throw at you. It's fun, it's playful, it's serious at times and it makes me wanna do wiggerish arm movements whenever I listen to it. Which is pretty much every day for the past two weeks.

Mac Lethal - North Korean BBQ Mixtape (2011)

BANDCAMP

Până acum câteva zile, numele de Mac Lethal nu-mi spunea nimic. Nici măcar nu-l asociam cu videoclipurile sale virale de pe youtube, care au reuşit să treacă pe lângă mine cu graţie. Am fost însă surprins să-l văd pe lista de final de an a unuia din site-urile pe care le urmăresc constant şi am fost intrigat, aşa că am intrat repede pe pagina de bandcamp a tipului şi am dat play. Am fost blown-away.

Asta pentru că ultimul său album, North Korean BBQ, nu seamănă cu niciun alt album hip-hop pe care l-am ascultat vreodată. Numeroşi rapperi vorbesc despre târfe, trafic de arme şi droguri, lupte între găşti rivale şi bijuterii scumpe. Mac Lethal, însă, este un tip alb din Kansas care a împlinit 30 de ani şi care simte cum întreaga viaţă începe să i se ducă la vale. Unii rapperi glorifică drogurile şi le consideră o necesitate absolută pentru a fi gangsta. Mac Lethal le vede ca pe o modalitate prin care adulţii încearcă să facă faţă rahatului pe care soarta li-l aruncă zilnic în faţă. MTV ne-a învăţat că rap-ul este un instrument prin care poţi aduna case enorme şi colecţii de maşini. Pentru Mac Lethal, este ceea ce îl ajută să se menţină pe linia de plutire şi să n-o ia razna complet.  Exagerările tipice genului muzical pe care îl abordează nu îşi găsesc loc în munca lui şi preferă să vorbească în termeni simpli şi realişti despre viaţa, relaţiile şi dependenţele lui, aşa cum le trăieşte zi de zi.

North Korean BBQ este un album extrem de personal şi asta se vede dureros de clar. Therapy for Gangsters deschide albumul cu o mărturie deprimantă a trăirilor cu care se confruntă zilnic Mac:

I'd rather feel sadness than feel nothing

A knot up in your stomach means 

That something real's coming

I'd rather feel that than feel nothing. 

Sometimes I break down and cry

When I think about my dad's death

But my dad isn't dead, he's alive.

Tot pe Therapy for Gangsters, frustrarea de a fi considerat ceva ce nu este iese la suprafaţă prin versurile "Just cuz I got the white boy voice and some big words, don't mean I'm a poet, no, I'm a gangsta!". War Drum este o revărsare cathartică a tot ceea ce a învăţat Mac Lethal până în acest punct al vieţii sale, observând cu ironie "The opposite of love isn't hate, the opposite of love is indifference" şi mărturisindu-şi cu sinceritate defectele şi tot ceea ce nu-i place la el: 

Sometimes I'm such a grumpy old thing

That I take a bump of cocaine just to lubricate me socially

[...]

It's never been a secret that I go from hot to freezer with my moods

I'm Odd pare un extras dintr-un monolog susţinut pe canapeaua psihologului, în care Mac Lethal exprimă cu disperare temerile sale cele mai profunde şi sentimentul de neputinţă cu care se confruntă în fiecare zi:

I swear to god, I'm scared shitless.
Stuck on these mountains, and they're cliffless.
No place for me to jump, no audience to bear witness.
Their interest, has dwindled down to glimpses.

[...]

I'm comfortable surrounded by addiction.
See, I don't even wait for 5 o'clock.
Lately I just wake up.
 Eat my lunch, make a drink, roll some pot and then I just quit.

[...]

Kids always think they're smarter than adults, til they grow up and they realize life is harder as adults.
(It's what happened to me, dude.)

Citrus este o analiză la rece a modului în care se poate degrada şi denatura o relaţie între două persoane, iar conceptul este dus şi mai departe pe Shannon, o piesă pe care mă simt aproape incomod să o ascult, fiind atât de intensă şi personală încât pare o confesiune în faţa sinelui:

I threw a hundred dollar bill into the wishing well

Pictured you and whispered to myself that I wish you well

Because I wish you well

[...]

I'm gonna take a deep breath and close my eyes

And by the time I open'em I hope I realise

That I'm over you

Toate aceste sentimente şi mărturii devastatoare sunt însă contrabalansate în mod inteligent cu mici izbucniri de speranţă şi optimism, cum este Raise the Dead, care se constituie atât într-o acceptare a sinelui, cât şi într-o celebrare a vieţii: 

And that's the reason people own pets

Unconditional love can mean no stress

I'm so stressed

And I'm not perfect

I admit that I'm not perfect

[...]

My nephew is autistic but he's such a precious person

That I wouldn't make him normal even if I could

[..]

I'm alive cuz there's nothing else to do

I drank a little whiskey and realized

All the pain is cuz of you

[...]

My cousin is a lesbian but not a thing is wrong with her

I wanna make her happier but I don't think I could

Este evident deja (sper) că Mac Lethal este un artist complet diferit faţă de majoritatea celor care populează sfera asta muzicală. Chiar dacă introduce, ocazional, lovituri la adresa haterilor şi insistă să-şi apere şi să-şi justifice cariera, muzica lui este sentimentală, emoţională şi, mai presus de toate, originală. Pentru că poate ne-am săturat să ascultăm acelaşi gangsta rap materialist ca acum douăzeci de ani şi avem nevoie de evoluţie sau, măcar, de o schimbare de perspectivă.

Mac Lethal nu mai este pentru mine un nume necunoscut, ci dovada că rap-ul poate însemna şi altceva: substanţă, profunzime, trăiri intense şi personale şi, mai presus de toate, sinceritate.