According to the gospel of the Dark Carnival, mankind has to endure a beginning and an ending in the cycle of life. How many good and evil deeds an individual acts upon will ultimately determine his/her fate after death. The eternal bliss of Shangri-La’s diamond paradise is awarded to those who choose to walk the path of discipline and worship.
On the opposite end, the punishing flames of Hell’s Pit inflict endless suffering to people who immerse themselves in hedonism and non-belief. In the center of this volatile universe is a blossoming flower; a simple Lotus of the Night that grows in sacred soil. Although the Dark Lotus can be used to cleanse the mind and heart of all mortal sins, its mysterious power is said to be both sinister and serene.
I remember the many weeks when I anticipated the release of 2001’s “Tales from the Lotus Pod” which at the time came out through Psychopathic Records 3 long years before “The Wraith,” the Insane Clown Posse’s sixth Joker’s Card. When I finally found the CD in an FYE store in New Jersey (where I lived at the time), the jewel case cover art bearing the shiny red cross was quite mysterious. No photographs, no printed lyrics, no parental advisory warning sticker…AND NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Trust me when I tell you this album is an underground masterpiece of occult rap conceived by artists ICP, Twiztid, Blaze, and Marz. From start to finish, “Tales from the Lotus Pod,” the first of three discs recorded by Dark Lotus thus far, is a fascinating horrorcore collaboration that no other act can imitate. Warning all Juggalos of the crumbling of time itself, the CD’s 14 tracks lyrically assault the ears with extreme violence while embracing mystical elements of the Bible, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and ancient folklore. Get ready to fall into a bottomless pit of bodily dismemberments, eyeball removal, and gleeful self-mutilation. With chugging heavy metal guitar riffs blending nicely with the severe hip-hop beats and backward masking, “Tales from the Lotus Pod” is a ritual that rides the perilous blood rapids toward an unspeakable world beyond; a wildly imaginative realm submerged in terror and enlightenment.
Here are a few malevolent highlights a sick masochist can look forward to. “Ali Baba” takes listeners on a magic carpet ride through a Great Pyramids, where the secrets of the Carnival are locked away. In “Cripple and Rape Me,” the rappers teeter to the brink of insanity, desperately suppressing the growing desire to kill and dismember unsuspecting citizens. “Hurt Myself” will painfully stab conservative listeners like pins inserted into voodoo doll. Razors, knives, and other sharp objects are used in a skull-cracking dance of padded rooms and bloodletting. The melodic “Call Upon Your God” changes the mood by addressing how the average man doesn’t pray to the Almighty until the final hour of his existence. In the grimy streets Detroit, where every bullet is glorified in the media, hoodlums and drug dealers abandon their faith before feeling the cold clutch of Death’s hand. “And We Danced” is a raunchy, rotting offering of necrophiliac, new wave techno. Here, five children of the Lotus, after enjoying a full meal of alcohol and hallucinogens, begin dancing with a group of ravishing cadavers. This number is followed by “Black Magic,” a boiling cauldron that holds a vortex of monkey blood and hexes. Goth freaks will savor the “Taste of Blood,” a vampire dance mix that takes a bite out of the mainstream jugular. “Headache” is a sterilized nightmare in which demons try to possess innocent victims shaking on their hospital beds, prolonging the agony of cold sweat and insomnia. “Think I’m Sexy” is a funny and vulgar spoof of Rod Stewart’s only disco hit. It’s perfect ear candy for topless Juggalettes. “Fire Rain” is a brutal rock anthem that signals the coming of Armageddon. “The Crows,” a chilling tale that flutters on a pair of black wings, foreshadows the arrival of The Wraith. Flocks of these horrid birds create silhouettes that block out the glittering stars of night’s blanket.
GET ON YOUR KNEES AND PRAY, LOTUS IS YOUR JUDGEMENT DAY!
http://waww.myspace.com/darklotus
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