Dark Lotus- The Mud, Water, Air and Blood

Dark Lotus has long been held as one of the greatest underground super groups. Underground heavyweights ICP, Twiztid, and Blaze returned with The Mud, Water, Air, and Blood at the 15^th Gathering of the Juggalos. While other members came and went these five petals of the lotus represent the core of this group. This latest album is the fourth put out by the group and the first one in the last six years. Did this long awaited album live up to the hype or did it fail to meet expectations?   Track listing

1. The Mud, Water, Air, and Blood
2. Garden Of Evil
3. My Head Is Haunted
4. Death In A Jar
5. The Mud
6. Debbie In The Dark
7. Morbid
8. My Kinda Party
9. Price Of Life
10. The Water
11. Villainous Ft ABK
12. 45 Minutes
13. Coagulate
14. The Air
15. The Drought
16. Let It Rain

  Track by track review and rating   The Mud, Water, Air, and Blood- A short intro track that has a decent beat and very catchy “hook.” Spoken word over makes it a nice start to the album. N/A Garden Of Evil- A dark, slow but driving beat runs this track. The first two verses are Blaze and Shaggy. Both guys do this track justice. The hook is off the chain and easy to get into immediately. The next two verses are by Madrox and J and they also perform them very well. The last is Monoxide. He destroys his verse and brings this track to a solid conclusion. 4.5/5 My Head Is Haunted- A very slow melodic beat drives this track.Mono leads this track off and kills his verse. Violent J is next and gives a solid but rather simplistic verse that leads into a hook which works with the beat. Madrox and Shaggy fill in the next two verses and they all do very well in keeping with the theme. Blaze ends the track with a verse that is good. 3.5/5 Death In A Jar- A much different beat than most listeners are used to from the group but it adds a nice dimension to the album at this point. Shaggy leads the track with a very solid verse. Mono comes next with the signature quicker flow we have come to expect from him recently. The hook is simple but very nicely done. Blaze hit the third verse with his slow but effective flow. Madrox is next and also brings his newer quick flow but it works well against Blaze’s flow. Violent J finishes the track with a verse that struggles to equal the level of the other artists here. 4/5 The Mud- An interlude here explaining the mud aspect of the album. Short 50 second interlude. N/A Debbie In The Dark- A smooth beat back a track completely dedicated to gang banging “Debbie” in the dark. Blaze leads the track and gives a good verse. He passes the track to J who adds a verse that could have been much more solid. Mono is next and gives another solid verse. Shaggy comes next and also gives a very solid verse. Madrox is last and his verse is good. 3.5/5 Morbid- A complex dark beat in this one. J finally gives a verse that kills it. Mono is next and continues the theme and darkness in this one. The hook is simple but works. Shaggy is next and gives a dark verse which works very well here. Blaze is next and gives a verse which falls a little short. Madrox is next and gives a wicked verse. 4.5/5 My Kinda Party- This is the only single released before the album was released. The beat is very similar to Rhymin and Stealing by the Beastie Boys. Shaggy leads this one off and gets the party started. Monoxide absolutely slaughters his verse. The hook is simple and easy to sing along with. Blaze slows the flow down over a stripped down beat to start but it works. Once the beat kicks back in his flow speeds up and he ends his verse solid. Madrox destroys his verse in this one. J gives listeners a slow verse that works for the most part. 4.5/5 Price Of Life- The beat is very simple and the hook is a strange hybrid of singing and rapping. The concept of the song is an intriguing idea of having to pay for your life. Mono and J lead the track off and their verses guide the concept well. Blaze and Madrox hit it next and continue the concept by adding their plan in this circumstance. Shaggy closes this one out with another solid effort. 4/5 The Water- A 36 second interlude about water. N/A Villainous Ft ABK- The sixth petal of the Lotus is added in this track. A piano backs a slow driving beat. J leads the track off with a wicked verse. Blaze comes in second here with another well done effort. The hook is mostly singing but it goes well with the sound and beat. Madrox and Shaggy add two more verses that are very well done. Mono comes in next with a disjointed verse that somehow works. ABK ends the track and shows why he is always welcome in the group. A dope track from start to finish. 4.5/5 45 Minutes- A very stripped down beat here. J and Blaze start this one. They both give a nice effort. The hook is sung once again but it is nicely put together. Shaggy’s verse is much slower but it works with the beat. Mono is next with a quick pointed flow, a nice shift in pace. Madrox and J finish the track with solid verses. 4/5 Coagulate- A complex and hard hitting beat in this track. Mono and J lead the track. Mono gives a much better verse than J here. The hook is repetitive but it fits. Madrox’s verse flows too much with the beat here. Blaze gives a very good verse which dances around the beat. Shaggy and J end the track with two decent verses. 4/5 The Air- 28 second interlude about the air. N/A The Drought- A much more melodic beat in this one. Blaze kicks it off with a slow verse that sets the tone for the track. Madrox comes in next with a slow verse that works well and lets the message of the lyrics come through. He also sings the hook which works with the overall tone here. Shaggy and J come next and give slower verses that also push the message. Mono has the quickest flow in this track to close out the track. 4.5/5 Let It Rain- Another stripped down beat here. This track is one the fans will feel fits with everything Dark Lotus is about. All of the guys give solid verses and allow the calm but refreshing vibe to come through. The hook is catchy and makes the track flow together well. 5/5   Overall Album Rating: 4.2/5   Conclusion: After six years Dark Lotus returns with an album worthy of their anthology. With the exception of two tracks, My Head Is Haunted and Debbie in the Dark, the whole album is very easy to listen to front to back. Even those two tracks didn’t fall too short of the mark here. Any fan of this group should pick it up and give it a try. It is good to finally see the rise of the Lotus once again. Questions have been raised if this is the last time fans will see this group together, if it is this is a great album to end it all with.