Liar & a Thief (Reviews)

[dagster11]

(my opinion)
Yo, these reviews are coming from people who are listening to these tracks once and giving them a grade. This is exactly why albums are often mis-represented in the reviews (either for better or worse). Now I knew Diabolic was dope going into it, but I have to admit i like it a lot more now than i did when i first heard it, its like that in most cases.

Nevertheless, i give this record a 9/10 with the following as a my favorite tracks.
1. 12 Shots
2. In Common
3. Modern Day Future
4. Frontline

[96_impala_ss]

MY OFFICIAL REVIEW. FUCK THE MAGS THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THIS TYPE OF MUSIC.


01. Stand By - I had no idea what this song was about to be honest. It seems to be one of those songs where Diabolic just rambles on using metaphors. Doesn't really work out. 4.10

02. Frontlines - The song is pretty good. The beat is hot, and Immortal Technique killed it. Diabolic sadly gets out shined by Tech. It's two verses with Diabolic on the first and Tech on the 2nd. As soon as Tech gets on you kinda start feeling the song more, but over all not bad. 7.10

03. Riot - A banger. The beat is perfect, the lyrics are perfect, the hook, excellent. This is where Diabolic shows his skill. If you have heard his other songs in the past before this album, you notice his voice is naturally angry. In this song it works perfect. 10.10

04. Reasons - Good beat but the song starts off to a bad start. Too many metaphors. After the hook you start to get what he's trying to get across. 7.10

05. Soldier's Logic - Pretty good song. Typical Diabolic. Beat was on point and the lyrics were ok. What you expect from Diabolic. 6.10

06. Order & Chaos - "Yeah!! Overthrow the government strap up ready to blow"... Yeah, another one of those. It gets really annoying because he doesn't say why or justifies it. It seems like he is just saying it for the hell to say it or in this case to make a song. Ill Bill's lines were good. What you expect from him. It was hard at first to distinguish who was who but I figured it out before the song was over. Beat was allright. Nothing special. It goes with the theme. 6.10

07. I Don't Want to Rhyme - Beat was Ok. Nothing special. It seems as if Engineer made this at the end of the day when he was tired. The song doesn't really have much meaning other than Diabolic throwing metaphors here and there. A lot of official reviews are ripping the "slash your throat for a pack of smokes if my ass was broke" line, it's not that offensive and I'm pretty sure we've all thought similar ideas to that although never acted on those thoughts. Although personally it seems like a nursery rhyme since it doesn't really make sense (to me anyways) to slash someone's throat for smokes. You would probably stab them but that's another thing. 5.10

08. Truth Pt. II - Much better than the original "Truth" song on the Liar and a Thief EP. The beat is perfect for the subject and it seems as if Diabolic actually tried on this song unlike the previous couple songs which seem to be in Lil Wayne style with the metaphor usage. Although he shouldn't have mentioned Bush. It's old, it's been 2 years now and people need to move on. Obama isn't doing shit, Diabolic shouldn't have called him out on it. 8.10

09. Nicolai Ros to the Goul (Interlude) - Interlude... Don't really get it. Something about an immigrant looking for where Diabolic rapped or something. But it is an interlude and it is just to fill up space. For that I will not rate it since no one will be listening to it anyways.

10. Not Again - Good beat. Good song overall. Vinnie was on level with Diabolic. No outshining the other here. Pretty smooth song. Only thing that didn't make sense to me was why it is called Not Again when they rap about Catholics. Oh well, it happens. A lot of good metaphors thrown in and this time they make sense and not just there to make a song. 9.10

11. Loose Cannon - Good beat, good lines. Diabolic isn't trying hard but he's not bored/tired. Catchy hook. Don't know if it should be a good thing but whatever. Pretty good song overall. 8.10

12. 12 Shots - Another Gem in this album. Beat is perfect Diabolic actually tries and doesn't just throw metaphors here and there for the hell of them. Nate Augustus Enhances the song with the hook, he doesn't take away from Diabolic's shine. 10.10

13. In Common - Perfect beat and Canibus ripped it. Diabolic did okay. Canibus didn't outshine Diabolic and the feature was ok. Good song overall just nothing really special. I'd drive around listening to it though. 9.10

14. Modern Day Future - Good beat. Goes with the song. Diabolic at its best. Nothing negative about this song, and it's pretty mellow considering the message in it. Deadly Hunta only enhances the song which is good. 10.10

15. Behind Bars - Perfection. Good beat good lyrics. Pretty deep. 10.10 Nuff said!

16. Right Here - Good beat Good lyrics. 9.10 The last song. Pretty good way to end the CD.

17. Self Destruction - Pretty funny for an outro. I expected a last song but that was actually funny when he says all that shit. Not gonna rate it since its an outro.

Overall this CD is worth the purchase, but there will be songs that will be skipped. At first I thought this is just like the mixtape which got old pretty fast and kinda made me dislike the dude a bit. After listening to this album, I see why I got interested in him in the first place. He does sound obnoxious and off key at times with his tone of voice, but all albums have duds. I think the magazines rip on it because it is not Lil Wayne esque. For what it is I give the album a 7.10 Get it and bump it in the car!

[Gezus]

^ wow, in depth review (which is nice) but you mentioned a lot about how you didn't understand something or he didn't explain or justify himself... those are things you find on your own man . not to be harsh but don't rate a song if you don't understand it . me myself am still trying to decipher some stuff. get exactly what he is saying. & who doesn't like metaphors or similes? they play a huge part in the rap game... lol anyways i liked your review for the most part. you didnt just go "oh, well it sucked" or "it is the shit man!" & you kept it real. rep+

[96_impala_ss]

Thanks man. I thought someone had to do it. Someone needed to represent him in the underground and not the pompous asses that promote dumb rap. As far as the don't get the message that's because its punch line metaphor punchline metaphor. So then I think what's the point or is it just a filler. The thing I hate bout Diabolic is that sometimes he throws metaphors just to throw them out. Like i said he does a Lil wayne. That dude has mad issues with metaphors. Every verse is a metaphor. It's annoying. To hear Diabolic use that technique in some of his songs is annoying and takes away from the song.

[Gezus]

^ yea i understand. but i love metaphors

[96_impala_ss]

I do too but when the timing is right. Tech uses metaphors correctly. He says something and compares it then says what ever and doesnt use another one until it is necessary. It may be me but Diabolic uses them a lot more for the hell of em. B)

---

No shade smiley here?

[Gezus]

^ yea very true. Tech definitely knows how to use them a lot better. and when to use them and how ofter. very true man.

[Trooper]

Here are my thoughts on the album...

Technically, that is, in terms of flow, rhyme pattern, multies, microphone presence, punchlines etc. it's pretty effing crazy. But what brings the album down a few notches for me is the lack of lyrical diversity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in for hardcore grimy lyrics, but in Diabolic's case for some reason a lot of the songs, despite having crazy lyrics, seem to blur in together. They don't stand out on their own. This maybe be because of a few reasons: his rhyme pattern, despite being very complex gets repetitive after a point. This could've been avoided by having different type of beats, which brings me to my next point: beat selection. If he had chosen beats with different drum lines it would've challenged him to switch up his flow more often. That way the songs would've stayed fresh.

I expected a little more diversity in the lyrics department, because I know the dude can rip it any style. One of the stand out songs, 12 Shots, is a great example. This is probably one of my favorites from the album. He could've easily replaced a lot of the "angry-pissed off-broke-on the edge" persona-based songs with some conceptual and introspective ones. That really would've helped bring balance to the album. I thought he went a little overboard with the angry rhymes.

I wouldn't have pointed out these issues if it were an album by, say, AOTP, because I know that hardcore image is all they have. But in Diabolic's case I know it for a fact that he can expand beyond the angry lyrics. Songs like 12 Shots, Modern Day Future, Order & Chaos serves as evidence to that.

In the end, I still would put Liar & A Thief as one of the best albums to come out this year, so far. But knowing Diabolic's talent and potential on the mic, I'm left wanting for a little more diversity.

[Enzo]

(04-08-2010 01:34 AM)96_impala_ss Wrote:  01. Stand By - I had no idea what this song was about to be honest. It seems to be one of those songs where Diabolic just rambles on using metaphors. Doesn't really work out. 4.10

The name of the track "Stand By" is a pretty good indication of what its about lol It's there to act as an intro to get the listener hyped up for the album we been waiting for for so fuckin long, and it fuckin works, the track is an abosolute banger, soon as i heard it my jaw hit the fuckin floor, i knew we were in for something special. Theres nothing wrong with metaphors man, its a skill, not many rappers in the game can bring it to the level diabolic does, thats one of the best things about him, his wordplay is exceptional, you wont even catch-on to some of the rhymes he says until you listened to the album several times. Its a good track, not amazing, i think he should of done better with lyrics, not feelin the first verse, second verse is the highlight of the track for me though. 7/10.

I will probably do a full review sometime soon, i just had to comment on what you wrote there.

[Gezus]

^ agreed.

[Enzo]

Review: http://abovegroundmagazine.com/reviews/0...d-a-thief/

[96_impala_ss]

(04-12-2010 08:20 PM)Lorenzo Wrote:  

(04-08-2010 01:34 AM)96_impala_ss Wrote:  01. Stand By - I had no idea what this song was about to be honest. It seems to be one of those songs where Diabolic just rambles on using metaphors. Doesn't really work out. 4.10

The name of the track "Stand By" is a pretty good indication of what its about lol It's there to act as an intro to get the listener hyped up for the album we been waiting for for so fuckin long, and it fuckin works, the track is an abosolute banger, soon as i heard it my jaw hit the fuckin floor, i knew we were in for something special. Theres nothing wrong with metaphors man, its a skill, not many rappers in the game can bring it to the level diabolic does, thats one of the best things about him, his wordplay is exceptional, you wont even catch-on to some of the rhymes he says until you listened to the album several times. Its a good track, not amazing, i think he should of done better with lyrics, not feelin the first verse, second verse is the highlight of the track for me though. 7/10.

I will probably do a full review sometime soon, i just had to comment on what you wrote there.

Yeah, but to me it was "I know I did not wait 2 years for that album to drop only to hear this repetitive bullshit". No offence or anything. I'm not saying metaphors are bad, but the way he uses them could be enhanced. He throws them in very randomly and annoyingly. He does have some good metaphors, I'm not going to lie, but at the same time it seems he tries to make up for the fact he can't really go very lyrical by trying to sound smart. Not that he's a bad rapper, but it seems he can't really go complex.

I mean, I'm a Diabolic fan, but you know there's just a certain style you expect from him and him not delivering makes you irritated. I have the Foul Play Mixtape too and the same thing happened. Some songs are good others are repetitive.