Skull & Bones [PA]

Performer: Cypress Hill
Artist: Eminem; Noreaga; Everlast
Engineer: Troy Staton; Michael Barbiero
Producer: Muggs
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: SKULL & BONES contains a "Skull" disc featuring hip-hop tracks, and a "Bones" disc featuring rock tracks. Cypress Hill: Eric Bobo (rap vocals, drums); B-Real, Sen Dog, DJ Muggs (rap vocals). Additional personnel includes: Eminem, Noreaga, Everlast (vocals); Reggie Stewart (guitar, bass); Andy Zambrano, Mike Fingers, Rogelio Lozano, Dino Cazares (guitar); Christian Olde Wolbers, Jeremy Fleener (bass); Brad Wilk (drums). SKULL & BONES contains a "Skull" disc featuring hip-hop tracks, and a "Bones" disc featuring rock tracks. Cypress Hill: Eric Bobo (rap vocals, drums); B-Real, Sen Dog, DJ Muggs (rap vocals). Additional personnel includes: Eminem, Noreaga, Everlast (vocals); Reggie Stewart (guitar, bass); Andy Zambrano, Mike Fingers, Rogelio Lozano, Dino Cazares (guitar); Christian Olde Wolbers, Jeremy Fleener (bass); Brad Wilk (drums). Personnel: Dino Cazares, Andy Zambrano, Reggie Stewart, Rogelio Lozano (guitar); Eric Bobo, Brad Wilk (drums). Recording information: Ameraycan Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Larrabee Studios. Despite the best efforts of DJ Muggs, Cypress Hill ran out of gas fairly quickly, entering a tailspin as soon as their third album. Back at full strength with the return of Sen Dog, Cypress Hill devised a full-scale comeback with their fifth album, Skull & Bones. The idea behind the album was to divide it into two -- a hip-hop disc ("Skull") and a rock disc ("Bones"). This would guarantee some publicity, at the very least, and, hopefully, it would win over the new generation of adolescents who flipped for rap-metal acts like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit. On paper, it's a sound theory, but there was a slight flaw -- the group is kind of lame when they rock. Their band is competent enough, and B Real's voice does sound good with overdriven guitars, but their rock songs utterly fall apart, since they have no hooks, no catchy riffs, and no character. If rap-metal was all there was to Skull & Bones, it would be a bit of an embarrassment. Fortunately, the "Skulls" disc is their finest effort since Black Sunday. Muggs is in prime form, creating funky, ominous, evocative soundscapes, which B Real makes the most of with fluid rhymes. At times, B Real does descend into tastelessness ("Stank Ass Hoe"), and neither he nor Sen Dog really find any new lyrical ground, but sonically, "Skulls" is a blast; B Real's whine and Sen Dog's gruff, blunt style are the perfect match for Muggs' darkly cinematic soundscapes, and, on a purely sonic level, it's quite intoxicating. At their best, Cypress Hill are a hip-hop experience unlike any other, and, ignoring the "Bones" disc, this is the best they've been in a long, long time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Cypress Hill's unique sound sets it apart from all the other outfits in the hip-hop genre. Since its breakthrough album, 1993's BLACK SUNDAY, its drug and gun-related lyrics have helped it maintain a hardcore fan base. SKULL & BONES is split into two separate CDs, the "Skull" disc being the dedicated rap segment, with "Bones" devoted to rock. Synthesized orchestral strings and kick drum propel B-Real's distinct nasal rap on "(Rap) Superstar," which lays bare the pitfalls awaiting artists who attain their dreams and make it big in the music industry. B-Real and Sen Dog's lyrical skills are on display throughout this set, notably on the rebellious, attitude-driven "What U Want From Me." The second disc features members of Fear Factory, Rage Against The Machine, Downset, and SX10, with Cypress' Bobo on drums. The group's quick raps flow over a monstrous sound that puts most rap pretenders to shame. "Get Out Of My Head" is a speedy, riffing number with a great hook, while "Dust" pays homage to the Anthrax/Public Enemy collaboration of a decade ago. SKULL & BONES 2 CD set will satisfy longtime Cypress fans while also appealing to a new metal audience. Cypress Hill's unique sound sets it apart from all the other outfits in the hip-hop genre. Since its breakthrough album, 1993's BLACK SUNDAY, its drug and gun-related lyrics have helped it maintain a hardcore fan base. SKULL & BONES is split into two separate CDs, the "Skull" disc being the dedicated rap segment, with "Bones" devoted to rock. Synthesized orchestral strings and kick drum propel B-Real's distinct nasal rap on "(Rap) Superstar," which lays bare the pitfalls awaiting artists who attain their dreams and make it big in the music industry. B-Real and Sen Dog's lyrical skills are on display throughout this set, notably on the rebellious, attitude-driven "What U Want From Me." The second disc features members of Fear Factory, Rage Against The Machine, Downset, and SX10, with Cypress' Bobo on drums. The group's quick raps flow over a monstrous sound that puts most rap pretenders to shame. "Get Out Of My Head" is a speedy, riffing number with a great hook, while "Dust" pays homage to the Anthrax/Public Enemy collaboration of a decade ago. SKULL & BONES 2 CD set will satisfy longtime Cypress fans while also appealing to a new metal audience.

Rolling Stone (5/11/00, p.132) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A bipolar breakdown....proving hip-hop is more like T2...capable of morphing into anyone they wanna be." Rolling Stone (5/11/00, p.132) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A bipolar breakdown....proving hip-hop is more like T2...capable of morphing into anyone they wanna be." CMJ (5/1/00, p.23) - "...Proves rather convincingly that Cypress Hill still packs a mighty punch." CMJ (5/1/00, p.23) - "...Proves rather convincingly that Cypress Hill still packs a mighty punch." Vibe (6/00, p.223) - "...Marks the first major shift in the group's direction....Half of [the album] is a head-banging jam session....Songs like '(Rap) Superstar' prove that the group still has that winning formula..." Vibe (6/00, p.223) - "...Marks the first major shift in the group's direction....Half of [the album] is a head-banging jam session....Songs like '(Rap) Superstar' prove that the group still has that winning formula..." The Source (6/00, pp.218-20) - 3.5 mics out of 5 - "...May be their most drastic turn yet....Cypress' flavor runs thick across the disc....They break down the barriers in order to transcend the industry-imposed terms of alternative and rap....another set for the weeded." The Source (6/00, pp.218-20) - 3.5 mics out of 5 - "...May be their most drastic turn yet....Cypress' flavor runs thick across the disc....They break down the barriers in order to transcend the industry-imposed terms of alternative and rap....another set for the weeded." Rap Pages (6/00, p.42) - "...May be the best album you hear for the next 2 years....[it] is so artistically good that it [will] stay inyour personal rotation..." Rap Pages (6/00, p.42) - "...May be the best album you hear for the next 2 years....[it] is so artistically good that it [will] stay inyour personal rotation..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.113) - "...Finds them sticking a finger in the air and finding the wind blowing in the direction of thrash-metal..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.113) - "...Finds them sticking a finger in the air and finding the wind blowing in the direction of thrash-metal..." NME (Magazine) (4/29/00, p.33) - 7 out of 10 - "...Picks up where the groggy metal/rap melange of '98s CYPRESS HILL IV left off....It's business as usual....They do hip-hop and they do funk-metal rawk....evolving slowly..." NME (Magazine) (4/29/00, p.33) - 7 out of 10 - "...Picks up where the groggy metal/rap melange of '98s CYPRESS HILL IV left off....It's business as usual....They do hip-hop and they do funk-metal rawk....evolving slowly..."

Cross hardcore rap, alternative rock, and a defiantly pro-marijuana agenda, and you get groundbreaking hip-hoppers Cypress Hill. The band's genre-bending approach, as well as its English-Spanish bilingualism and rapper B-Real's distinctive nasal style, has earned them a wide and varied following. They debuted in 1991, but hit the big time two years later with the crossover hit "Insane in the Brain." Along the way, they've managed to work with the likes of Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth without ever losing their hip-hop credibility.

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