If you like the secular group Living Colour, then this is an album to check out. XL & Death Before Dishonor have created an exciting, aggressive Rap/Rock/Hip-Hop/Thrash/Punk album that you might find if you mixed up Mike-E, D.C. Talk, and One Bad Pig. The album's pace is great, blending heavy bass with harsh electric guitars. It mixes tunes emphasizing each of these influences into a hard hitting experience that seems to last much longer than the 41 minute playing time. The lyrics are hard hitting, aggressive, and even militant, matching the musical style perfectly.
There's quite a topical diversity as well. There are songs addressing street life and others addressing the Christian faith. The message is urgent, easy to understand, militant at times, slightly violent in spots, but positive on the whole.
Unlike most recordings in this genre, XL & DBD avoid getting stuck in the darkness. There are a couple dark songs, but for the most part, they present a path to the light, making this a surprisingly uplifting album in comparison.
Other coverage for this album
Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by NecRoSarXThink the Crucified with a rapper. This isn't some simple sounds-like description: XL & DBD really is the Crucified with a rap artist on lead vocals. Thus making Sodom and America the earliest rapcore hybrid on the CCM market. What sets Sodom and America apart from the current glut of other acts these days is the fact that it's a true hybrid: a punk thrash band collaborating with a rapper,…Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by D_ListerThis one dates back to 1993, and is the union of thrash metal and the vocal works of independent DJ XL to form XL and Death Before Dishonor (DBD). At this point we've had Anthrax doing "I'm The Man" as well as their teaming up with Public Enemy to give us "Bring The Noise." We've had Run DMC team up with Aerosmith to pull off a rendition of their song "Walk This Way" and of course we've had the…Heaven's Metal #40Reviewed by David JenisonThe fusion of thrash metal and hard rap has been an inviting combination, which has generally failed to succeed in the Christian market--that is, until now. Rap artist XL and his thrash band Death Before Dishonor (DBD) have exploded on the metal scene with an album that is aggressive, hard and powerful, yet with a vocal style all its own. Though many people would call DBD the Christian Bodycount,…Similar sounding releases
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