The brisk wind clashes with my bare cheek as I step outside of my home on a cold New England morning. I have an appointment at 10am to pickup from the local dispensary about 30 minutes from my house. After I get settled in my Nissan, I click on my Spotify feed to find out MKULTRA released his new "Theater of Cruelty" album. MK approaches his music differently than the vast majority of artist. Using the medium to paint a picture for the listener. A picture with a variety of worlds and characters. MK has always treated it more as performance art than just a musical composition.
Before I start the vehicle, I gingerly click play on the project. "In a rut" glides through my speakers. To say the intro track sets the tone for the album would be completely false. "Depressed and Entitled" better fits that statement. The next thing that ensued was as MK described, "The musical equivalent of a jump scare." The vibe comes to a screeching halt. I immediately start to panic, the mellow aura all of the sudden turned violent, I scramble to figure out what happened to my radio only to find that the track had a hard switch up at the 1:32 mark. This is what MKULTRAs music about it, expecting the unexpected, taking the listener on a ride of emotions, a ride that could take a sharp turn at anytime (or completely crash and explode). The rest of "Theater of Cruelty" plays into this perfectly. The sonic contrast adds a chill yet somber feel to the album. Tracks like "Man Child" and "Run on" highlight this well. Bruhmanegod effortlessly blessed the chaotic composition titled "Get this money", hitting us with the only guest verse on the album. "Beauty is ugly" leaves us off with same vibes we started with, ending this sonic roller coaster ride on a happier note. Overall "Theater of Cruelty" is another notch in MK's wildly diverse collection of work, leaving us wondering what concept he'll hit us with next. MKULTRA has yet to reach his peak musically. its safe to say that the years going forward will have some surprises in store when it comes to the Spider Gang affiliate. If you were hoping for a star rating you've came to the wrong blog. We only review albums we like so if you're reading about it on here, we highly recommend it!
Written by: @bobbydeeonthebeat
i agree, the beat switches are my favorite parts of his songs! and his voice fits his genre so perfectly
W