Bloody Monk Consortium :: Fully Automated Kill Unlimited
:: Johnny 23 Records
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon
![[Fully Automated Kill Unlimited]](../coverart/bloodymonk-Fully.jpg)
One way or another it always falls to me to review the latest project from
the Bloody Monk Consortium. At their
very best they are average to
slightly above, but I can't honestly
tell you that they're someone I'm checking for or eagerly anticipating to
hear from each time they drop a new project. I generally listen to a B.M.C.
album, write up my thoughts about it for you the readers, then promptly
forget it exists and move on to more bumpworthy material. Even at their best
they fail to strike a chord with me and capture my attention to the point
I feel compelled to listen to the album more than once. They're the rap act
whose song you wouldn't hit fast forward to skip over on a mixtape, but
you wouldn't go Amazon to buy it digitally or run to the store to cop their
CD. Actually real talk I've never seen a Bloody Monk Consortium album in
stores anywhere. I've got the physical ones they have sent me over the years
so I do know they press them up, but I don't think they have the distribution
connections to get retail shelf space at Best Buy or Target. If you
still have an independent record store in your town though they might have it --
but your best bet would be to cop it online and have it mailed to you.
As I wrote the opening paragraph it suddenly dawned on me that I know why I
always review the Bloody Monk Consortium -- they're TRYING. They don't
have the biggest name in the game, the best distribution for their albums, the
reputation that puts them among rap's elite, but they just never stop hustling
or trying. Hustle respects hustle because an independent website like ours is
in the exact same situation - we're just out there trying every day and hoping
that we earn a little bit of your time and possible repeat business down the
line. As I listen to "Morty's Death Wish" off "Fully Automated Kill Unlimited"
I can say they've got at least one song that achieved that goal, because they
looped the ominous "genocide run" music from the Hotlands in the video game
Undertale. There's probably 1% of their audience that would have picked up on
that jack, but I'm that one, and if the album was public on Bandcamp I'd share
the clip of it with you. Right now all I can give you is the "album sampler."
One song you can catch in the sampler is "Nod Skwad" featuring Tame One from
The Artifacts, with his distinctive acidic flow sticking out clearly from the
medley as does his "vibing like Brick City/'til we bounce like big titties"
bars. Coincidentally he's the biggest name cameo on the whole project, and
fits well enough into the harrowing melody that you'd want this song or "Morty's
Death Wish" on the aforementioned mixtape. (Come to think of it I wonder if
that's a reference to "Rick & Morty" - a f--king funny if often brutal show.)
Not every song can maintain those standards. Take "13th Grave" for example,
which you can hear right at the end of the sampler clip. It's much easier to
hear the raps when the instrumental break downs occur, and it's not that the
song is mixed TERRIBLY, but in my opinion the rap should be audible at
all times -- not just some of the time. That's not the biggest sin though --
the beats and rhymes are just boring. It's going for some horrorcore type
vibe with lines like "meat grinders are where you wind up" but it's neither
disturbing nor memorable. It's delivered in a ho-hum matter of fact fashion
that doesn't entice you to want more.
That's the biggest shame of Bloody Monk Consortium to me. I respect their hustle,
I want to see them succeed, but every step forward on an album is matched by a
step back. Sometimes it all clicks on a song like "World of Darkness" that's
appropriately heavy and gothic and their Gravediggaz inspired vibe is on point.
Then you listen to "Legion of Boom" and while it does thump, the bars seem to
be trying too hard, with every line being screamed into the microphone in a
disjoined fashion over a loop that repeats infinitely with almost no variation.
If every song were as good as "Ringo Deathstarr" or "Bloodshed 2.0" I could
give this an unqualified thumbs up. If every song were as bad as "The Black Monk
of Pontefract" or "Boogie Monksters" I'd tell you to avoid B.M.C. completely.
At some point if they ever put together a "Best of Bloody Monks" album and
managed to choose only their dopest material, it could be a 100% win, but at
the end of the day on most releases their highs get dragged down by their
lows to an average that makes them a casual listen and not a must own.
Music Vibes: 6 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 5 of 10
TOTAL Vibes: 5.5 of 10
Originally posted: March 28, 2017
source: www.RapReviews.com
One way or another it always falls to me to review the latest project from
the Bloody Monk Consortium. At their
very best they are average to
slightly above, but I can't honestly
tell you that they're someone I'm checking for or eagerly anticipating to
hear from each time they drop a new project. I generally listen to a B.M.C.
album, write up my thoughts about it for you the readers, then promptly
forget it exists and move on to more bumpworthy material. Even at their best
they fail to strike a chord with me and capture my attention to the point
I feel compelled to listen to the album more than once. They're the rap act
whose song you wouldn't hit fast forward to skip over on a mixtape, but
you wouldn't go Amazon to buy it digitally or run to the store to cop their
CD. Actually real talk I've never seen a Bloody Monk Consortium album in
stores anywhere. I've got the physical ones they have sent me over the years
so I do know they press them up, but I don't think they have the distribution
connections to get retail shelf space at Best Buy or Target. If you
still have an independent record store in your town though they might have it --
but your best bet would be to cop it online and have it mailed to you.