WARPED ETHICS EP - PROMO (2006)

People like myself who love the old days when UK hip hop was fast, noisy and hardcore have been frustrated for too many years hoping for a new artist to appear and deliver that exact style that we long for and have been missing for close enough to 12-15 years. Sure there have been a few artists like Eastborn and Dead Residents who have a big influence from the old days in their sounds but no one in the current era has really stepped on the scene with that exact 1991 UK sound. I had really lost all hope of ever hearing that sound again until 2006 when my dreams of britcore resurrection were finally realised with the emergence of Warped Ethics (MC/DJ Exile and MC Phet) and their absolutely incredible 7 track demo EP.

The EP starts with “From the Underground Up” which is the type of intro that you’d hear on old albums from Gunshot, PE or Ice T. The first thing you hear is a horror movie type extract which ends with a “now it beings” quote and then the beat starts, and what a beat it is ! It sounds like Gunshot meets Killa Instinct, with pounding drums, ominous classical music samples and all sorts of screams and howls. To top it off Exile drops some sharp cuts over the track to complete the package of a great hardcore hip hop intro. It sets the tone for the EP perfectly and it's the kind of intro that would have any britcore fan of old going weak at the knees in excited anticipation of what is to come ...

... and "Attack Ya Whole Format” is exactly the opening track you'd be hoping for ! It starts off with more horror movie type excerpts, sticking to the aura set by the intro (an aura which continues for the whole EP), and then the music kicks in and Exile’s DJ skills immediately take centre stage in the form of frenetic scratching over a hyper beat and we haven’t even heard him on the mic yet. After a minute of so of amazing buildup we hear Phet rip the mic in a rather impressive manner and I would say that his performance on this track is probably his best of the whole EP as he absolutely tears the track to shreds with his somewhat rough and rugged tones. We also get to hear Exile grab the mic here and as good as Phet is, his partner Exile is probably even better. To me he sounds like the almighty MC Iceski from The Criminal Minds with a slight Ad Rock aspect to his voice at times and he also possesses a lovely pronounced drawn out ending to each line he spits. Whoever he sounds like, he and Phet are perfectly suited to these fast, hard beats and they’d be right at home as alternate MC’s on Gunshot’s Patriot Games LP. Speaking of beats, this track has wonderful drums which hit hard and pacey and an underlying ominous sounding dramatic soundtrack which all combine to make an awesome hectic, noisy and hard track. Exile multi-tasks beautifully on this track with even more of his rapid scratching in the breaks.

Howling werewolves and a “terror stalks with the stealthy steps of death” quote bring in “The Beast Must Die Part II”. Picking up right where the previous track left off this is another fast paced song which will leave you breathless with its relentless yet perfect musical mayhem and rapid fire verbal attacks. Very noticeable on this track is the tag team relationship between Phet and Exile on the microphones with rapid blasts of lyrical attack coming equally from both MC’s as they take turn upon turn of slaying the track as if the beat was the werewolf that’s being tracked down by our dope duo of underworld hunters. Musically we are presented with another rapid beat with dramatic type strings and other effects to give that horror movie on wax feel. The tension and drama actually builds as the song progresses and you almost feel like you are out there with them closing in on their metaphorical beastly prey. "Endeavour to rock hardcore whatever the weather", lyrics penned in this fan's hip hop heaven !

UK hip hop legends Bandog and Remark feature on “Maniacal Strengths”. Whilst the tempo is still right up there with the prior songs this one has somewhat of a funkiness to it with a catchy use of piano keys giving the track a bit of a bounce (in the most hardcore way possible of course) but at the same time there's a lot of Gunshot in this track. All 4 MC’s shine on here and whilst I can’t really pick a clear standout I would choose Bandog as the highlight (if ordered to choose the best at gunpoint). His classic, natural and amazing flow is on show in all its glory here (which it always is on ANY song which he is part of). Taking nothing away from Phet and Exile though who stand equally dope alongside their legendary brethren on the track.

If you've read this far you won't be surprised to find out that “Fire and Brimstone” brings us more of that fantastic ominous darkness. It’s a bit more stripped back than the first couple tracks which actually brings the dark horror feel of the track to the forefront. It’s the kind of song that if it came up on your Ipod whilst walking alone through dark streets late at night, well you’d hide out and wait for daylight. Again the guys are controlling the mics in modern day RunDMC back and forth manner and I really couldn’t imagine one without the other, their interaction is perfect in it’s execution. At almost five and half minutes the song or the MC’s do not lose steam at all and they rhyme for almost the entirety of the song with only ONE break halfway through for a chorus (which is something I never noticed before writing this review). It’s a marathon effort of hardcore hip hop bliss and is truly amazing.

“Turn’in The Backs” is probably the least “busy” song on the EP with more of simple production style on display (horns stabs off and on over a mid tempo break) but in no way is that detrimental. Musically it might actually be the sort of song that would convert those new school fans unfamiliar with the old sounds towards the britcore style as to me the sound sits somewhere between “1991 britcore” and “2007 head nodder”. However despite the slightly different sound the MC's are still on high speed overdrive, and that's a good thing in my books. Interestingly the chorus is slightly different with the rappers verbalising the chorus this time instead of cutting which may also lend itself to the idea that the track may appeal to "standard" hip hop fans as well as the UK old school massive (plus this track is giving Exile’s hands a well deserved rest from the DJ cutting work). Significant in this song are the shoutouts to other current britcore groups towards the end of the track – such as Sonz of Hardcore, Dark Craftsmen, MonkeySons and Sharpshooterz who are all artists that any britcore fan should be listening to and supporting. I certainly won't be turning my back on these groups or this style of hip hop.

The final track is “Schizophrenic Epidemic” and to my ears seems as somewhat of a Part 2 to “Maniacal Strengths”. Bandog and Remark are on board once again but this time they are joined by their mate Aleon and the very distinctively voiced Rage from another great UK crew of old, Deliverance. Nice little flutes and horns throughout, a fast tapping hi hat and less darkness give this song a slightly lighter feel although again not to the extent that the pace and feel of the EP lets up – because it doesn’t. Again the whole collective of MC’s are dope here but Rage is particularly impressive with his incredibly clear and strong verbal diction, which has me thinking back to the days of listening to old Deliverance EP’s and how he stood out there. Overall it's a brilliant all star posse cut and a great combination of new and old britcore torchbearers. This track is the Ying Yang of the EP where the old meet the new and combine in perfect harmony.

Well in fact everything about this EP is in perfect balance. I do not exaggerate when I say that in all honestly this is the BEST hip hop release I have heard for many, many years and it is EXACTLY what I want my hip hop to sound like and when I first heard it I was actually awestruck that someone came out of the blue with music like this (which is something I always wanted to happen but never really thought would). I cannot fault even one tiny aspect of this EP. It's as if someone jumped into a time machine, went back the early 90's and the heydays of the britcore era and returned to the present day with this EP (and for the naysayers who think that hip hop needs to sound progressive, experimental or modern to be good, screw you because many of us live and breathe to hear music like this again). As Phet said they might be "coming from the land that time forgot" but I for one have never forgotten this sound and never will and I am so glad and overjoyed that Warped Ethics now exist in this modern era !