Underground "sludge rap" artist "Gao The Arsonist's" 5th album has just released, being one of the most funded albums he has done yet with unique visualisers to each of the 14 songs.

From the album can be noted singles such as "HORSESHOE", "TOOTHJAR", "FIRMAMENT" but (most popular) "RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES".

This album is unique to all of his other releases, with it's song lengths being between 2-4 minutes (Gao's usual track run time being 2-3 minutes). It features as an expansion on the lore of his comic series "SLUDGEBATH". Musically, it expands on his unique producing style which really helps seperate him from any other hip hop artist and now sludges together everything that makes him an unique artist (inclusion to his roots with DJ Skywalker).

I must say, this album is an absolute fucking masterpiece. Despite Gao's growing popularity, he never sacrifices what makes him unique for accessibility and a bigger audience and that's what makes him possibly one of the greatest musicians ever PERIOD.

Tracks such as INSOMANIA, SHARKFIN AND TRENCHFOOT seem to serve as a throwback to OUR BONES ARE ARTIFACTS while remaining completely unique. Similarly, tracks like RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES and TOOTHJAR throw us back to SLUDGETAPES. Tracks such as WITNESS and PARAOUSIA take us all the way to The Hallowed EP. But, while slight stylistic references exist, this album still truly manages to be completely unique from any other works that Gao's been involved in.

I'm not going to into the lyrical meaning of this album, as a lot of it is based on the SLUDGEBATH comics which I have regrettably not read. (comics confuse me QwQ)

From PARAOUSIA to PHANTASM, it is clear to see that a fucking LOT goes on in this album. PARAOUSIA starts off incredibly calm, almost like a Sci-fi movie score and the visualiser shows this off. You have to wait before PARAOUSIA really kicks off. PHANTASM, on the other hand, takes no time to start and the scenes presented in its visualisers are at a direct contrast from PARAOUSIA.

Tracks such as WITNESS, FIRMAMENT and CHRONOKILL really tone down the whole album from Gao's sometime extreme style (presented in UNORTHODOX). These changes of mood render this album not just a compilation of music, (like some of Gao's past work) but also an unique experience worth listening to.

Tracks such as "DO AS I SAY" also completely break off the album's spooky tension, making it a million times more unsettling, which is extremely fucking cool.

"Overall? Most unique musical experience of 2024 so far. 9.5/10"

- marshall