The Unholy Terror is the third studio release from the ever-changing hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs. This Philly-based clan formed by Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks now contains 15 of the best underground emcees the east coast has to offer. AOTP’s formula consists of religiously influenced battle rhymes, comically clever punchlines, classic hip hop references and imaginative ways of killing, set to looping symphonic beats and dark horror-core sounds.

The album is over an hour long, which can be expected with so many emcees. Even with all that music, more time was appropriately given to the stronger rappers. I was a bit upset to learn that Chief Kamachi was no longer with the group after enjoying his lyrics on previous collaborations with Jedi Mind Tricks, but the return of standout Apathy (he was busy during the recording of AOTP’s second album Ritual of Battle) more than makes up for the loss.

The album kicks off with a Vinnie Paz verse on “Agony Fires”, his gruff voice grabs your attention and sets the tone for the album over a hard-hitting beat. Apathy steals the song after boasting “My maturity shows when I take these young rappers and murder their flows, including Weezy and Jeezy. If I had a genie, I’d make major label rappers Ice Cubes and Eazys”. The song “Godzilla” was released as a single and features Vinnie Paz, Celph Titled, Apathy, King Magnetic, Planetary (of the rap duo Outerspace), and sadly the only verse on the album from Jedi Mind Tricks member Jus Allah.

I would have expected them to use more verses from the man who once claimed he “Gave the Devil my rhyme book to read through. He hid it in a safe that he swallowed the keys to”. This song sounds a bit evil and fits Jus Allah perfectly. Much like with other supergroups such as The Firm or Juice Crew, these emcees have distinct deliveries and voices, meaning that a particular beat may be heard in a new light once a different voice comes to the mic.

“Suplex” featuring Des Devious, Demoz, King Syze and Vinnie Paz uses a beat produced by Vanderslice that is almost identical to a Canibus song called “Only slaves D.R.E.A.M.” produced by Engineer.

An inspiring faster paced beat on “Spaz out” has Apathy, Celph Titled, King Magnetic and Esoteric spitting inspired fire. This is one of the best songs on the album and draws you in with chanting voices before the hard-hitting beat kicks in. Esoteric seems to be in tune with this beat more than the others and spits “I got an unquenchable hunger, my stomach rumbles like thunder. A true Jedi kid, you a toy-Yoda like Tundra”.

The song “Drenched in Blood” sounds very metal-ish and straight out of a horror movie. “Bust em in” sounds like it was produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, in my opinion the second best hip hop producer behind RZA. The production was handled by Celph Titled, who also raps how he’s “obsessed with OCD, a temperamental mental patient”. Apathy steals another song by claiming “I’m wicked as a Wiccan bitch when the candle wick’s lit. Want to sample this shit? You need to read Sanskrit and travel to top of Mt. Sinai to transmit. Running through the Red Seas like an escaped slave, then holding up the walls of water with my soundwaves”…dope.

The low points of the album include the lazy sounding “Hollow Points”. Great lyrics, but it sounds like something a wack southern rapper would add different drums to, then have a field day with. “Burn you Alive” inexplicably has what sounds like auto-tune in the chorus, which goes against everything A.O.T.P. stands for. I’ve been a bit anti-chorus as well lately, so I automatically-tuned that rubbish out (I know I know…I’m so clever!) and even skipped to the next verse while listening.

“Prisoner” is an above average track with a sick verse from Vinnie Paz (“I was born as a Catholic but the nuns turned me, I was born as a pacifist but the guns turned me, I was born to be a beautiful man…but the ugliness is powerful, I do what I can!”), however it uses the chipmunk voice singing and I am not really feeling it anymore. It was cool when RZA popularized it, homage-paying when Stoupe did it, overkill when Kanye did it. Enough already.

My only gripe with the Pharaohs’ lyrics is that sometimes the punchlines seem forced, as if they need to constantly prove themselves. Although it could also be them trying to say something memorable to stand out on songs that have impressive lyrics all over them. Either way, the punchlines are usually clever and sometimes funny (“What I blaze gets me oh so higher, I’ve burned more White Widow smoke than an old folks home on fire!”)

As much as I’d like to dissect the entire album for you, the fact is we are dealing with 15 songs from a group with 15 members. Vinnie Paz dominates by appearing on 10 tracks, which is fine because he’s a commanding presence whose rhymes have improved over the years. Planetary lends his smooth delivery to 9 of the tracks while his rhyming brother Crypt the Warchild (together they also form their own group called Outerspace) only speaks on 4 songs. I’m a big fan of Apathy’s delivery and he is used on 6 songs. He sounds so confident and he has all sorts of multiple rhyme schemes. If you have never heard of the Army but you like to pay attention to good lyrics, and do not like pop beats you should check out the Unholy Terror. If you are a fan or are familiar with the AO.T.P/Jedi Mind formula (I approve of using samples and scratches where traditional songs would use a chorus), you will not be disappointed.