As a father and youth pastor, I have been troubled by many pop culture challenges presented to our kids. Then I sat with another Dad, his world rocked by the sexual and emotional assault on his daughter by an underground music culture that deliberately targeted and shattered his child. The battered tone of his voice is becoming too familiar - “I had no idea.” In a world where freedom of expression takes priority over righteousness, parents need all the help we can get to protect our children. My troubled heart has led me, “to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness”, as I offer this information and assistance.
The horrorcore, gangsta rap, acid rap, tag is primarily represented by the duo “Insane Clown Posse”. Other groups to look for in your kids CD case are; Twiztid, AKB (Anybody Killa), Blaze Ya Dead Homie, ESHAM, or Dark Lotus (a compilation group). The Psychopathic Records label, owned by Joe Bruce and Joey Utsler (Insane Clown Posse) signs all of these groups. The lyrics expressed by these groups are, in their own words, vulgar and wicked. As with most rap, a story is told. These stories are about chopping a teacher’s head off and carrying it around in your book bag (”Mr. Johnson’s Head”), or suffocating the girl who turned down your prom invitation and staging your own prom with her dead body in your basement (”Prom Queen”). As you can see the music is destructive enough.
The cult lifestyle that accompanies the music is devastating families all over the country as their children begin to “fuel up” on defiance to their parents. The kid’s call themselves Juggalos or Juggalettes or Hatchet Runners (the Psychopathic logo). The Juggalo community is very well organized with state of the art online forums and chat. This is not just an urban threat southwestjuggalos.com is one of the best/worst of these sites. Our community is a very rural town 20 miles east of the Utah border. All ICP (Insane Clown Posse) clothing and paraphernalia has been prohibited from many school districts across the nation. If your child is wearing this apparel to school they are either changing, or worse yet, not going to school. There are groups of Juggalos that spend most of the day ten yards from our schools. Some hardcore hatchet runners have sharpened hatchets taped to their legs under those baggy pants.
The cult philosophy is summed up in “The Gospel of Chaos” or “The Chaos Theory”:
“When you die, and come to stand before your Book of Life, what do you think you will find? …Chaos mixed with passion is like keys opening doors to your desires. The more freely you behave, the more free you will become, and you shall break free of the prison that is all likely to be your own mind… Chaos can bring strength, adventure, and make your dreams possible, where rational thought might fail.”
This almost spiritual lilt mixed with open violence has created a very dangerous atmosphere for our most at risk kids, or “scrubs” (outcasts of the popular) as they are referred to. It is an escape:
“I’m Lil M Killa, now a true Juggalette for life! I’ll be down with the clown love forever, even when I have kids and I’m a wife. I’ll never forget any of you who touch my life everyday. I know we will all be in Shangri La just chillin’ together someday.”
Many of these children think they have made one too many mistakes at home or at school and this is the only place left for them.
“Living a life of pain and hurt, I look for guidance, and I look for strength, sitting and waiting for it to come, wondering if I made the right choices, figuring out that I finally made the choice, the most important choice of all, I try my hardest, and I try my best, but sometimes it’s just not good enough, I tried my best to get through, but his wall was too strong, depression happens to us all, as it is to me, but for how long can we withstand the grief that life brings, some can handle it better than others, I know I’m not one of those few, I hope I can handle better than he did, if it’s my time to go, then let him take me, but as of right now, I just don’t know what to do, hating myself, and loving others, what’s wrong with me? Please help me change.” - Monoxide Ninja.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 NIV
Most of what is written either by or about this group cannot be printed, so what you see here is just the beginning. If any of this sounds or looks familiar please seek help from your Pastor or counselor. It’s more important than ever to know what your kids are listening to: www.lyricsfreak.com is an easy to use website and includes most of today’s bands. Your church youth group can offer the acceptance and love these kids are searching for. It probably won’t be easy to remove your child from this lifestyle, but the alternative is unacceptable.
I don’t think it’s right to judge us on our beliefs and religions! Everyone has a right to beleive in what they believe, and no one gripes about how you minister, it’s all put back on us! I don’t think that is right. Maybe all of you should go back and find the true meaning of Echo Side, and our Dark Carnival and see for yourselves if it’s truely “evil”, cuz I’ll tell you that just because we are scrubs, it makes us no more evil or worse than yourselves!
Let me just say that as someone that has listened to the likes of ICP–ect.// for close to 10-12 years, I think that your arguement on this subject is completely irrelevent. Freedom of speech and expression is something that should not even be an issue. That allows people to have a variety of feeling and emotion. Like watching a action thriller or a horror movie. As to your selection of songs, Mr. Johnson’s Head is about defaming and downing on Racism. The fact the Joe Bruce decided to make killing a teacher, who was racist, and being an outcast in to “tell a story” is completely up to his artistic personality. And as for the “Juggalo’s and Juggalettes”, Yeah most of US are outcasts, and people of different views on style and interest, but because of these websites and message boards, I have found family, real family, in places that I didn’t know I had it. Were not criminals, so close minded asshole, were just people trying to find like minded people. And as for taping a Hatchet to your leg, that is just an example of how poorly you have read up on this subject, That may be on persons motive, but your judging people, and your bible clearly tells you “Judge not” correct?? From your little article here, I am assuming that your just another old fart, who heard a dirty word in a song, got all mad, and decided to “Do your duty to your country”, well buddy, help your country and join the war
WOJO-J — NC FAMILY WHUT WHUT!!!
wow… i think maybe someone has a little too much free time on his hands. heres a thought… if you’re going to write about us and our beliefs and feelings, maybe you should research it a little better. look into some of the lyrics like echoside, thy unveiling, crystal ball, etc. and let me tell you a bit about ME. i was a VERY VERY devought christian, pentecostal, to be exact. i spent almost every day of the week at my church doing something or other. my brother was a juggalo and i HATED all of it just because of the name. hed play a cd and id like it till i found out who it was by. my church was all about money and it disheartened me. i left the church and found myself completely lost. then i heard the wraith: shangri-la and i was SHOCKED after i heard thy unveiling… i had been wrong all along. with a now open-mind i went and saw one of the bands on psychopathic records play at a local bar… i discovered the dark carnival and what shangri-la really is and it has made my life so beautiful. im not really an outcast. i have people everywhere i go that adore me as a person because i am good in nature. i just found my own family and my own home and it makes me happy… so quit hatin and read up… oh and violent j explains a lot in his book, behind the paint, so gets to orderin and read that… im out for work… this just upset me… much love ninjas and ninjettes… see ya in shangri-la
I thank you all for your intelligent response. I would like to discuss the common thread first. You all thought my post was judgmental. WOJO was correct, at 42, I am another old fart, but my decision to learn more about your world had nothing to do with “dirty wordsâ€? in a song. I was sitting with a father crying over his daughter who had been raped by a clown. As a youth pastor I didn’t ask for this engagement, it was delivered to me by a juggalette who was just as disheartened by clown love as Juggalettefresh was by a church that lost sight of her needs. I talk to juggalos a lot and there is not one that I think is any less a person than I am. “Scrubâ€? was your word, not mine, it came from the ICP website. I was a scrub, on my own I could never catch a break, my escape was playing the drums and drinking. At the time I could have easily chosen to find comfort through the hatchet. I ran my life on anger for a long time and I was good at it. “Judge notâ€? was a response from WOJO. The context of that verse reads out like this: “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. Matthew 7:1,2 I chose to subject myself to your judgment (and God’s) because I care about where you will spend eternity. I believe you are dealing with a very tough life the best way you know how. I admire your commitment to being a rebel. Jesus was a scrub and a rebel, an outcast and a revolutionary. I try to be more like Jesus everyday, and sometimes that means somebody gripes about how I minister. I make mistakes in my attempts to be a revolutionary all the time.
Believe it or not, I have a heart for you all and what you’re going through. I’m not trying to be an expert on clown life. One of the Juggalos I talk to a lot has a hatchet taped to his leg, if he’s the village idiot then “my bad�. I did go and read the lyrics for Echoside, and I don’t get it (surprised?). But I understand it enough to know it’s not written to the glory of God. My article was originally a letter to the editor in our local paper. It is intended to encourage parents to find out what their kids are listening to and talk to them.
I pray for you all every day. I pray that you will take your fearless spirit and use it to glorify the One True Rebel – Jesus Christ. His never-ending acceptance is there for the asking. He loves you as you are. He loves me as I am, that should tell you something! I welcome your comments – God Bless You!
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10
Once again, I still believe that your argument is ill founded. In your first article, you claimed to be doing a justice to parents by revealing to them is evil world that their children live in. You attacked not only the bands on this label, but the “fans� of the music as well. ICP, and psychopathic records artists in general are artists with an extreme, but individual way of expressing things of any and all nature. The point of the music is to escape from the everyday nonsense one is forced to deal with. While I do not disagree that some of their songs are not of the highest moral context, the fact still remains that these bands, ICP in particular, do value things that are most important, life, friends & family, and walking a true and just path. If you would take the honest time to listen to every song they have put out, bad or good, I think that there is a possibility that you might actually understand where they and we, the Juggalos and Juggalettes, are coming from. Also, it seems that you are an intelligent man, and according to you, have hit rock bottom before at some point in your life. How then, can you generalize every Juggalo out there, by the stupid actions of one person? ICP’s music is not about getting kids to rebel against their parents, its purpose is an alternate form of stress relief. At least that is what it has been to me, ICP has been there for me in their own way, when no one else has been. And it is all because of the simple fact that they can relate.
Wojo-J
Sup yall..
Hey, can’t you see? Juggalos are like everybody else and the fact that we can have an intelligent conversation on ICP (wow, that IS an achievement
) is proof enough.
Sure, ICP raps about cuttin off *racist’s* heads (as vigilantes, so to speak), but they also rap about family and friends, a lost love…And then they rap about killer toys, I mean, come on, what’s so harmful to your child about that? I turned out alright with my diploma and my job
ICP are a mix of all of those things. And with all 20+ albums that are out there (must sound horrible to the old farts ;)) I can be entertained regardless the mood Im in.
We’re not a cult really, but I guess I don’t have a problem with people thinking anything supposedly bad about us… Keeps it exclusive, so you have to try and cut trough all the bs and chaos to find out that they’re all right after all
By the way, get me a copy of that Super Holy Chaos Theory Book… what the ….? Chaos Theory is just an album by a brother of one of the rappers in ICP. You are takin this **** way more seriously than we do, dawg!
Hey, I’ve listened to one of ICP’s cd’s and I didn’t like how it was talking about going around and killing people or cutting a girls head off and putting it in her dad’s mail box. TO me that sends out the wrong message to little kids who listen to the cd. THey will think its ok to hurt people but its not. That’s how I feel.
I thought that this might be a good article to post, so here ya go ICP HATERS:
12 years ago, two former small-time gang kids started a rap group dressed as clowns preaching salvation before the end times. Telling a story that would take years to complete, no one ever actually thought they’d do it. With “The Wraith”, ICP has managed to finish their story of a Dark Carnival bringing the Judgement. This article contains spoilers about the album.
We all will die. I know, seems like a simple statement. I hope you all knew that already, it’s no major revelation.
Well, for 12 years a very obscure, unheard of and often hated rap band called the “Insane Clown Posse” has been pondering the meaning of our inevitable end. ICP’s message started in ‘92 where they prophesized 6 faces of a “Dark Carnival” would rise to teach us lessons vital to saving ourselves in the face of judgement. The lyrics were dark, juvenile and vulgar. It put off most listeners. Those who took the time to dig deeper were rewarded with a special message that was seemingly aimed right at them.
12 years later, we reach the conclusion of the Joker’s Card saga. The 6th and final face of their “Dark Carnival” has risen, it calls itself the “Wraith”. Like the other beings they sing about, the “Wraith” is a mystical and magical being that in some way facilitates the judgement. So the story goes, when you die, the Wraith will take you up to heaven or down to hell, depending on the course your life took. This is reflected in the two versions of the Wraith… Shangri-La and Hell’s Pit.
If you read my full look at the career of ICP, you will know that The Wraith: Shangri-La wrapped up all the mysteries of ICP’s music, giving it a meaningful and relevant end. The message of the band was to have faith and hope in God, more broadly, in being a good person, so when you die you do so without regrets. Innocence was the aim of Shangri-La, for instance, we saw that in the story of the Butterfly, told by ICP member Violent J. Quite ironic that this was the message of those years of dirty, immature and violent lyrics, isn’t it?
Indeed, if you look back at years of ICP’s music, you can see, hidden in riddles, subliminal messages, and lyric sheets, these ideas being tossed around by what is viewed as a very simple-minded band. This adds to layers of complexity not before seen, and if this if the first time you’ve ever really looked at the band, maybe you’re finding this out for the first time. They tricked you all, and they ain’t sorry they did. They made that literally clear in The Wraith: Shangri-La.
ICP isn’t done with their tricks. The Wraith takes you one of two places when you inevitably die: Shangri-La (ICP’s multi-cultural heaven), or Hell’s Pit. Shangri-La came first and we saw it’s meaningful ending to the 12 year Joker’s Card saga (if not, read about it in my look at ICP). ICP saved Hell’s Pit for the end. Is there some new message to be found inside? A new revelation? Will they turn everything upside-down only to fool us again?
This review won’t be like a typical review. I merely will make the recommendation to buy the album (preferably during it’s opening week), and listen to it if this review intrigues you.
The Story of the Path to Hell’s Pit
Hell’s Pit is not a great place to be. Unlike other dark horror-based musicians, ICP does not by any means glorify the pain and suffering of Hell. In fact, stuff they’ve been holding back for years finally is free to speak out. We know we are talking about moral responsibilities and the acknowledged consequences of basic religious understandings, Heaven and Hell, do or die. So what is Hell like? This album comes closer to the darkest reaches than I’ve heard from any other “dark” or “horror” album in the past, I hope to illustrate that here.
When we die, if the Wraith isn’t gonna take us to heaven, well, take fear. According to ICP the majority is going to the deep recesses of Hell’s Pit. This album is the story of those taken down that path. I’m going to break down each track and talk about how it contributes to the story of Hell’s Pit as we walk down this path of the damned.
Intro & Walk into the Darkness
The creative balance between describing the worst parts of Hell isn’t to scream whatever violent thing you can. It helps, but that’s not gonna capture the true sense of despair Hell represents to society. A lot of the Hell’s Pit album is very soft spoken or low tone, to capture emotion. Some of the quietest words come in the start, at the end of the Intro, as we’re told by a voice… “Welcome to Hell. Why did you choose this?”
Hell, as the question asks, is indeed a choice, at least conceptually. I’m an Atheist for crying out loud, I don’t believe in Hell. However, the concept of moral wrongdoing being reprehensible is older than recorded history. Even amongst Atheists the sense of wrong/right is kept in a field of understanding that there is a certain reprehensibility for acting amoral. Few believe in true moral anarchy.
Let’s get some words from ICP about what Hell is like, as we venture inside…
“Walk till you fall into the darkness of Hell. You get raped in Hell, by Satan’s tail. And all you (—-) with them (—-), believe you getting (—-), by a 27-foot dragon while chewing your face up. It ain’t pretty in Hell, and the only light be the fire that you squirm in while you burnin’ all night. And when the Wraith take you, his grip is hard as a nail, it’ll turn your world upside-down and make it rain Hell.” - Walk Into The Darkness
“Don’t cry for the dead ’cause they cry for you. Because we laugh about an aftermath that they know how true. And listen, ain’t no (—-) body gettin’ it worse than you and me… and ain’t nobody gettin’ it worse than you or me? And we will see a pterodactyl swoop through the caverns of Hell, and carry two unfortunates off to the Ogre’s cell. And ain’t no guards playing cards ain’t no uniforms needed, you the only one around, butt-naked bloody and bleedin’. With seven demons in your ear, got you believin’ you’re a heathen, talk you into pulling out your own intestines to get even. You were born with the shine, but you lost it down the line, you (—-) life up and you can’t rewind.” - Burning Up
“My eyes keep bleedin’ from the rays of the darkness, they powerful and burn you something heartless. I hear a giant thumpin’, some kind of ogre or somethin’, I see the phantoms screamin’ as this giant behemoth is coming. And it swung at me, I felt a rip my head went spinnin’, and flippin’ and rollin’ and finally landed in position. I can see my body still standing headless (—-), it finally fell, but what the hell, I got my nugget but I’m stuck. I can’t move, (—-) I’m only a face why even try? On top of that it’s a centipede crawling in my eye… I wanna die.” - Everyday I Die
Sounds like Hell is a (—-) place. Of course, that’s the premise, isn’t it?
Suicide Hotline
*ring*
Operator: Suicide hotline, may I help you?
Caller: Yeah, uh… well, I’m about to (—-) kill myself.
Operator: Listen, you don’t wanna do that okay, you don’t wanna do that.
Caller: I’m gonna, there’s so many (—-) reasons why I don’t even need to be here anymore. I’m gonna put a slug in my (—-) head!
Operator: You don’t wanna do that do that, you want to be on Earth, okay?
Caller: (—-) that (—-) man, I got a gun right now, and I need it right under my chin, man (—-) that.
Operator: Take it away from your chin.
Caller: I’m gonna blow my (—-) head all over the ceiling.
Operator: No you’re not, okay?
Caller: (—-) this (—-) man.
Operator: Hey, just talk to me, okay?
Hell is a place of despair, and if you were ever there, you’d probably want to kill yourself all the time. Some of us get to the breach of commiting suicide, sometimes we just do it because we want someone who will talk to us and putting a gun to your head manages to get you that attention. Other times it’s in a sincere wish to end it all. The track “Suicide Hotline” is a dialogue between a suicidal caller and an insincere suicide hotline operator.
Despite being the second track it’s perhaps one of the best. It’s definitely amongst one of my personal favorite. Others say they “understand” what we’re going through when depressed, down in life. But I think they’d be really surprised to hear what we really think. The idea of Hell’s Pit is to embrace some of the very negative aspects of living. This song illustrates that well by touching on a variety of failure… futility.
Thankfully he doesn’t do it, at least, not in the course of the track, although whether he does or not isn’t the point of the song.
“I hit rock bottom, and then I fell in a hole, then I fell through the floor of that hole some more. I’ve been missin’ for a year and nobody’s lookin’. I got beat down and my (—-) tookin’. I look ahead and all I see is more of the same or this self-inflicted bullet hole pourin’ my brain.”
That about sums it up, on several different levels.
C.P.K.’s
A pot-shot at pedophile priests and no-do-gooders in the established churches, Violent J and Shaggy decide to bloody up some crooked preachers. “We shootin’ for the preacher - (—-)! I missed and hit the reverend, but it doesn’t matter though they say he’s going to heaven.”
Unlike past records, after sporadic periods of violence, Violent J and Shaggy’s characters actually die at the end of these tracks. This is making more a fundamental point that it’s not the violence that’s right but the notion that there is some justice to be had in the vindication of righted wrongs. Maybe this is touching more back at the point that vigilante justice isn’t right but perpetual vigilance is? I don’t know, but I do know that I agree with J and Shaggy - leave those kids alone!
Truly Alone
Suicide Hotline had a sense of isolation but it was broken by the dialogue. Even though there was shallow dialogue from the suicide hotline operator, at least that was another person. Truly Alone is about a person whose sense of right or wrong degrades over time as he sits alone. With no one else around to watch him or tell him what’s right or wrong he winds up going insane. Again, after the killing spree, this twisted individual gets killed and is sent to Hell. This goes back to the point from the last track… is it about the violence, or about what’s right and wrong, and the consequences of human suffering?
The lesson of Shangri-La was that we can avoid this sense of isolation if we embrace others, and seek a more fundamental innocence. While it’s clear there will be crazy people, at least ICP (who are no strangers to insanity) knows that it isn’t wrong when the wackjobs get put down. It’s wrong that society produces these wackos in the first place by being so cold and heartless to isolate people so long.
I’d say that breaks down to a lot of other fundamental problems with society, but that’s a whole different article.
Everyday I Die
In ICP’s music, ICP are super-hero comic vigilantes. Usually it’s ICP doing the killings and beatings. Well, Hell gets the better of our duo. Despite their best efforts, in this track, J and Shaggy are separated in Hell, and they are beat all to hell. If it’s not a giant ogre, it’s huge crows and spiked gates. Witches and phantoms and demons… ICP has WAY too much time on their hands to be thinking of this crazy (—-).
I think it’s important to point out, in Hell’s Pit the heros do not win. We’re all losers if we wind up in that terrible place.
The Night Of The ‘44
Another good song, involving lots of violence where the antagonist gets killed at the end, one has to wonder if the point isn’t becoming more clear. No one gets away, no evil mocking laughter. It’s just really down. In this track, which got it’s name from a song off ICP’s first album, a guy snaps and kills someone in anger. Knowing he’s through, he decides he’s gonna go out with a bang, although it is more of a bust.
The Witch
What the heck is the Witch?
Well, the Witch is depicted as convincing people to do the worst things. It’s clear from the song’s lyrics that these things are going to result you from being barred from heaven. The Witch lies and convinces people to do things that are simply wrong.
The possession of the Witch at night, as it’s mentioned several times, is actually based off a common medical sleep issue. Sleep paralysis is when you wake up but your body is still asleep, therefore you cannot move it. ICP’s explanation for this event is that it’s “the Witch” on your chest.
But what is “the Witch”? A reverse message leading into this track explains that clearly. The Witch is the Devil. This explains the use of the Witch in the remainder of the album. And as the reverse message says, (—-) the Witch! Again reverse messages support the idea that ICP isn’t on the Devil’s side.
The great thing about “the Witch” is that ICP felt the need to invent something to disguise the Devil, but still discuss him. You see, ICP didn’t want you to think of Hell as being a glorified place. That’s why they invented “the Witch”. By construing the Devil as something else, they didn’t give the Devil his due.
If ICP said “In the name of the Devil I cut the head off a mule, I gutted it, I put it on and I wore it to school.” in the first line of “Walk Into The Darkness”, it would’ve appeared as if they were satanists. Shangri-La contradicts that and simply put, the clowns are on God’s side, not the Devil’s. So to refuse the Devil the credit for the wicked lyric that’s meant more to scare you, they said “In the name of the Witch I cut the head off a mule, I gutted it, I put it on and I wore it to school.”
And of course that’s a different impression. Very creative way to illustrate the terror of Hell without creating a confusing impression or glorifying it. If you get a chance to listen to this album, listen closer to the Witch references.
Bowling Balls
In this song two brothers collect human heads as a past-time. They use it as a substitution for human interaction. Idolotry of objects in leiu of real human relationships is really wrong, which I think is more the point of this song. It’s one of the few “fun” tracks, if you can consider any part of this album “fun”.
There are two DVD’s being sold with this album, one of a live concert from ICP’s Wicked Wonka tour, and another that is a old-school 20 minute long music video for “Bowling Balls”. The Bowling Balls video is also the first high resolution DVD to offer 3D-glasses vision. Bowling Balls DVD was also filmed in standard print as well, in case you don’t like the retro 3D glasses. I personally ordered the live concert DVD package, however I have a deal with a friend to share DVD footage, and he will be getting the Bowling Balls DVD package.
24
24 is about the clowns serial killin’ 24/7 around the clock all day and all night. It’s Hell, so they might as well get the chopping in while the chopping is good.
Burning Up
Burning Up is one of the more acclaimed tracks of the album by the listeners thus far, as the title indicates it’s about the penalty for sins in Hell, which involves a lot of burnin’. A lot of the people in the first verse of this tracks are hypocrites in life and they find themselves later in Hell paying the penalty for their sins. Hell in very grimly described here as a place where the people go who have lost their “shine”, mostly meaning their innocence.
Sedatives
Finally winding down the serial killing madness, our clowns decide to take a few sedatives to calm it out. They still manage to get out a murder or two, but the serial killing sprees are winding down, it’s Hell’s Pit after all, and the Devil doesn’t want the clowns out doing God’s work, so he makes sure they’re thoroughly doped up. This has some confused and disoriented clowns making some strange observations… “The only time I’m a peace is when I’m not even there… God tell me why the (—-) am I here?”
In My Room
ICP decides to address the often hurtful subject of love in this song about a young man who falls in love with a ghost girl who visits him each night. She taps on his window and he lets her in, but she only stays so long as it’s dark and undisturbed. The guy in his dark room starts turning violent and reclusive to create the right environment for her. When his mom’s cat sneaks into the room and scares off his undead girl, he snaps and mutilates the cat. The neighbor kid sees her being let in his window and she flees, and he realizes that she won’t be coming back until the kid is dealt with…
Even after killing the whole family nextdoor, the girl winds up leaving him alone. Then he realizes the err of his ways, alone, in the darkness. No happy ending this time - he killed all those people for no reason - but this is Hell’s Pit, there isn’t supposed to be a happy ending.
Basehead Attacks
This song is about the crippling drug addicted basehead bums that too often plague the cities of America. In a surprisingly targeted way, ICP totally goes all-out against these “zombies”. This definitely is a noteworthy listen if you’ve ever lived in a city that has this problem. I personally have been accosted by all manner of bum for change, and I agree, they are like zombies.
Angels Falling
The album’s last story is again about love lost, a man whose wife dies spends his time in remorse firing projectiles into the sky in an effort to kill the angels for taking away his wife. Eventually he does hit his wife, to bring her down from the heavens and ask her why she left him. Very, very disturbing. Of course, the dead angel doesn’t give him any answers.
Manic Depressive
With the clowns not getting their way throughout the whole trip through Hell, I can imagine that by this point they are pretty drained. Being beheaded by ogres, thrown on the gates of Hell and roasted, sedated and drugged up, shot and stabbed, the low-tone finale song of Manic Depressive represents the emotional drain that Hell’s Pit is meant to be.
Real Underground Baby
This track may confuse people who aren’t familiar with ICP, if this is the first album of ICP’s they are listening to. Hell’s Pit is the end to a 12-year long story. The meaningful climax was in Shangri-La… that leaves little to wrap up with here on Hell’s Pit. This final Hell’s Pit track, a long 12 minutes, is a mediocre and somber mix of some of ICP’s hits. Think of it as the “outro” to the Joker’s Card saga. There is no meaningful message here, it’s just a nice long remix painting the picture of the story as it fades out.
The End
And that’s it. What did we learn from “The Wraith: Hell’s Pit”? Well, Hell is a miserable place of despair and loneliness. There is nothing to look forward to there, the heroes lose and only the Devil wins. Even the entertainment of the wicked (—-) that bring people to ICP is sucked out and sedated by the staleness of Hell’s deepest recesses. Where Hell isn’t exceptionally violent it’s soul-sucking and remorseful.
Of course, that’s the point of this album… and it drives into the point of the Joker’s Card saga. Look inside yourself and really think about if you have what it takes to avoid ICP’s Hell’s Pit. Keep the Witch off your chest. Hold hands with the Wraith to your final destination. Don’t overburden the Amazing Jeckel Brothers. See through the magical tricks of the Great Milenko. Look inside your own Riddlebox before you must turn the crank. Don’t fuel the sinful Ringmaster. Be wary of a Carnival of Carnage… the message has been the same throughout the years. Each card is a reflection of you, and Hell’s Pit is a reflection of your worst fears and deepest anxieties. If you get a chance to listen to it, take it in from this perspective. It might leave you in a bad mood afterwords (it did me), but you might learn something from ICP’s simple lessons. ICP would have you believe Hell is a real place, even those of us who don’t believe that would do good to think that way once in a while.
And what’s next? There is a Hell’s Pit tour underway, and quite possibly a future release of Forgotten Freshness 4 (a compilation series of unused material the band puts out periodically, no doubt FF4 will be filled with scrapped Wraith material). The rest, well, that’s “purely speculation”. I have a feeling they’ll continue producing their unique brand of music, but they definitely will be doing something different now that the Joker’s Card saga is finished. They may even decide to change their imagry as the “Insane Clown Posse”. No matter what they do, these Wicked Clowns won’t be dying any day soon (except perhaps in a song or two), even if they wound up someday taking the facepaint off.
It’s only fitting that I include a message from ICP to their fans inside a booklet packaged with “The Wraith: Hell’s Pit”…
This album completes our Dark Carnival story. Now, for the rest of your lives, we invite you to sit back and take it all in. We hope each Joker’s Card will live on forever. To finally complete what we started 13 years ago is amazing, yet we don’t want it to end.
But it must.
The story is now completed exactly how it was meant to be. We listened with the spirits and brought forth all 6 Joker’s Cards. We believed in each one as they arrived, and tried to spread it’s message as far and wide as possible. We delivered, and as life went on, each Card’s Era provided us with incredible memories and stories that will last forever. The fact is, each Joker’s Card is somebody’s favorite, somewhere, and that’s enough to give them life. They will be there for you all to call upon, for the rest of eternity.
From Carnival of Carnage to Hell’s Pit, may all 6 Joker’s Cards rest comfortably in time. Thank you all for listening.
- ICP
Thanks for reading and if this peaked your interests, go out and purchase or download the album. ICP is an underrated group, and if you believe so, give them a chance on Hell’s Pit opening week and try to make your purchase now. Give them boosts up the chart and let’s see where they can debut with NO MTV, NO radio and NO national marketing strategy. It may encourage more artists to take their harder, but more rewarding road to long-lasting musical success.
Hey I never said I hated ICP I just don’t like what they repersent. Thats all. The people I know who are in ICP, They are really nice and alot of them don’t live just by the cds and what they say. I have a friend who is in ICP and doesn’t live or even act like the other ICP people, he acts more like my older brother. He doesn’t let people tell him what he should listen to because he doesn’t listen to ICP 24/7 like some people and I’m not say thats you do. I know you guys have a life and some of you even have jobs and thats great. He will listen to different music.
I understand why some people listen to it becasue it may be popular and alot of people will say its so cool but when listen to it, I did like what they where saying. I don’t even know the people who started ICP. I guess from what I hear they were and i guess still are good people but I will not judge them becasue it isn’t my place to do the judging. I will tell you that.
To Sara:
If ICP is not your thing, that’s cool. I myself have alot of friends that don’t like them either. But I do call myself a Juggalo, and I do stand up for what I believe in. The originating post on this subject dissed not only ICP, but the fans of ICP as well. The article was written in a light that made them and us seem as bad people. The only thing I was trying to accomplish with my constant posts was to enlighten those that view US in general that way. We are not bad people. I think that if more people would actually listen to the general message of there albums, instead of picking up on the cuss words, and other things they say, then more people would understand the point that they are trying to make. Everything they rap about tells you one thing. If you live a life of evil, you will live an afterlife of evil as well. Hell is not a friendly place, and they dont portray it so. I could get into so many things that they do and say that are really uplifting to alot of people, but why argue the point? Every point I make is greeted with ignorance here. Thats not very Christian like if you ask me.
The Echoside message that you didn’t get is a reversed message. It says “(—-) the devil. (—-) that (—-). we believe in life legit. ain’t you getting what we say? why you throw your soul away?”
There’s plenty of reverse talking like that in their music. Obviously Thy Unveiling explains everything anyway. But the time leading up that song, they threw in a lot of that stuff. Even on the Hell’s Pit album they talk in a reversed message explaining that the witch (who they refer to as the devil on the album but don’t want to use the devil’s name as to not give him any type of credit) is the devil and they hate the witch. Their positive message through violent music reaches out to people who would never find that righteous path otherwise.
Well, What happened Greg? Don’t got anything to say anymore on the subject? Still think that this “horrible devil music” is the cause of all of life’s problems?? I am a little disappointed in you. To busy to discuss this with us I take it… Its ok, most people don’t. I guess that is just how things go.
Ok i would like to start by saying that i wont attack the pastor that wrote the original post. That would defeat the purpose. I also grew up in the church, Nazarene, and i was very active in our youth music program. This was until I began to see the affects of “organized religion”. It went from people going to church to learn the word of God, to people going to church to please other people. The church i started in was relatively small and over the past 10 years or so, it has extremely grown and the numbers have multiplied. This is very good for the church except in this time of growth for them, i felt that the messages of God were being lost to this growth. I felt that the church had become too big to be able to keep all focus on Christ, which is what it was suppsoed to be. After i began seeing this, i had a falling out with my youth pastor. i was accused of a few things that i didnt do, and instead of discussing the situation, he jumped to conclussions and verbally attacked me. i have been back only 2 times since then.
I have never been an outcast, and i dont wear psychopathic records gear 24/7. I have taken the messages that ICP raps about and applied them to my own life, becoming a better person than i ever was. Granted, a lot of the music is angry, but they rap about real life and the last time i checked real life wasnt always happy. A few months ago i was in a big rut, thats what it felt like. I was depressed all the time, but the one thing i could do to releive some of that stress and deal with it was listen to ICP. There was a lot of things i couldnt find the words to say and ICP did. I was diagnosed a month or so later with clinical depression. I know that term is thrown around a lot but trust me it is very real. Now i know that when i’m feeling a little depressed i can sit and listen to ICP and releive my stress or be angry with the music or have any emotion i want, without taking my stress and anger out on my self or anyone else.
As i said i have never been an “outcast” but i’ve never been extremely popular either. i have friends, but i make sure that most of them are real friends, not just aquaintances. The one thing i have found though is, i have a lot of very real friends that are juggalos and juggalettes. We dont judge people. Most of us know that when we meet a lo or a lette, that person would die for us if needed. because thats what a family does.
What this pastor has failed to express is all of the good that does come from the family. He is going on the very small percentage of people that dont know what being a juggalo means. I have never heard of any juggalo carrying a sharpened axe under their pants. but i really believe that if they do that as a juggalo, they would do that anyway. ICP and the rest of psychopathic records doesnt make anyone do anything. we do things on our own. Its just like the saying, guns dont kill people, people kill people. well its the same thing. Music doesnt hurt people, the people that listen to it and act out hurts people. but the music didnt make them act out, we all need to be accountable for our own actions.
But i will never stop listening to ICP or psy records. their music has been there for me when religion failed, and while religion and the concept of God may work for some people. it doesnt work for others. but who are any of us to judge someone else for their beliefs? The Bible does say judge not lest ye be judged. Maybe this pastor should read that part again. And he should also research the good that happens to juggalos and lettes. there is so much good going on but everyone only stays focused on the bad. It’s very sad actually.
Many posts before mine said what I would have said about ICP and being a Juggalo, but I would just like to reiterate that if anyone reading these post really wants to know what ICP is all about, I urge you to read Violent J’s Autobiography “Behind the PAint”. It puts ICP in a perspective that could never be achieved through an internet post. Much Clown Love.
The bottom line, always the same,
You ain’t have to look hard
We wickedly kick it, inflict it, you get it, get with it, and then we don’t preach it flat out
‘Cause some ninjas don’t wanna get wit’cha
They quick to forget’cha without the hatchet and gat out
So we rose the hatchet, do or die,
now Juggalos standing tall
After all six have risen,
the end of time will consume us all!
It ain’t got nothin to do wit us!
It ain’t Psychopatchic Records!
All we’re doing is bringing shit out to you
We in this together!
Who’s behind the Dark Carnival,
the Gatherings, and the Hatchet?
Who’s behind Dark Lotus, the circus, and everybody at it?
Who invented Juggalos, and Juggalettes,
and flipping Faygo showers?
What about that feeling you get when bumpin’ our ship? Who’s behind the Juggalo Powers?
This ain’t no flipping fan club!
It ain’t about making a buck!
Don’t buy our flipping action figures, whitch,
I don’t give a flip!
It ain’t about Violent J, or Shaggy,
the Butterfly, or 17
When we speak of Shangri-La, what you think we mean?!
Truth is, we follow God! We’ve always been behind Him
The Carnival is God - May all Juggalos find him!
(May the Juggalos find Him)
they arn’t sorry…
then end of something…
the begining of something else..
reborn into a greater meaning…
May we find him…
I just wanted to jump in after this post here to say a few things on Anti-Fight’s post. These are the lyrics to the last song on the 1st half of the 6th joker’s card, “The Wraith: Shangra-La” - The song is called thy unveiling. thats all.
You obviously have NO IDEA what the Dark Carnival is about….You have no idea what Shangri-la is. But, just because you don’t like the music, you’re quick to believe we all want to kill everybody that doesn’t listen to this music. I went to the Hell’s Pit Tour in MN, and while we were waiting in line to get in the building, there were people helping each other, and sharing with each other….And there were flyers being passed around for a couple different fundrasiers….fundraisers that helped the whole community, not just us juggalos…What I’m sayin, is don’t hate what you don’t know….If you honestly LISTENED to the music thru and thru, you’d know the true meaning of it all, and you’d probably wanna go to Shangri-la with the rest of us….