Within the first thirty seconds of Tornts third album “Hells Burn” you know exactly what you are gonna get. Scrap that, within the first 5 seconds of deep dirty bass, strings and drum loops you are taken straight into Hell with Tornts as your guide. “Tornts Is Back” picks straight up where 2006 release “Decimation Recordings” left off.

Tornts skills still lie in his dark imagery, his lyrics capture a seedier side to the city streets and put it forward in such a manner that the listener begins to look around them and start to notice exactly what Tornts is on about. Take a line out of “Final Warning” for example “Stumbling in tuned Air Max 2008 down Smith St. / Iceheads are twisted Torvill and Deans with schemes up their sleeves”. It is here the difference between those who choose to ignore or accept what is happening around them is highlighted. Certainly not preaching but painting the picture of the real world is one way of looking at Tornts lyrical matter, “It Is How It Is” is another perfect example of this style of lyricism.

Production once again is handled by Tornts himself and he has certainly progressed on this side. Still full of obscure samples and loops but this time with a heavier, bigger bass influence. Part grimy, part horrorcore, all MPC driven head nodders. Once again crafting his own soundscape works perfectly for his style of aggressive, take no prisoner hip hop. The production also suits the other emcees that appear on the album. Guest artists venture outside of the Hired Goons for the first time on a Tornts album, although not that far. With appearances from Brad Strut and 750 Rebels the verses are just as intense and aggressive and will not disappoint those who know what to expect of these beasts. Hired Goons are represented with spots for Bigfoot, Gargoyle, Fletchrock, Diem and fellow Booze Bastard Billy Bunks.

The main difference in Tornts new album are the lyrics that go that little deeper. Whilst in his past two releases it has been all about taking aim at various people who piss him off, in this there are quite a few glimpses into Tornts and his life. “Corrupt” delivers insights such as “Non forgiving psyche/ since I was a youngin rackin slyly/ raised up in the weatherboards entirely/no life of riley”. Similarly in “Rank Tale” we get a hung over tale including mistakes we have all made “I should have turned my phone off/ who did I ring/ ah fuck/ I severed those connections/ flashbacks of heckling/ and telling them I hate them”…”Torntski you’ve only got yourself to blame”. It is almost an acceptance of the negatives and consequences of certain actions. Once again this is where Hells Burn differs from the continual onslaught in past albums.

Overall this is a Tornts album, full stop. Aggressive, hateful and gritty. However this offering appears to have a more thoughtful landscape when it comes to the subject matter of the last two. No longer is it just hippies and toys within the scene being torn, Tornts is looking around the whole fucking world to pick out what he doesn’t agree with and he certainly lets it be known.

By Gareth M

Hellsburn is distributed by Shogun Entertainment and is available now in all good record stores – Go cop it, while it lasts! Ed

Tags: bill bunks, melburn hip hop, oz hip hop, tornts

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Album Reviews, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.