As The World Burns

zik - 4 stars out of 5 - "...the Arsonists mix styles, voices and ideas into something fresh. It's rare these days to come across hip hop artists who dare to do more than one thing..." Vibe - "...[a] potent introduction....these mike marauders not only recap their previously released gems...they showcase a handful of just-as-sizzling new songs....an uncomprimised tribute to the Arsonists' subterranean rhyming roots..." The Wire - "...the closest underground HipHop gets to mainstream acceptability....[The Arsonists] have memories that extend further than the first Wu-Tang album....It's a pretty good record..." Alternative Press - 4 out of 5 - "...Its wall-to-wall enthusiam makes the album an excellent antidote to lazily ostentatious 'playa' rap. Arsonists' fervency promotes the notion that hip hop itself...is profound and worth fighting for." Entertainment Weekly - "...lyrically these five MCs are in a league of their own. Complex, humorous freestyling is their specialty....the Arsonists have fresh ideas to burn." - Rating: B The Source - 3 1/2 mics (out of 5) - "...captures the true spirit of underground hip-hop with freestyles and stories comprised of witty metaphors and similes, diverse flows, squalid beats and energy..." The Source (9/99, pp.314,320) - 3 1/2 mics (out of 5) - "...captures the true spirit of underground hip-hop with freestyles and stories comprised of witty metaphors and similes, diverse flows, squalid beats and energy..." Vibe (10/99, p.187) - "...[a] potent introduction....these mike marauders not only recap their previously released gems...they showcase a handful of just-as-sizzling new songs....an uncomprimised tribute to the Arsonists' subterranean rhyming roots..." The Wire (8/99, p.61) - "...the closest underground HipHop gets to mainstream acceptability....[The Arsonists] have memories that extend further than the first Wu-Tang album....It's a pretty good record..." Alternative Press (10/99, pp.79-80) - 4 out of 5 - "...Its wall-to-wall enthusiam makes the album an excellent antidote to lazily ostentatious 'playa' rap. Arsonists' fervency promotes the notion that hip hop itself...is profound and worth fighting for." Muzik (9/99, p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...the Arsonists mix styles, voices and ideas into something fresh. It's rare these days to come across hip hop artists who dare to do more than one thing..." Entertainment Weekly (8/20-27/99, p.129) - "...lyrically these five MCs are in a league of their own. Complex, humorous freestyling is their specialty....the Arsonists have fresh ideas to burn." - Rating: B

ooklyn's Arsonists' 1999 debut LP AS THE WORLD BURNS opens with a flurry of ad-libs over the classic building crescendo from the Beatles' "A Day in the Life", before the sprawling collective explodes into a Wu-Tang-esque tag team flow. It's a fittingly odd (and somewhat audacious) introduction to the first hip-hop act inked to indie rock stalwart Matador Records. The various MCs of Arsonists flip rhymes off one another with the precision of the veterans they are, while the inventive production draws influence from rock, soul, disco, the circus, the Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" specials, and probably the kitchen sink.|