Mutant, Vol. 2 (Twiztid 25th Anniversary)

The companion album to MAN'S MYTH (VOL. 1), which was released a month earlier, MUTANT (VOL. 2) is conceptually connected to its twin: the idea is that the first album is about the cultural influences that shape a person, and the second is about the warped result. The fact is that MUTANT (VOL. 2) is by far the better album; in fact, it's the best album of Twiztid's career, and the one on which the duo finally steps out from the shadow of their mentors the Insane Clown Posse. In fact, the sound of this album is far closer to Eminem's side of the Detroit hip-hop axis, specifically the cartoonish but musically fierce live-instruments-plus-samples sound of the best D12 tracks. The album's masterstrokes are the infernally catchy "Stardust," by some measure the best song the duo have yet managed (it contains a sing-songy chant that would have sounded right at home on Eminem's own ENCORE), and the spooky ambiance of the opening "Transformation of a New Civilization."