Army Of The Pharaohs - The Torture Papers [2006]

Released: March 21, 2006
Uploaded: February 10, 2008

Tracklist:

1. Battle Cry
2. Gorillas
   [You can listen to this song here]
   
3. Henry The 8th
4. Pull The Pins Out
5. Tear It Down
   [You can watch the video for this song here]
   
6. Into The Arms Of Angels
7. The Torture Papers
8. Listen Up
9. All Shall Perish
   [You can listen to this song here]
   
10. Wrath Of Gods
11. Narrow Grave
12. Feast Of The Wolves
13. King Among Kings

The Bonus Papers:

1. Silence & I
2. The Presidents Wife
3. The Army
4. I Against I [Revisited]
   

File Size: 93 MB

DOWNLOAD: Sharebee

INFO: Wikipedia
INCLUDED:

• Full Album Lyrics
  
• Full Album Artwork
• All Tracks Are VBR [GroupRip]

Underground9 Overview:
This is the debut album from collective Army Of The Pharaohs, released on Babygrande Records.
AOTP is a Hip Hop supergroup originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC Vinnie Paz in 1998.
From the beginning, Paz had envisioned the group as a loose collaboration between the biggest names in East Coast Underground hip hop, very similar to the original Wu-Tang Clan.
AOTP is currently composed of rappers 7L, Apathy, Celph Titled, Chief Kamachi, Crypt The Warchild, Demoz, Des Devious, Doap Nixon, Esoteric, King Magnetic, Jus Allah, King Syze, Planetary, Reef The Lost Cauze and Vinnie Paz; King Magnetic, Jus Allah, Demoz and Doap Nixon are not featured on this album since they joined the group after this album's release.
The production is mainly handled by unknown beatmakers, this disappointed a lot of people since JMT's Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind doesn't produce any track.
Here's another track by track review that i know most people enjoy reading.

Battle Cry:
This is the first track off the album and most praised among fans, it's also my favorite song on this record.
Every time i listen to a new album i don't pay much attention to the first few tracks, so i haven't realized how good this one is until a friend started talking about it.
The Shuko produced beat is an amazing fast paced orchestral banger, the name explains it all since the lyrics are aggressive and each rapper shines.
Celph Titled comes up with a great delivery while Kamachi's verse is my favorite:

"Courtesy of the streets, make it a microphone Middle East
My specialty, only rhymer envelopin' my lyric sheets
Knock turbans off of Sheiks, use a pipe bomb
Downtown Israeli boutiques full of dead tourists
With they dreams no longer in arms reach
That's what I call dealin' with calm speech
When I alarm your peeps
Inscribed in a peasant's palm is a blessed psalm
If you draw and your weapons wrong, there ain't no steppin' on
My forty five is my weapon
My culture's a holstered with seven inch slugs is kept in
Squarely I step in, tiltin' my clips and blue Stesson
God is my essence, and you could check these rhymes for reference
adept to any preference, pussy"

Esoteric's verse is painful to my opinion, lyrically it's impressive but a monotone flow and half pronounced words make it anything but understandable.
The track sets the perfect mood for the album and each rapper "introduces" himself to the listener, this is without a doubt the song that will impress you the most.
Gorillas:
The first time i heard this song i was speechless, the beautiful yet dark beat impressed me and it was my favorite song on the album for weeks, it still amazes me on every listen, despite the annoying hook.
Each verse on this track is great, Esoteric's lyrics stand out but like with all of his appearances he manages to disappoint on the mic.
Henry The 8th:
I heard so much about this song when the album leaked, people talking about this being a standout song and people praising the production, this more than anything ruined this song for me.
The beat is rich with sounds but incredibly repetitive in my opinion, while the hook is decent.
Lyrically it's average, it's funny that in a whole verse Vinnie Paz managed to say pretty much nothing.
Kamachi's verse is pretty solid while the rest disappoint.
Pull The Pins Out:
Average song with a really annoying hook.
It's performed by Celph Titled and Esoteric, Celph does a pretty nice job while Esoteric, well he just sucks at rapping.
How is it possible that a rapper could eat up every word on his verse, i got sleepy listening to his annoying voice mumble over and over.
Tear It Down:
This is the album's single, it has an addictive beat and a decent hook, lyrically it's average.
A lot of people prefer this song's mood to the rest of the album, it's lighter material and another good track.
Into The Arms Of Angels:
This song differs from the rest of the album, it's a more personal track, emotional as it reflects in it's lyrics.
The production is a slow mix of guitar play and strings background while the hook is a harmonious chorus.
Lyrically it's excellent, the rappers take a different approach, Vinnie Paz talks about some family problems and difficulties in his past while Faez One does a great job.
Crypt The Warchild is my favorite on this one, here's a part of his verse:

"Y'all don't know what it's like bein' born with stress against you
Only feelin' in this world is the life within you
You'd have to be damn near dead to see the nights I been through
Damn near dead to feel the wind beneath you
Envisionin' so much, my minds an open window
Where I gather all these thoughts for all your broken info
If seein' is believin', then there's more to live fo'
My only reasonin' is breathin' and I live to just hope
What you know about bein' bedside next to your girl
On poison control IV's 'cause she can't stand the world?
And what you know about no heat and no electric?
I sold my MP to pay the bills, I'm so pathetic"

I don't listen to this one much but i recognize that it deserves more attention, i woulda hoped for more tracks like this one on AOTP's following album.
The Torture Papers:
I always skip this one, listening to this one right now and i find it more than decent, the beat is too repetitive for me.
Listen Up:
I always confuse this track with "Tear It Down", the beat is pretty similar, this is more of a filler.
Esoteric raps slightly better than before but still makes my listen painful.
Crypt disappoints and Celph sounds just corny as shit.
All Shall Perish:
Chief Kamachi makes this one of my favorite songs on the album with amazing flow and wordplay, King Syze does a great job in stylizing his verse and Vinnie Paz comes as raw as he was on his old days.
The beat is fast and rich with sound, this is another track produced by Shuko, i don't know who the fuck he is but he does a great job on those beats.
Wrath Of Gods:
Terrible track to my opinion, Apathy is decent on this track and Planetary does a pretty good job.
What makes it terrible?
Well, the beat is garbage and Esoteric makes his way trough the track mumbling.
Narrow Grave:
What hit me first is the amazing beat, a very clean sample makes it worth calling it "perfect".
Kamachi shines on this track as well, while Planetary does a great job.
A lot of metaphors on this dark track, it's one of my favorites on the album.
Feast Of The Wolves & King Among Kings:
Two tracks with equally terrible beats, i can't possibly go trough Esoteric's mumbling along a garbage beat on the last one, but hey, every album has some shit songs.
Silence & I:
What a shame, this song was excluded from the album, it easily tops any other song in there.
If it was part of the album it would be my favorite, amazing beat and brilliant verses along perfect flows.
Celph kills the track with punchlines and brilliant wordplay, while Vinnie Paz doesn't disappoint and King Syze is at his best.

So I'm pretty sure you'll love it... as long as you ain't looking for deep storytelling and emotional tracks, the record is called "The Torture Papers", calling it a torture isn't right so just know that abusive words and threats are overused, wrapped in complex lyrics though so i can't judge.

I know that many of you have this one already, but i had to do it... don't question me.


Flow & Lyrics: 8/10
Beats: 8/10

Here you can read a full review on RapReviews.

Download and enjoy.