Metabolics

Metabolics came together in 1999 when horror film makeup aficionado and MC Mr. Deadand his menacing sidekick, Big Pat, met Wordsound kingpin Spectre at the Prince Paul video shoot where Dead was doing makeup. Being at the helm of a label well known as a haven for the weird, Spectre was taken in by Metabolics' cocktail of grisly horror imagery, bizarre references, and straight-up East Coast-style rapping. The M-Virus, their Wordsound debut, featured production and contributions from New Kingdom's Scott Harding, Prince Paul, and Spectre himself. Dead and Pat were immediately accepted by the larger hip-hop community as two more soldiers in the Wordsound war against sucka MCs -- specifically, purveyors of the pop/hip-hop sound that dominated the radio and music television. Despite critical acclaim, however, The M-Virus was virtually ignored. Nevertheless, Mr. Dead persevered. In 2001, Metabolics, Vol. 2: Dawn of the Dead appeared. While billed as a Dead solo effort, the record was essentially a logical step forward in Metabolics' progression, focusing the duo's sound on the whirring crazy dynamo inside Dead's head. Vol. 2 even featured Big Pat on numerous tracks, along with knob-twirling from likeminded miscreants Dan the Automator, Scotty Hard, and M. Sayyid of Antipop Consortium. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide