Twiztid's first nine studio albums established the Detroit duo as a cult favorite, combining dark rhymes with heavy beats and producing one of turn-of-the-millenium rap-metal's best tunes: misfit rallying cry "We Don't Die." On January 27th, they return with The Darkness, their first record since leaving Insane Clown Posse's Psychopathic Records, their label since 1997.
The album will be released on the duo's own Majik Ninja Entertainment, which, according to Monoxide, one of the group's members, was created following the lead of Psychopathic. "We learned that it can be done," the rapper says of Insane Clown Posse's independent empire. "You can have success and do it your way, as long as it's done right." With The Darkness, he is hoping to "solidify that we're not going anywhere as well as cement the fact that we are the epitome of the wickedness."
According to his partner Jamie Madrox, leaving Psychopathic was largely beneficial. "It's much easier to make decisions regarding a release when everyone shares in the same vision," Madrox tells Rolling Stone, explaining that the duo is so committed to the concept of darkness that they added a custom blindfold to their online store, "encouraging the listener to be in the dark for the full ride."
Below, listen to the first song off the album, the suitably dark grungy track "Back to Hell."
