Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein

Brandon Backhaus

What's the best track and why?

B-Boy Alpha, because it's so grimy. And where else are you gonna get, “My mother said, you sucked my pussy when you came out. Don't ever talk back. I handed you life and I snatch it back."

I recommend listening to this record while...

Driving through downtown on a cold winter night. And not one of those hopeful, dreamy, “Radiohead is like the soundtrack to my life right now” moments. But on one of those you just got fired, your ass kicked, stood up, or otherwise beat down by this cold, cold world. It's in those moments where this album for the downtrodden makes total sense.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

A marriage between 1977's blackout era Bronx illness, with all its trash, tight track suits, serial killers and looting, and Blade Runner's dystopian, neo-noir metropolis. Let's light a fire in a trash can, yeah?

Anything else to add?

Vordul Mega's post Cold Vein solo record, Revolution Of Yung Havoks, was actually pretty dope. Also, El-P and Company Flow flipped it up so much with Funcrusher Plus, what were the odds that dude could do it again? With Def Jux and Cold Vein, he did though. He really did.

Dick Richardson

What's the best track and why?

Painkillers is amazing. The instrumentals have this incredibly lazy flow and goddamn is it ever invigorating. Listening to it reminds me of a big fat guy figure skating with incredible ease.

I recommend listening to this record while...

Chilling as hard as humanly feasible. I could also quite possibly skateboard for weeks on end with this as a soundtrack.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

Myself being a total doofus for not discovering this earlier. This record has the raw, stripped sound of Wu-Tang and some of the disjointed weirdness of Doom. You could probably make a thousand other comparisons, but why even bother?

Anything else to add?

This is a solid record from start to finish, which is especially notable since it is 74 minutes long and never grows tiresome at any point. It pains me to think this is the only real full-length release they'll ever have.

Joel Frieders

What's the best track and why?

It's a toss up for me between Iron Galaxy and Atom. Iron Galaxy just set the mood off perfectly and is essentially what I think of when I think of The Cold Vein. Atom is a classic in that it was the first time I heard Tim without thinking he was Samoan.

I recommend listening to this record while...

Driving. This was one of my go to's while driving too and from Western Illinois University in 2000, 2001, and 2002. It was 212 miles and I could listen to this three times in a row before popping on some dubbed Playboy radio for a little road yank. YEAH I SAID IT!

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

Cold New York City nights with snow snowing up from the ground. There's a really dank feel to it, that I basically attribute to Tim convincing the other rappy rappers not to change their drawls when in the studio.

Anything else to add?

If I could recommend one thing for kids these days to listen to besides this album, it would be the sound of my shit hitting the water on a daily basis. Because it sounds so much more organic than 99% of the crap they're putting in their ear holes that's labeled "rap".

HI EL-P! LOVE THE SHOES!

Roy Wyeth Jr.

What's the best track and why?

Atom has always been my favorite track. Plus it's pure magic when Alaska reminds you of anything besides the cunt that bore the Palins, inebriated Eskimo inequality & emotionless Duke basketball recruits.

I recommend listening to this record while...

Moving suspiciously thru gray streets... head down under the hood of your army fatigue jacket.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

Eating mushrooms in a frigid garage. It was under these very circumstances that I first realized my friend Jon evolved from the Australian Emu. Big beaked prick!

Anything else to add?

This is the last physical CD that I ever purchased. This album always reminds me of that strange tipping point between the street adventure of music consumption in the '90s & the ass sitting behind keyboards of today.

Tim Baker

What's the best track and why?

There are so many that I could put here but I guess it has to come down to the two tracks I most associate with this album. So either Iron Galaxy, Pigeon or Scream Phoenix. The production and lyrics are just so perfectly fitting and really elevated the artform and showed its potential. At gun point I am going with Pigeon. It captures the vibe and the underlying theme of finding excellence in doom best.

I recommend listening to this record while...

Alone. This is not the get the party started record. It is insanely personal, dark and beautiful. It is great winters in old cities.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

Pain. The pain that brought this work to the surface and the pain that followed.

Anything else to add?

There seems to be a lot of revisionist history about Vast and his work on Cold Vein. I think people are having trouble distancing the Vast of today from the Vast of Can Ox. I find this to be horribly unfair. Sure Vordul's work was more dense and thus took longer to attach to, but without Vast many might not have taken the time too. And let's be real, when this album dropped people went nuts for Vast. So much so in fact I think it ruined him. He could never live up to the expectations placed on him because he truly took the artform high point on this record.

Brendan Ryan

What's the best track and why?

Stress Rap is the song that I come back to again and again, mainly because of Vordul's verse at the end. It's really amazing. When this dropped I was a much bigger fan of Vast, but now I basically listen to this for Vordul. I do miss Vast from this era though.

I recommend listening to this record while...

I recommend listening to this track while driving your pickup truck to Southern Wisconsin in January at midnight, and smoking so much weed.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

While listening to this record I pictured Joel tending to his beehives in slow motion.

Anything else to add?

I feel like the last decade was a great one for rap, and this was probably my favorite record from that time period. Both of these guys are great rappers, but Vordul's style has held up better for me personally, and I feel like this is his best work. Also, an obligatory "perfect winter album" comment.

Scrill Kosby

What's the best track and why?

Stress Rap. It is, as it's name implies, the perfect antidote to stress. I'm sure some carefully calculated binaural beat patterns on this track. It elicits a perfectly euphoric state inside my head each time I listen to it. And, this has happened, invariably, for the past 5 years, since first hearing it.

I recommend listening to this record while...

Creating something that no one has ever thought of, that no one's ever thought of thinking of, and that no one (in their right mind) would ever think of.

While I listened to this record, I pictured...

Spacescapes. A place far away, unlike any earthly dwelling, qualities heavenly, yet forbidding. Beautiful. Beauty and passion of a awe inspiring degree -- like staring directly into the sun.

Anything else to add?

This album's release is the other major world changing history event, called out by the year 2-0-0-1.