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The horrorcore band Twiztid is touring in support of a new album, "The Continuous Evilution of Life's ?'' The tour stops at the Agora on Friday, Feb. 10.
(Majik Ninja Entertainment)
PREVIEW
Twiztid
When:
6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.
Where:
Agora Ballroom, 5000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
Openers:
Blaze, Boondox, G-Mo Skee, the R.O.C., Lex the Hex Master.
Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 day of show, at the box office, online at agoracleveland.com, ticketweb.com and by phone at 216-881-2221.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Twiztid's "Kill Somebody'' isn't exactly a lullaby:
Should I chop 'em? Time to cut 'em
Maybe shoot 'em? Kill 'em all!
Use an axe or a Glock
A knife or a chainsaw
I'm gonna kill somebody!
I wanna [bleeping] kill somebody!
But Monoxide - the stage name of Paul Methric, who is one-half of the Detroit-born duo that will be at the Agora on Friday, Feb. 10 - insists that it's a song that reaches out to the nation of fans who are feeling alone and disenfranchised.
"We speak for the unspoken,'' said Methric, who's been making horrorcore rap with his partner and best friend Jamie Spaniolo (stage name Jamie Madrox), for 20 years now.
"We speak for the forgotten, the ones people have already turned their backs on,'' he said. "We have a better relationship with these kids than some of their own parents.''
"These kids'' are what is known as "juggalos.'' The term came from the original horrorcore band - and the one-time mentors of Twiztid -- Insane Clown Posse (the two are involved in what Methric referred to as "just brothers fighting.'') According to Wikipedia - which in this rare case, is pretty accurate, ICP's Shaggy 2 Dope describes juggalos as coming "from all walks of life - from poverty, from rich, from all religions, all colors. ... It doesn't matter if you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or a crack rock in your mouth."
The faithful are known for drinking and spraying Faygo cola and wearing face paint. But the big thing is that juggalos refer to themselves as a family.
It's a little difficult for some to understand, and for many, the music and lyrics are too harsh and too violent, but really, appealing to the disaffected is a hallmark of rock 'n' roll. And Monoxide/Methric has an answer for those critics:
"Before you speak on something that you don't know about, just come on out and ask,'' he said. "We'll let you know exactly what's going on.''
As for the violence in those words and music, it's real . . . but it's not real real.
"We are the escape,'' Methric said. "We are no different than a Michael Myers ['Halloween'] or a Jason Voorhees ['Friday the 13th'] movie, except we do it musically.
"We're the escape from the usual [expletive] that's being pushed on people,'' he said.
The two friends have been making their brand of nightmarish hip-hop and metal since forming their partnership in the poorer areas of Detroit, and their professional relationship has only strengthened over the years.
"I accept him for everything he is, for all his quirks, and he accepts me because we both understand that nobody loves Twiztid more than we do,'' he said.
"We might get into arguments about stuff','' said Methric, who is more into the business end of things. "I trust him in the areas I know he excels in, like graphic design, covers and concepts, but I'd never throw him in a board meeting with the retail buyer from Best Buy.''
Somewhere in those racks at Best Buy is the band's new album, "The Continuous Evilution of Life's ?'s,'' which is home to "Kill Somebody.'' The 12th studio album for a group that's also had numerous mixtapes, this one adds a little more pure rock 'n' roll to the horrorcore hip-hop.
"[Evolution] is what this record is,'' Methric said. "it's a show of the progression from whence we started, with everything that's made us us, what we've learned about songwriting and melodies and stuff like that.''
Ironically, some websites that cover the genre have criticized the album because "it's not horror,'' he said.
"I think that's a grand misstatement,'' Methric said. "I believe horror is more than blood and guts. Anxiety attacks and panic disorder are absolutely horrifying.''
So why the criticism?
"Because we found a way to make horror more than blood and guts,'' he said. "We made horror relatable in everyday life.''
Even if they had to "Kill Somebody'' to do it.