House Of Pain - Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again (October 22, 1996)

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again is the third album from the fake Boston Los Angeles-based trio House Of Pain. It ended up also being their final album, as lead artist Eric “Everlast” Schrody broke up the band, which also consisted of Leor “DJ Lethal” Dimant and part-time rapper Daniel “Danny Boy” O’Connor, the very day that Tommy Boy Records released the album to stores. For anyone reading these words who may believe that to be a harbinger of a bad album to come, just know that you’re absolutely correct, but also that the three artists reconvened as part of Danny Boy’s loose-knit La Coka Nostra art and music collective less than a decade later, and House Of Pain itself has recently been reinstated into at least the culture of live hip hop shows, even if we likely won’t ever get another project from them.

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again, a title lifted from a poem by William Cullen Bryant but misunderstood by the label's graphic design team, as it appears on the front cover as Truth Crushed To Earth Will Rise Again, is a bit of a departure from their first two projects, 1994’s Same As It Ever Was and their monster self-titled 1992 debut (which is also known as Fine Malt Lyrics in some circles). It remains the only album in the group’s catalog that features no real input from DJ Muggs, who, up to this point, had acted as a champion of the crew (who were considered a part of his massive Soul Assassins collective) and the inspiration for their overall sound: blunted rock and funk samples looped up to maximize their flavor profile. Instead, both DJ Lethal and Everlast took control of their own destiny, handling every beat of the project, while Danny Boy probably sat in a nearby corner and played Ecco the Dolphin on his Sega Game Gear or something, I don’t know, what’s important is that this was Eric and Leor’s game to lose.

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again is also the only album in the group’s catalog that features a larger roster for the group itself, a significant change that went almost entirely unacknowledged by anyone in the know, but one you can catch by looking at the liner notes, where the group photos feature two additional faces: those of rappers Mark “Divine Styler” Richardson and Otis Olivier Lyjasu Williams, known here as Cokni O’Dire, both of whom were remnants of Everlast’s pre-House days as a solo artist affiliated with Ice-T’s Rhyme Syndicate crew. As far as I can remember, neither was ever officially announced as a new member of House Of Pain, but they also aren’t provided feature credits on any of the songs they appear on here, which makes things pretty confusing, although rumor has it that Everlast had previously teamed up with his boys to form a new group called the Killa Rhyme Klik, and some of the tracks they had recorded for their debut wound up repurposed for Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again for whatever reason. Divine Styler and Cokni O’Dire make enough appearances combined on this project for that claim to have some validity, to be honest, but that still doesn’t explain whether they were officially a part of the group at the time. I’m leaning toward “no”, so I’m including their feature credits in my write-up below, just to be safe.

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again was ultimately a dud in the eyes of hip hop heads, at least at the time. Sales-wise, it fumbled the bag, although that could also be construed as Tommy Boy’s fault, as I can only recall the release of two singles from the project, and the second was a remix of the first, which isn’t very helpful. After the breakup, Everlast would move on to restart his solo career, combining his gruff rhymes with acoustic guitar and his own singing vocals in an effort to reinvent himself, a move that paid off for him handsomely. DJ Lethal transitioned over to the popular rap-rock nonsense of Limp Bizkit, a group he’s still a member of to this day despite frontman Fred Durst’s general cringe-worthiness. As for Danny Boy, I assume he just sat back and lived off of his “Jump Around” royalties while considering his next steps.

1. THE HAVE NOTS
The bleak, but melodic, soundscape album opener “The Have Nits” presents the listener serves as proof that, while DJ Muggerud may not have had any hand in the creation of Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again, his influence weighs heavily on the proceedings. This has nowhere near the amount of positive chaotic energy of “Jump Around”, however: “The Have Nots” plays more like a somber-but-menacing Cypress Hill album cut. DJ Lethal and Everlast manage to whip up an instrumental that sounds damn near whimsical with its darkness, a perfect complement to the screaming that occurs during the intro and outro. Everlast takes on bookending verses (and the hook), his shit-talk, while good, making clear that he may no longer be having so much fun with this here rap shit, which helps explain why the group broke up on the day of this project’s release. Danny Boy has a brief verse smack in the middle of the track that injects the tiniest amount of levity into what is ultimately a massive downer about sticking it to those with means (the “Haves”). Not a bad way to kick off an album, but definitely not what was expected of the group at the time.

2. FED UP (FEAT. COKNI O’DIRE)
Very likely not the version of “Fed Up” you’re accustomed to hearing, but you can’t have a remix without cracking the eggs of the original or some other similar metaphor you two can come up with later. The instrumental here is darker and much more inaccessible than that of the remix, and there’s even what appears to be the sound of a dial-up modem trying to connect to the Internet during the hook, which was both disconcerting and kind of funny even though Everlast plays his role here as deadly serious. (Except for the line, “You high on gas like a rasta man farted,” which, le sigh.) Friend of the podcast Cokni O’Dire lends his vocals to the intro, outro, and the chorus, providing a reggae contrast to our host's three boast- and bullshit-filled verses, and while the two sounded fine together, “Fed Up” never added up as a whole. Likely because I already know what the remix sounds like, of course – had that never been recorded, this version wouldn’t have ever become an addition to my playlist, but I’d probably treat it with a modicum of respect. But the remix eliminates the need for this album cut (which was also released as a single, for what it’s worth) to even exist. So.

3. WHAT’S THAT SMELL? (FEAT. DIVINE STYLER)
That title… oof, that just doesn’t seem promising, does it? Throw in guest Divine Styler’s assertion during the intro that the song “is for all the dirty bitches out there," and it sure does set up a highly specific set of expectations for the subject matter, am I right? “What’s That Smell?” never goes in that direction, though: Everlast talks his shit while describing how he plans to, er, “romance” a potential fuck buddy, even providing a contingency plan if he cramps up where she will still climax (which was not only nice of him, it was virtually unheard of in hip hop back in 1996), while Styler recites six or seven bars from his own song, “Ain’t Sayin Nuthin’”, which is an appropriate choice, since he literally says nothing during his verse, his obtuse shit-talk rapping circles around itself until it falls over dizzy. Technically Divine Styler sounded pretty good here, but there’s no substance to speak of. DJ Lethal and Everlast’s instrumental was pretty weak at first, but the drums that ultimately kick in were harder than expected, which helped drive the cattle home, but you won’t ever check for this one again.

4. HEART FULL OF SORROW (FEAT. SADAT X & DIVINE STYLER)
House Of Pain seems to have a problem with song titles this time around, as “Heart Full of Sorrow” isn’t so much a depressing look at various regrets as it is Everlast and guest Sadat X going back and forth about why they made it in the music industry while you most certainly will not. The beat smashes together a lo-fi melody with the Soul II Soul drums from EPMD’s “So What Cha Sayin”, an odd mix that never meshes as cohesive musical backing, although that doesn’t exactly stop either rapper (or Divine Styles, popping back up toward the end to spit another verse) from charging through the pain while laughing at up-and-coming rappers who they feel will never earn the opportunity to share the limelight with them. Their argument is thus: Sadat X and Everlast are hip hop to the core because they can drop names of old-school artists or talk about concerts they attended, whereas their perceived competition simply doesn’t possess the passion for the art form, nor the skill required to last in an industry that famously eats its young. I did enjoy how Everlast’s line, “I ain’t quitting until I’m shitting on Donald Trump!” has taken on brand new meaning since 1996, however. Styler’s brief contribution continues in this same vein, barely rhyming as he takes artists that “want to make money money ,and take every honey” to task, even claiming that any sexual assault charges they may receive would only help their careers from behind bars. The music isn’t strong enough for any of this chastising to hit the mark, and in my opinion Sadat X and Everlast aren’t exactly the names I immediately think of when people talk about the upper echelon of rappers, but it was kind of interesting to hear Sadat tackle the same subject matter as he did on A Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 classic “Show Business”.

5. EARTHQUAKE (FEAT. DIVINE STYLER)
I’m starting to understand why Everlast was so willing to pull the plug on House Of Pain during the recording sessions of Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again. DJ Lethal aside, Eric seems to be the only rapper in the group that even bothered coming in to work day in and day out. Hell, Divine Styler has made more appearances on Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again than actual group member Danny Boy at this point. And Daniel is nowhere to be found on “Earthquake”, the first song of the evening that just outright sounds like Lethal and Eric were running out of steam. The music is bland boom bap lacking imagination, and Everlast’s two verses (and crappy hook) have the rushed energy of something that had been jotted down two minutes before turning in the assignment. There’s just very little effort to be found here: only Eric’s references to Soundgarden and Space Ghost Coast To Coast (not within the same bar, sadly) manage to make his performance even the slightest amount of interesting. Divine Styler handles the middle verse, his awkward non-rhyming flow not suitable for a song ostensibly about how House Of Pain (or Everlast specifically) brings with them the force of an “Earthquake” every time they touch ground, which is just another way for our host to claim that he’ll give your girl only the most world-shattering orgasms. That’s a bit clever, actually. Not enough to make this song worth listening to, but still.

6. SHUT THE DOOR (FEAT. DIVINE STYLER & COKNI O’DIRE)
Speaking of Everlast’s perceived ability to make your girl cum, we have “Shut The Door”, another fuck jam that is somehow even worse than “Earthquake” even though the beat is moderately better. (Sure do wish the drums on here had found a more stable forever home.) Rappers boasting about their sexual prowess and literally salivating whenever they see a single breast aren’t new to our chosen genre (or to music as a whole), but in hip hop it always comes across as a bit of overcompensation – odds are the average House Of Pain fan who was even still paying attention to the group in 1996 wasn’t female, so who exactly were they trying to prove themselves to? Returning guests Cokni O’Dire and Divine Styler (again!) jump into the mix with their own takes on the subject matter, neither contribution really going anywhere, but this is Everlast’s show, and with lines such as, “Let me push up in the thighs and fertilize your egg,” our host positions himself firmly into the category of Non-Entertaining Overly Clinical Sex Rapper, an overly-wordy description that could certainly use a punch-up. Ugh, I can’t wash the cringe out soon enough.

7. PASS THE JINN (FEAT. DIVINE STYLER & COKNI O’DIRE)
The primary argument for Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again having ever seen the light of day to begin with (aside from the “Fed Up” remix) comes in the form of “Pass The Jinn”, a rowdy, energetic posse cut that is by far the best song of the evening thus far. Predictably, Danny Boy isn’t anywhere to be found, but, like on every other House Of Pain song, his absence isn’t exactly noticeable, as Everlast tackles “Pass the Jinn” alongside his other, more reliable friends whose parents had a pool. The boasts and bullshit fly on this banging DJ Lethal production, each participant jumping in multiple times to try their hand at outdoing the last guy, and the song is fun and infections as a result. Styler’s awkward flow has its edges sanded off by the musical backing, and O’Dire receives far more screen time than was expected, marking this as an unheralded gem even if it does contain an Everlast bar that quite literally goes, “Take me to your house of pain.”

8. NO DOUBT
Meh.

9. CHOOSE YOUR POISON
DJ Lethal’s instrumental approaches the party-in-the-studio vibe Dr. Dre had successfully cultivated for “Puffin’ On Blunts & Drankin’ On Tanqueray”, even managing to evoke the same type of sound at times, but Lethal is no medical professional, so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that “Choose Your Poison” misses the mark. So of course this is the song where Danny Boy finally returns from the bathroom, turning in a hollow performance that at least plays like he wanted to be there. Eric, however, is in fine form, not allowing something as trivial as “horrific musical backing” disrupt his mission, spitting threats and punchlines with ease. Don’t get me wrong, this song sucks, it’s just that Everlast doesn’t suck on it. Let’s move on.

10. X-FILES
There’s nothing particularly alien or supernatural about “X-Files”, so why is this song saddled with that title? Your guess is as good as mine. DJ Lethal’s beat sounded alright, a possible precursor to the sound our host would manifest for his next project. For his part, Everlast seemed relaxed through his two verses, which touch on religious inclusion before segueing into sheer boasts-n-bullshit, sounding genuine the entire time. “I’ll knock all of y’all off this ‘Wonderwall’” is a corny line, certainly, but it’s delivered with so much fucking earnestness that you’re just going to let it go without overthinking it. Flies by like an interlude, really.

11. FED UP (REMIX) (FEAT. GURU & COKNI O’DIRE)
We’ve finally reached the only track on Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again that many of you two will even possibly remember, and, would you look at that, it probably still isn’t the version of “Fed Up” you’re familiar with. Oh, it’s almost there, definitely: Everlast’s verses, altogether different from the original take from earlier this evening, are a constant between remixes, as is DJ Lethal’s (banging) instrumental, which repurposes the same sample source as Gang Starr’s “Just To Get A Rep” with success, lending the music kinetic energy that supports our host’s effervescent shit-talking. But guest star Guru, of (huh, would you look at that?) Gang Starr, steals the show not because of his performance, but because of his dueling performances: both versions of the remix features different verses from the late rapper-slash-producer. The take that appears on the album features Keith Elam spitting aggressive bars that he would later repurpose for the 1997 tracks “You Know My Steez” and “So Wassup?!”, which helps explain why the other remix, the version that the video is tracked to, nixes most of that in favor of fresher lyrics presented in a much more sarcastic manner. (My best guess is that those two Gang Starr songs were recorded around the same time as “Fed Up (Remix)”, and as it became more obvious that Tommy Boy was going to release it as a single, he realized that it wouldn’t be a good look to have the same set of lyrics appearing twice out there in the wild. It’s just a guess, of course – I have no fucking clue what happened here.) The remix to the “Fed Up” remix is the superior take on this material overall, as Guru sounds much more engaged with Everlast’s calmer, mercenary tone, while the album remix (what a strange descriptor to type out) is missing the spark that would turn the tide, even though our host’s bars are exactly the same on both. Cokni O’Dire pops up toward the end to reprise his ad-libs from the original song as a refinished outro, which was entirely unnecessary.

12. KILLA RHYME KLIK (FEAT. DIVINE STYLER & COKNI O’DIRE)
“Pass the Jinn” is an underrated posse cut gem from the Killa Rhyme Klik, but this song, actually named after the crew themselves, is not. DJ Lethal’s instrumental isn’t that bad – it’s boom bap-ness will sufficiently get your head nodding involuntarily, and the slight melody throughout provided a pleasing contrast. But the performances wherein weren’t up to snuff: while our host sounded fine, his flow (awkwardly broken up into bursts of short phrases such as, “I got platoons, I got regiments, I got battalions”, stretched out throughout an entire verse) was so simplistic as to be kind of insulting, while O’Dire and Divine Styler, who bookend the piece, fail to bring anything resembling entertainment value to the potluck., I understand Everlast not wanting to waste his friends’ recordings, but after listening to this one again, I totally get why the Killa Rhyme Klik group album was nixed. Ah well.

13. WHILE I’M HERE
With “While I’m Here”, House of Pain is three for three with the final tracks on their full-length offerings being dedicated to shout-outs directed toward their friends and families. Everlast goes through the trouble of trying to rhyme each line, which was a very nice touch, but don’t get it twisted – this is just a list of acknowledgements, not a song, although it is set to a DJ Lethal beat punctuated by an Audio Two vocal sample. And with that, we’re done, not just with the album, but with House of Pain itself. (Although Patreon supporters can read a little bit more regarding this project by clicking here.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Considering that Everlast broke up House Of Pain on the day of this project’s release, you may have expected Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again to play as a victory lap of sorts, a final offering from a crew who felt they were leaving the game while on top. Not to worry - Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again plays more like a hastily-compiled collection of whatever the group had sitting on the hard drive that was mastered enough for release, delivered to Tommy Boy Records in an effort to stave off the death knell for as long as possible. It doesn’t seem like anybody’s heart was in it on the final product: Everlast sounds tired of all of the bullshit, DJ Lethal’s beats feel a bit rushed (although some of them still bang, don’t get me wrong), and you can count Danny Boy’s appearances on his own album with just one hand. Divine Styler and Cokni O’Dire, who weren’t technically a part of House Of Pain but I can see how they’d be considered late additions when it came to Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again, make many more appearances here than fucking Danny Boy. I can understand why Everlast was tired of literally carrying the group on his back.

Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again is a coherent, but not cohesive, straight-through listen, the only constant here being Everlast’s attempts at making it seem like everything is fine. The House Of Pain featured here is a group living on borrowed time, their spirits having been dashed back when Same As It Ever Was failed to live up to the heights of their debut. There are brief instances where it seems like the House was capable of winning once again, but those are few and far between here. Ultimately, what tanks Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again is the lack of conviction behind most of the artists present, aside from guest Guru, whose high-energy performance, a departure from his own work in Gang Starr, remains memorable to this day (possibly because a lot of us had already committed his lyrics to memory because of a different song, but I digress). The constant appearances from the other members of the Killa Rhyme Klik might read like a fun time for you two, but they really only serve to distract you from the fact that the group was imploding, and also they aren’t all that great in the first place. There’s a bit of chemistry between Everlast, Divine Styler, and Cokni O’Dire, but not enough to warrant their constant cameos here, so maybe it’s a good thing that we never got that full-length from them, huh? At least House Of Pain knew when to hang it up, although they could have quietly done so prior to Truth Crushed To Earth Shall Rise Again without any of us really missing anything. Everlast’s transition to Whitey Ford would have seemed a bit more out of left field, sure, but we wouldn’t have missed this.

BUY OR BURN? A stream is more than sufficient here. Everlast has his moments, but as a whole this project just doesn’t hold up within a body of work where the highs are “Jump Around”-levels of stratospheric.

BEST TRACKS: “Fed Up (Remix) (Video Version)” (this is a cheat, I know, but you really should look it up); “Pass the Jinn”; “The Have Nots”

-Max

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There’s some more on the House Of Pain story that you can follow by clicking here.