The Amazing Jeckel Brothers

Fifth album time for the puerile Detroit duo and, boy, have they let their imaginations run wild. Not content with spouting their pathetic, sexist comic-book fantasies themselves, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope have enlisted the 'help' of telephone pranksters The Jerky Boys and noted comedians Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ice-T and Snoop Dogg in a bid to once again spread their unique and worryingly successful 'Dark Carnival philosophy', a decidedly disturbed, and well-subscribed to, world view.

It's a fagade to hide behind, anyway, though one which hardly excuses the childish and tediously offensive sentiments of 'Bitches', 'I Stab People' and, naturally, 'Fuck The World'. The fact that ICP want to kill or abuse most women is bad enough, but coupled with the slick, dumbed-down Dungeons & Dragons rap-rock schtick they smear over every song, the effect is often unbearable. Even the frequently funny Jerky Boys have donated their least amusing phone skits.

Yet in a year which has already seen Eminem tackle similarly dubious subjects with comparative lyrical dexterity and Marilyn Manson indirectly blamed for the deaths of US students, it seems ICP's retarded adolescent 'humour' and asthmatic grunting will, tragically, be more popular than ever.