Built from Scratch

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Built From Scratch is the follow-up to the X-Ecutioners' revolutionary debut LP which back in 1997 re-established the role of the DJ in contemporary hip-hop. The trio reinforced their status as some of the world's best turntablists, and also as erudite producers in their own right. It's been five years since that project hit the streets, but their long awaited follow up is well worth the wait. It's bigger, badder and even more technically on point than it's predecessor, weighing in at twenty tracks, all intricately constructed from scratches, skits, beat-juggles, flares and fades, cuts, pitch-plays, studio trickery and live drums and guitar (played by the DJ's).

MC performances come courtesy of MOP, Kool G Rap, Large Professor and Pharoahe Monch and there are DJ collabs with Premier, Dan The Automator, the Beat Junkies and Triple Threat, as well as an unlikely but successful pairing with Mike Shinoda and Mr Hahn of Linkin Park fame.

It's a quality document, with old and nu skool references liberally scattered throughout (check the updates of Marley Marl's "Marley Scratch", Whiz Kid's "Play That Beat Mr DJ" and Tom Tom Clubs "Genius Of Love"), guitar-driven headbangers like "Let It Bang" and retro-electro like "Feel The Bass". A must. --Paul Sullivan

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Customer reviews

review by: Symphonic Metal Fan date: 2008-06-10 rating:
Three stars for the album - 4 FOR IT'S GOIN' DOWN!
It's hard for me to review this as it's not really my genre of music - It's perhaps too 'DJey' for me - When it comes to hip hop, I'm more DMX or Public Enemy (showing my age!)
The reason I bought this was for the excellent, It's Goin' Down featuring Mike Shinoda & Joe Hahn from Linkin Park - One of the best mixes of Rap and Metal to date, with a great, if simple, riff, a neat rap from Shinoda and lots of cool samples, scratches and spins. I had hoped, I'd find a couple more similiar tracks but alas, no - This is definiteley one for the hip hop crowd especially if they like the more 'instrumental' side of things, all the turntables etc but if you want the Metal side of it, then you will only find the one track -so it's up to you what you're willing to pay.
There is a good LIVE performance of It's Goin' Down on YouTube - this time X-Ecutioners are teamed with Xzibit on main vocals AND Evan Seinfeld (bass guitar) and Billy Graziadei (guitar) from Biohazard, backing up on the chorus and really 'heavying' the music up! It was actually performed on the David Letterman show of all things! It's worth a look at...

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review by: doyster date: 2007-05-28 rating:
Music is in the eye of the beholder
This album proves more than ever that one mans meat is another mans poison (or murder). I read the reviews below and felt duty-bound to post my own to make this point clear.....

So imagine me. I like hip-hop and rap of course - and the rawer the better - no commercial chart guff thank you. I like my metal too, and I've seen really worthwhile crossover efforts from early pioneers RUN DMC (and how their last album kicked in this respect too - RIP JMJ), and Anthrax who collaborated with Public Enemy and produced their own efforts too (Attack of the Killer Bs), through time the real masters Cypress Hill (Skull and Bones, CD2 was and still is ground breaking), side projects like SX10 who take no prisoners whatsoever, through Eminem and Everlast who both have their racier moments, Kid Rock who can show how to get it so right and so wrong in consequetive tracks, Limp Bizkit - but check the early albums with guest rappers who know their stuff not like the lame Fred Durst, through bands who gave it spin and made it their sound like Rage Against the machine and Downset, respected Gods of rapping like Mos Def who dabbled with interesting but marmite-like results, and on to the latter day collaborations between the likes of Jaz Z and Linkin Park (which incidentally is pure brilliance, as easy as it is to diss..)

Well for all the reviews below this isn't a rap/metal crossover album. Forget that. Clearly It's goin Down is a good track, but the rest of the album is nothing like it. No worries I thought, the rest'll stand on it's own 2 feet surely? 'Fraid not. Problem is, the scratchin and rappin elemnts are weak too. More or less every track sounds tinny, annoying, repetitve, and one-dimensional. You heard one scratch you heard em all? Well you have on this album. Funnily enough the normally annoying skits we see on many a rap album are actually quite entertaining on this one though. There - that's me being positive again.

Go into this expecting a scratchathon for scratchaddicts. Don't think you're getting anything more substantial. AND PLEASE DON'T THINK IT'S A RAP-METAL THING!

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review by: stustar554 date: 2005-07-08 rating:
True hip hop must have this album
this is one of the best albums i have. I had only heard of the x-ecutioners when they released its goin down with linkin park. i brought this album and its really good. i have been a fan of hip hop for many years and these are up there with the best. the songs vary from fast rapping ones to slower ones with more singing and less rapping. they seem to get the turntabling right and all the beats and rhymes link in with each other well. Great DJs that they all are they also have appearances from people like MOP, Linkin Park and Everlast among others all of which have good careers and are big names in hip hop.Buy this album if you are a hip hop fan as it is raw and true turntable music from four top DJ's with bags of talent who will be around for years. Expect more from these...

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review by: bigtdag date: 2003-06-05 rating:
Poor
If you like turntablism and hip hop don't buy this album. Something has gone very wrong here and obviously xecutioners have gone for the money rather than the music which is probably fair enough. This album is a heavy metal album with scratching on it, if you like that sort of thing buy it, personally I wouln't even bother.


review by: c-cat date: 2003-01-07 rating:
pretty damn fine
like many people, i bought this album on the strength of the excellent "It's Goin' Down". somewhat surprisingly, this is by far the weakest colaboration on the album. "Let It Bang" (featuring M.O.P) shows what rap-metal should really sound like, despite the fact that the guitars are sampled. "Premier's X-ecution" (featured on the "Scratch" soundtrack) is one of many tracks on the album showing how talented Rob Swift, Roc Raida, Mista Sinista and Total Eclipse are as turntablists. their hip-hop-styled colabortaions (featuring the likes of ex-House of Pain MC Everlast) are superior to alot of the best tracks on most rap records today.

on the whole, it is quite a diverse album, and not what alot of people will expect. the turntablist tracks (demonstrating the ability to scratch better than most and beat juggle exceptionally well) are definately the stand-out tracks for the "hardcore" scratch fans out there, but will most likely sound like album fillers to most of those who'll by this cd. i, as huge fan of the turntablist movement, definately recommend it.

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