The Amazing Jeckel Brothers
The rise of the Insane Clown Posse--or a group very much like them--was probably inevitable; somebody had to play the part of Howard Stern in the rap world. That it was two guys in clown makeup who rap--badly--over prerecorded tracks and spray their audiences with soda was a pure accident, brought about when their former record label dropped the act on the eve of the release of <i>The Great Milenko</i>. <i>The Amazing Jeckel Brothers</i>, their first proper follow-up album to <i>Milenko</i>, capitalizes on their notoriety; it features guests like the Jerky Boys and Ol' Dirty Bastard and issues challenges to MTV, Lollapalooza, and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons--whom ICP accuse of stealing their "shit" (though <i>shtick</i> would be a more appropriate word, and it was Simmons's in the first place). ICP stick with the formula on <i>Jeckel Brothers</i> that they've, um, perfected; it's not for everyone, but fans won't be disappointed. <i>--Randy Silver</i>