The album was recorded throughout 2016 to 2018. The Bridge And The Abyss is also the first JMT record to have an excess of material from the recording process. Over forty songs were initially prepared before being whittled down to nineteen. We had an initial ball park of a 2017 release but the album was eventually announced to come out on June 22nd of 2018.
The album opens with "Al Bid Aya" establishing the tradition and tone of a Jedi Mind Tricks album. We have Yes Alexander returning from Thief And The Fallen to deliver vocals on this intro as well as a few more songs across the record. I can't say this is a huge highlight for me but it does add some backstory and intrigue. I like to start the album all the way back here for the added theatrics.
Our real kickoff happens with "San La Muerte". This banger wastes no time with assaulting organs and sweeping drums from Stoupe and C-Lance. Vinnie gives the ferocity you'd expect from an album opener. I like the hook it reminds me of "Steel Sharpens Steel" from The Cornerstone Of The Cornerstore with the style of hook we get. Even as the lead single I was just kind satisfied by this song but not really blown away. It's a decent start though.
"Rashindun Caliphate" is kind of a filler track for me. The beat is one of the gentlest on the album from its echoing woodwind instrumentation to it's tumbling drums. Even Vinnies vocals come off more reserved on here too. It's a vibe for sure but I'm usually skipping ahead to the more explosive songs that come after.
"Frescho & Miz" was a song I didn't expect to love as much as I did. Often times Jedi Mind Tricks is known for their religious or occult lyrics and they have fittingly ethereal production to boot. On this track however, we see Stoupe lacing up some real fun mixes of soul and funk. Bouncy brass sections and tumbling drums are the perfect backdrop for Vinnie and his multi syllabic schemes. We truly have one of the catchiest songs on the album here and the beat fades out slowly so we can groove to it a little bit more.
Another strong track is "When The Body Goes Cold". I like our opening monologue before we hear the signature cymbals and kicks from C-Lance with rattling hi hats and some real sinister keys. I'm not sure what sounds and addictions come from Stoupe and what comes from C-Lance but I definitely hear a drum pattern that reminds me of C-lance style so perhaps Stoup handled the keys and synths.This song also has one of my favourite hooks on the record.
One of the only duds to me was "What She Left Behind". There's quite an intense story being told here. Vinnie assumes the character of a father on the edge of sanity. Our protagonist is threatening and hurting his family over a an extremely slow beat. This song reminds me of Immortal Techniques "Dance With The Devil" in that there's an extremely grim story being told and the appeal of it mostly comes from the shock value of how the song ends. However, I still don't really bump this as its quite an uncomfortable listen.
"Death Toll Rising" is a favourite of mine from the record. Stoupe demonstrates his talent for sampling different languages. Vinnie is having a blast over these slamming drums. Lots of mafioso tropes and flow switch ups hold my attention. There's less storytelling so far on this album but I'm okay with that if he's having this much fun throwing punchlines together. Leaving the hook without lyrics was a great idea so we have time to appreciate the instrumental.
The album flows into our first interlude entitled "Shed The Skin To Receive The World". Though it lacks any rapping, I love the arrangement by Stoupe and the fade that is applied to Yes Alexander and her singing. I let it play through most times.
"Certified Dope" kicks off my favourite act of the album. Stoupe serves up quite an untreated sample as a playground for Vinnie's double time. Eamon belts out a fantastic chorus among electric guitars and tambourines. The drum breaks are wicked fun as well and I know how much further a third verse would've gone because all the talent involved here seems to be really flourishing together. The Eamon song from The Thief And The Fallen was a highlight even back then. Good batting average for this team so far.
My favourite song from this album is "Hell's Henchmen". This song is hard off the rip with kicks and basslines that rattle my car and one of favourite snares. Our instrumentation varies from 8-bit keys to furious strings and crashing cymbals that supply the fuel for some of Vinnie's toughest verses on the entire album. There's more than a few attempts at aggression on this album and I think "Hell's Henchmen" is one of the stronger cases for it. Cool hook as well showing great vocal range from Paz.
"God Forsaken" was a song that didn't exactly set the world on fire for me now that I'm thinking about it. Vinnie's attempts to rap faster have grown in popularity since fans heard his verse on "God Particle" from the Army Of The Pharaohs album In Death Reborn and for the most part, it's led to some great songs in the last handful of years. This one however, just doesn't hit the mark for me due to the instrumental being a tad overwhelming. Lots of rumbling bass hits and our hooks is quite messy as well. I can't explain where, in my iPod or music collection full of aggressive and experimental music, the line is drawn but, this song goes over it. Between the clutter of this instrumental and the appeal of simply listening to the other double time song that has an Eamon feature, I skip this one often.
Despite the previous track, our second acts still remains my favourite part of the album. The final song from act two, "Legacy Of The Prophet" is a definite high point as well. Stoupe, C-Lance and Hiltz connect with tumbling drum breaks and rapid kicks woven into some very cinematic strings. Sean Price lends one of final recorded features and my favourite vocal guest appearance on the album. From Sean delivering a timely Trump diss and Vinnie asserting that "[they're lasting forever]" its just a true demonstration of the chemistry that Paz and Price had together down to their final recordings. Vinnie snaps on the second verse as well. It's hard to accept that P passed away while still dropping heat like he does here.
As we transition into the third act, we reach our second to last interlude, "Void Ritual". I like the drums and Yes Alexanders lyrics are less edited so it sounds a bit better than the one from earlier. Probably my favourite interlude. Worth playing through as it adds to the tone and continuity of The Bridge And The Abyss.
Another later favourite of mine is "You Have One Devil But Five Angels" which kicks off with bass chords and frantic pianos. Our kicks and snare guide us into Vinnies braggadocio and the cuts are fierce too. This beat has quite an ensemble of instruments from the flute, organ and bass. Vinnie has some tough bars here similar to the style we got in the first act. Mostly the beat is perfect and Vinnie know just what to do with it. Easy highlight.
"Marciano's Reign" wasn't a highlight at first but I love it now. Much like "Certified Dope" Stoupe selects another sample. It's quite a heartfelt passage with Vinnie comforting his son and teaching him how to process pain and loss. The music video really ties it all together with depictions of how difficult it is to leave children behind to goes on tour. A great moment of humanity to break up the rest of the albums aggression.
"Torture Chamber" launches into explosive cuts and drums. Inspectah Deck takes the opening verse by storm and Esoterics maneuvers through some intricate flows into the second verse. It's not the first time we've heard Czarface and Vinnie Paz together, however, with Vinnie Paz featuring on their self titled debut. It is exciting to hear them over a Stoupe beat versus the tone of a Czarface record. It definitely brings something different out of everyone. This song is so late in the record I often forget its coming on so I definitely feel like I don't play this song enough.
The record loses some momentum as it goes on with "The Letter Concerning The Intellect". Stoupe delivers quite a strange beat. The lead sort of riff for this beat is simply singing reversed and then looped. It bizarrely works and leads us into Vinnies rhymes. His delivery pauses between each line to gives us a peek through to the instrumental. Its nice break for melody.
"Making A Killing" was a surprise to me. Much like the "You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train" series, C-Lance and Aaron Hiltz conduct over six minutes of music. This beat moves through few different tempos and grooves while Vinnie delivers an animal rights song. No, really. It kind of works. Though the message is spectacular, I find this pattern of lengthy and informative songs to be a little long in the tooth at this point. This song, along with other parts of this album, seems to blur the creative borders between JMT and Vinnie Paz as a solo act. I do love the instrumental here as it breathes through pianos, guitars and several drum patterns.
The album wraps up with "What Falls Is Fallen" featuring the most lyrics from Yes Alexander but it's somewhat squandered by still having the shortest running time of any of her passages. Much like the rest of this album the interludes seem to spread the narrative rather thin to pad out the runtime or accumulate more streams, we really could've done with one of two less of these intro/interlude moments and just focused on making two perfectly necessary Yes Alexander moment rather than four that convey less.
Pros: Vinnie has great history and chemistry with all producers involved. Instrumentally, there's notable high points and great ideas being brought forward. Yes Alexanders vocals add the same wonder and intrigue this time around as well. It's also very apparent that Vinnie Paz is still sharp with his pen. And new topical songs like "What She Left Behind" and "Making A Killing" show that the conscious and imaginative reputation of Jedi Mind Tricks is still intact.
Cons: Despite having similar artwork and the same production team as The Thief And The Fallen, The Bridge And The Abyss actually shares more with Vinnie's recent solo efforts like The Cornerstone Of The Cornerstore and The Pain Collector. We see the focus shift from the usual promise of JMT tropes to the looser, less pertinent braggadocio that emerged from Vinnie's solo catalogue. I still got a good serving of bangers his time around but I do hope the cohesion increases on the next Jedi Mind Tricks album.
After it's over, The Bridge And The Abyss lands somewhere in the middle of JMT's discography. There's more duds than 2015's The Thief And The Fallen but also about the same amount of likable songs. Vinnie is still at his best for most of the vocals and the production has it's own unique tone due to the recruiting of Scott Stallone, C-Lance and Aaron Hiltz. The interludes don't hold my interest as much this time around and the somewhat ballooned length only succeeds in adding extra songs I'm not fond of. But again, I loved the unity and vision that Jedi Mind Tricks albums usually have and hope to see a tighter narrative with the bands next outing.
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