Insane Clown Posse Album: “Bang! Pow! Boom! [Nuclear Edition]”

Since the departure of producer Mike. E. Clark in 2001, the Insane Clown Posse, to be brutally honest, seemed pointless. Their wicked humor was diluted, their violent imagery became rote and weary while their sound listed toward the generic. There were moments of brilliance to be sure but few and far in between. Then Clark returned. His revamping of 2007's record The Tempest was certainly welcomed by Juggalos and the news that he would completely produce their next project must have been eagerly anticipated by the Psychopathic faithful. Indeed Bang! Pow! Boom! is a return to form. Although the expectation that the group revert to their mid 90s selves was certainly a stretch, a quick listen to the first single In Yo Face instantly reassures us that ICP have not forgotten what makes them a feverishly followed phenomenon. Big swirling rhythmic loops spun in-between old school hip hop beats and punched by ICP's iconic rapping and infectious choruses are what made the group great. Some might argue that dark vindictive menace that lined records like the Ringmaster isn't here however the revelry and chaotic mischief is still in true form. Songs like The Bone, To Catch a Predator and Love all seem particularly giddy about their dark subject matter while I Found a Body, Fonz Pond and Vera Lee deliver their somber but irresistible storytelling in true form. Even happy oddball tracks like Juggalo Island and Miracles, while seemingly are out of step from ICP's reputation, come across as guilty pleasures rather than indulgences.

Since ICP came on the scene in the early 90s, slowly but surely, newer acts have taken horrorcore rap to higher more violent and nihilist levels. But the Insane Clown Posse at their best come across like a great Horror movie form the 80s. Scary, gory, and fun. On Bang! Pow! Boom! this is evident. Even while their songs revolve around violent and vulgar imagery their humor and enthusiasm is what makes it entertaining instead of labor. Simply put, ICP's best album of the decade!

PS: The nuclear edition is the way to go. Beside bonus tracks and skits is a dvd of A Family Underground. Perfect for the price.

Overall, a very solid release. The unreleased songs on the nuclear edition are just as good, if not better, then most songs that made the album. You can't go wrong with Mike E. Clark and ICP. Excellent at hearing Legs Diamond finally doing some chorus work again. Looking foward for the next release.

This is awesome! ...but you've got to know this...coming from ICP. ...Must have bonus videos too. That's all there is to say... Much Juggalo love. In short, if you don't have it already BUY IT JUGGALOS!!!

This is a great return to the sound of the Dark Carnival & Mike E. Clark. The album is full of catchy choruses and a real mix of music. There is some rough stuff, some soft stuff, and dance-y stuff. There are some tracks that I personally don't care for, but there's something for everybody...

With three discs of content, the value of the Nuclear Edition is AWESOME.

I love this CD, mostly all the songs are worth 4 or 5 stars and sound great. this is Definitely ICP's best. and it's worth the purchase too, for like 12 bucks your getting the entire original album, plus a second disc with all the hidden tracks from the first releases and three new songs, plus the bang pow boom sampler, and the third disc has two new music videos and the complete documentary "A Family Underground" witch was really good by the way. but i would NOT recommend this CD to anybody under 17.