Will Brooks

Breaks & Rhymes: Dälek- Precipice

I have a very interesting relationship with Hip Hop music. For the most part it’s not something I seek out but, if I hear of something interesting or someone tells me about an artist that I might enjoy I tend to check it out. A couple years back I heard about an experimental hip-hop group that mixed interesting elements of rock, industrial, hip hop, electronica and more along with lyrics that stand for something and are thought provoking. That group is Dälek and let me tell you, if you don’t know about them, you must be living under a rock of epic proportions. Instead of a history lesson about the group (google it on your own), I want to talk about the groups latest release, Precipice.

Precipice is an album bursting at the seems filled with a fury and power that is beyond needed in society today. Topics about what we are all seeing today, the trials and tribulations of life, and an anger that has been missing in hip-hop music since the 90’s. Every single track packs a punch that has your head bobbing but your mind working and listening. Songs like “Boycott,” “Decimation (Dis Nation),” “Holistic,” deliver the goods and then some. Then you have a track like “A Heretic’s Inheritance” which features Tool’s Adam Jones. This track is a little bit of a departure from the album and it has some pretty gnarly droney type riffs to accompany and already moody and haunting song.

Dälek is a group that should be on your musical radar. The catalog of the group speaks volumes and the new material added to that only provides more fuel to the story that is needed to be told. Having an MC like Dälek (aka (Will Brooks) be the voice and when you hear the urgency in the tone and words, you know this is serious. Precipice is an album that will take a few times for you to really truly digest but, when you do, the way it does leaves one hell of a mark.

Overall Rating 8/10

Dälek- Precipice:

Band Of The Week: Dälek

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When I first started Audioeclectica, the eclectic part was the main point of this site. Over the years, I think I’ve been able to branch out even more from my comfort zone and explore different genres that I haven’t gotten into. Over the past year, I’ve started to take a closer look into hip-hop music. In doing so I’ve really started to take a liking to certain artists and groups that have depth and substance to what they do. Recently I was introduced to a group from Union City, New Jersey called Dälek. Upon hearing them and finding out that they’ve been around for almost 20 years, I caught myself shaking my head profusely and thinking that I’ve been living under a rock (rock music that is. Sorry that was a bad joke). So with that in mind let me introduce you to Dälek.

More than just a normal hip-hop group, Dälek has transcended the genre by adding elements of trip hop, art rock, noise, techno, and so much more. The group themselves site bands and artists like The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Bad Brains, Public Enemy and Eric B & Rakim among their influences and it shows through in a more inspirational was than influence. So if you think about it, if you combine those elements with a bit of an industrial vibe and a bit of the DJ Shadow ambience, you get a pretty spectacular collection of sounds. Vocally Dälek, is doing something deep and thought provoking. His words are real and the flow in which he speaks is subtlety savage. Dälek is a hip-hop group down to the core but, the other elements brought in really makes them stand out and brings in a different vibe that keeps it fresh and modern without compromising the art of it. I could go on and on about Dälek but, it’s best if you just dive in and listen.
Dalek- Endangerd Philosophies:

Dalek- Negro Necro Neckros (DEBUT ALBUM):