''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'' is the fifth studio album by

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group

Jedi Mind Tricks Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) are an American underground hip hop group from Philadelphia, founded in 1996 by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999, rapper Jus ...

. It was released September 19, 2006 through

Babygrande Records Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood. History Babygrande Records wa ...

. The first single, " Heavy Metal Kings", featuring

Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), professionally known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known ...

of La Coka Nostra, was released in early August through

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and a limited edition vinyl pressing. Additional guest appearances on the album are provided by Shara Worden of

My Brightest Diamond My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States. Hist ...

, Sean Price, R.A. the Rugged Man, Block McCloud and

Army of the Pharaohs AOTP logo ''(as seen on In Death Reborn)'' Army of the Pharaohs (most commonly abbreviated as AOTP or A.O.T.P.) is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks founder Vi ...

members Chief Kamachi and Reef the Lost Cauze.

Overview

As with previous Jedi Mind Tricks albums, many of the track titles appear to be lifted from previous songs by heavy metal groups. For example, "When All Light Dies" was previously the title of a song by

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...

; "Serenity in Murder" is also the name of a

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

track; "Razorblade Salvation" is also a song by Sinergy; and "Black Winter Day" is the name of a track by

Amorphis Amorphis is a Finnish progressive metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive meta ...

. The album title, as well, could potentially be a reference to the

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...

track "Servant in Heaven (King in Hell)" from their '' Violent Revolution'' album. Much of the lyrics reference heavy metal also, i.e. "I'm a

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...

" (When All Light Dies) and " Calculate infinity with

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of Consonance and ...

." (Serenity In Murder). ''Servants in Heaven'' became the group's most commercially successful release, being their first album to break into the ''Billboard'' 200, and also landed in the top ten on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

chart, and the top fifty on the

Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart. The album was warmly received critically, especially when compared to their two previous efforts, ''

Visions of Gandhi ''Visions of Gandhi'' is the third studio album by American hip-hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on August 26, 2003 via Babygrande Records. Production was handled by member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, who expands his dark sounds, incl ...

'' and ''

Legacy of Blood ''Legacy of Blood'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. It was released on August 24, 2004, via Babygrande Records. Production was handled by member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, with Chuck Wilson (multimedia e ...

'', which both received mixed reviews.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a positive four star rating; writer Marisa Brown stated: An exclusive version of the album was released at

Trans World Entertainment Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) was an American company that provided software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, German ...

chain stores. This version features three bonus tracks, a remixed version of "Heavy Metal Kings", performed with

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

hardcore band Terror, the D-Tension mixtape track "Pretty Little Whores", featuring

OuterSpace OuterSpace is an underground hip hop duo from North Philadelphia. Originally a trio consisting of three Puerto Rican friends that then took the artist names Planetary, Jedeye and Crypt the Warchild. The founding member Mario Collazo (Planetar ...

, and "Blitz Inc.", featuring

King Syze David Albaladejo (better known by his stage name King Syze) is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of the underground hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs (AOTP), having featured o ...

and

Esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

, as well as a bonus

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

, featuring the "Heavy Metal Kings" music video.

Track listing

^* = Bonus tracks

Samples

Put 'Em In The Grave *"Threat" by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

*"Twinz (Deep Cover '98)" by

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discover ...

*"Quiet Storm" by

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

Suicide *"1-800 Suicide" by

Gravediggaz Gravediggaz were an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from New York. Known for their Black comedy, dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes, Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop and gangsta rap with horror elements to pioneer t ...

Serenity In Murder *"Made You Look (Remix)" by Nas (Vocals by

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...

) *"Still D.R.E." by

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

*"Day One" by D.I.T.C. (Vocals by Lord Finesse) *"Quiet Storm" by

(Vocals by Prodigy) Heavy Metal Kings *"Estuans Interius" by

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

*samples "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" by

Shadow Business *"Il Mio Coraggio" by

Ornella Vanoni Ornella Vanoni (; born 22 September 1934) is an Italian singer. She is one of the longest-standing Italian artists, having started performing in 1956. She has released about 112 works between LP, EPs and greatest hits albums, and is considered ...

Razorblade Salvation *"Dumb I Sound" by

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

Outlive the War *"Noi Siamo Zingarelle" by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

Gutta Music *"Yo No Soy Esa"by Mari Trini Black Winter Day *"Tear Me Apart" by Alberto Daglio

Credits

Vinnie Paz Vincenzo Luviner ( Luvineri born October 5, 1977), better known as Vinnie Paz (formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram), is an Italian-born American rapper and producer behind the Philadelphia underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. He ...

- Lead vocals *

Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind Kevin Baldwin, better known by his stage name Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind or simply Stoupe, is an American hip hop producer, DJ, and member of the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. Stoupe has worked with only a limited number of artists ...

- Producer * R.A. the Rugged Man - Vocals * Shara Worden - Vocals *

- Vocals * Sean Price - Vocals * Block McCloud - Vocals *

Reef the Lost Cauze Sharif Talib Lacey, better known by his stage name Reef the Lost Cauze, is an American underground rapper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cauze became well known on the underground circuit towards the late 1990s and more so in the early 200 ...

- Vocals *

Chief Kamachi The JuJu Mob (originally credited as ''Chief Kamachi & The JuJu Mob'') is a four-member underground hip hop group originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was founded in 2004.Matt Jost, Chief Kamachi & the JuJu Mob :: Black Candles :: ...

- Vocals * Terror - Vocals *

- Vocals *King Syze - Vocals *

- Vocals * Crypt the Warchild - Additional vocals *Liz Fullerton - Additional vocals *Scott "Supe" Stallone - Production, mixing, engineering, bass, keyboards *D-Tension - Production * 7L - Production *Damian Cusamano - Bass *DJ Kwestion - Cuts *Michael Sarsfield - Mastering *Chuck Wilson - Executive producer *Yan - A&R *Jesse Stone - Additional A&R, marketing *Jill Shehebar - International marketing *Michael Schiller - DVD creative *Paul A. Romano - Art direction, artwork, design

Singles

Charts

Awards

*HipHopDX 2006 awards **"Verse Of The Year" - " Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" (performed by R.A. the Rugged Man)

References

{{Authority control Babygrande Records albums 2006 albums Jedi Mind Tricks albums Horrorcore albums