Even the most well-written critique of Blade of the Ronin struggles to escape the desperate fan dream of The Cold Vein Part 2. Every aspect of Blade of the Ronin that sways a little right, everyone says it was wrong of it to do so, and that it should’ve stayed on the left.

From my initial point of view Blade of the Ronin works precisely because of what’s remaining from The Cold Vein‘s qualities and what ends up fairly different. It’s best appreciated as a companion piece rather than something on its own, but that should make approaching it as a fan even more exciting. The complementary red against blue album covers just seem like a coincidence at first, but Vast Aire and Vordul Mega can’t be expected to remain the same people after 14 years.

Following the pre-apocalyptic atmosphere of The Cold Vein, Blade of the Ronin is the aftermath with the violent hammer fall in the middle absent in this historic record, yet still implied in the indignation of Cosmiq’s blunt, almost industrial beats. Said beats may even surpass El-P’s in strength, and deservedly so, but their assault can be exhausting in a way that The Cold Vein‘s restraint might’ve avoided in their hour-long spans. Either/or, it’s just your expectant mood going into the album.

However, the duo’s chemistry has waned; Vast Aire overshadows Vordul Mega utterly. Vast Aire is prone to the occasional embarrassing rhyme, though more often than not, he’s capable of captivating imagery.

A surprisingly catchy album that’s getting way more hate than it deserves, but we should know by now that that’s the nature of any comeback album. Never let it sway you either way, and remain reasonable. Blade of the Ronin doesn’t break ground like its predecessor did, but would The Cold Vein‘s music be intrinsically worse if their release dates were somehow swapped? Whatever the what-ifs, this is, at the very least, Cannibal Ox.