The Marshall Mathers LP 2

The 8th and most recent album by Eminem. This is a sequel to The Marshall Mathers LP and is generally considered to be superior to the last 3 Eminem albums. It sold very well and won several awards. Let's hope another Eminem album comes along soon.

Tracks:

1. Bad Guy: 10/10 even after all these years, Eminem has still got it and then some. A masterpiece of both storytelling and psychology, this is the Godfather Part II of song sequels.

2. Parking Lot (Skit): 6/10 interesting, although a little hard to get.

3. Rhyme or Reason: 8/10 similar to what Eminem has done before, but he brings all the fire from previous songs of this nature to this one.

4. So Much Better: 7/10 questionable lyrics aside, this song is so venom-filled it's difficult not to admire.

5. Survival: 8/10 a brutally intense and delightfully unhinged bragging fest.

6. Legacy: 8/10 although it repeats itself a bit, this shows once again that sometimes Eminem is at his best when he shows his deeper side in his songs. This one gives you the feels.

7. Asshole: 8/10 though occasionally confusing, this is an exhilarating and lyrically brilliant track.

8. Berzerk: 8/10 Eminem hasn't run out of rhymes to insult everyone just yet.

9. Rap God: 9/10 not so much a song as a machine gun firing one brilliant line after another, this one contains Eminem's best (Or at the very least his fastest) vocal performance of all time.

10. Brainless: 6/10 this song isn't interesting but boasts a few good rhymes.

11. Stronger Than I Was: 7/10 not Eminem at his most energetic, but a pleasing antidote to the anger shown on Kim from the original album and finally shows a more tender side to his songs discussing his ex-wife.

12. The Monster: 7/10 another more commercial one with less complexity than normal, but it still moves and Rihanna and Eminem make a very good team.

13. So Far...: 8/10 just Eminem doing everything he does well.

14. Love Game: 6/10 too confusing to satisfy, but Kendrick Lamar never fails to impress.

15. Headlights: 8/10 a very moving song and one of the best songs Eminem's ever done about his mother (There are definitely a few).

16. Evil Twin: 8/10 initially underwhelming, but the second half summarizes all the psychological depth and awesome writing that made this album work and concludes it in style.

Best song: Bad Guy
Worst song: Brainless

Summary: Overall a triumphant album for Eminem. It's still not at the standard of his older stuff, but it doesn't really need to be. There's plenty of great writing and the album balances the songs which are just insane and violent and the songs which are deeper and more complex. Eminem's delivery is as great as ever and some others such as Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna make some good guest appearances too. Certainly not Eminem's best work and it loses momentum after Rap God in the second half, but in fairness a lot of albums have all the best stuff in the first half. Eminem has done an excellent job here and his fans won't be disappointed.




Final rating: 8/10