It’s been six years since Pharoahe Monch let us into his psyche with PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but the insanely gifted wordsmith has now formed a new group called th1rt3en with legendary drummer Daru Jones and acclaimed guitarist Marcus Machado. And today, they’ve released their debut album, A Magnificent Day For an Exorcism.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for like 15 years. Right after the Desire album, I was like I’ve wanted to do heavy, hardcore, dark, evil stuff for years,” Monch said in an interview a few years back. “This record is culminating to be artistically all of those things. You know I’m a huge Led Zeppelin fan, Black Sabbath fan, Iron Maiden fan, I’m a Metallica fan; so in terms of hip-hop artists who have dabbled in other genres, I still feel like I have something to contribute. And that’s hip-hop to me because you know when I first started, I would listen to the radio and I’d say to my partner that we can do something just as good, if not better than that and add something to the culture. When you hear this new shit you’re going to think nothing sounds like this. And I think that’s hip-hop in itself or original hip-hop. It was all about coming up with a move that no one else was doing, or lettering that no one else was doing. Now it’s all just copy, copy, copy. I think for me this will be invigorating and beautiful to my spirit if the fans take to it, because it’s like nothing I’ve ever done before; it’s a challenge.”

Although different, Monch is still blessing us with the socially conscious lyrics we’ve enjoyed throughout his career. Only this time, he’s presenting them with fearless guitar swells, massive percussion hits and a beautifully dark blend of rap and rock. Led by “666 (Three, Six Word Stories)” and “Fight” with Cypress Hill, the album expands 13 tracks with contributions from Nottz (“Cult 45“), Marco Polo, Parks, E. Jones, and more.

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