Viktor Vaughn – (VV:2) Venomous Villain

RIP INSOMNIAC word word word word WORD! WORD!!!!!!!!!!! MIC CHECK

This was always my most wanted record since starting my collection, and actually owning a copy now honestly feels pretty damn surreal.

I can definitely see how people think this project is somewhat lackluster - especially being released in '04 during DOOM's prime. Runtime is more or less 30 minutes, there's no production from MF and the features damn near get more time on the mic than Vaughn himself. Pitchfork described how this sounds more like an Insomniac sampler rather than an actual follow-up to VV:1, and I honestly can't help but agree to a certain extent.

Despite this, though, I find the album very enjoyable to listen to. Production is right up my alley with some great samples, features all do a nice job, interludes are cohesive tying the album together and Vaughn has some very memorable lines. The whole thing just sounds villainous, and the fact that this album's rights are lost after Insomniac went defunct only adds to that villainousness.

And on to the pressing; it's nice, but understandably not amazing. It's pressed on the quieter side due to the entire thing being pressed on one slab of wax (both sides run straight to the label), though surface noise is still suprisingly low. Sound is pretty crisp and bass is nice, though there's definitely some inner groove distortion with the sibilance on the vocals sounding a bit distorted nearing the end of each side. It definitely isn't horrible - I still prefer listening to this over my digital copy - it just sounds like you would expect from a somewhat obscure label at the end of the vinyl era. The fact that some tracks on here are clean is obviously a bit of a bummer as well, but honestly doesn't bother me much.

A must-have for any DOOM fan, simply great!

This lp really need a repress. Waiting to this rerelease

Super underrated album. Despite what some people say, I really like the skits and features. The production is great, even if DOOM didn't do it. And honestly, this pressing sounds really really good. Deep bass and nice seperation. Some of the vocals sound a little rough but that's how they were recorded. Nothing to do with the pressing quality.

I grew up in this record so I'm happy to own it - especially if the masters are lost and the rights are in contention.

The only downside is that Bloody Chain seems to be a radio friendly version rather than the uncensored version on CD and YouTube rip.

The first Vaudeville Villain was the nuts! This second LP is short and is mostly Dooms attempts to import lyricists to feature on his beats, if you want my advice, get yourself a copy of the first Vaudeville Villain album if you can, the best and most original of Dooms list of aliases. This could do with a repress nevertheless!

This is one of the most underrated DOOM records. It's a bit darker than Vaudeville Villain, but definitely worth to give it a listen.

"Dub it off your man, don't spend the ten bucks / I did it for the advance, the back end sucks." First words on the album and definitely on point. This record is just okay, with a whole lot of opportunistic nonsense getting in the way of what could have been a solid VV followup.

Soon after it came out, I someone put together a version of this album without the skits and the bullshit label bro guest stars (but kept the Kool Keith verse). I didn't catch it at the time, but I'd love to have it. If anyone has access to that, pleeease holler at me...!

With "Venomous Villain", Viktor Vaughn has won me over as the premiere personality I would like to hear from the man behind the metal mask on the mic. This record serves as a great follow up to "Vaudeville Villain". One just has to sit and vibe to this one, as DOOM spits his inane lyrics over the instrumentals and (refreshingly) record scratches on this short but sweet offering. After, hearing "Venomous", I can see why when collaborating with Earl Sweatshirt on the Adult Swim Single "Between Friends", Sly brought out the tyrant behind the mask, as it could be seen that Viktor's more violent and ruthless rap style over the other vying personalities in Dumille's head influenced not just Earl, but other great poets in our time and onward.

Killer album but doom raps for all of 15 minutes on the entire album

Criminally over looked album from the masked one. The production is top rate with little sag throughout - though it runs to about 35 mins. As ever it makes for a compelling listen.