Riddle Box

Infobox Album |
Name = Riddle Box
Type = Album
Artist = Insane Clown Posse


Released = October 10, 1995
Recorded = 1994 – 1995
Genre = Horrorcore, Midwest hip hop
Length = 70:40
Label = Battery/Psychopathic
Producer = Mike E. Clark
ICP
Reviews =*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:a9ddyl2oxppb~T1 link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|1.5|5 [cite book |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor=Brackett, Nathan |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2004 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location= |isbn=0743201698 |pages=405–6 ]
*Yahoo! Music (favorable) [http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12037147 link]
Last album = "Forgotten Freshness"
(1995)
This album = "Riddle Box"
(1995)
Next album = "Tunnel of Love"
(1996)Extra chronology 2
Artist = Joker's Cards
Type = Album
Last album = "Ringmaster
(1994)
This album = "Riddle Box"
(1995)
Next album = "The Great Milenko"
(1997)

"Riddle Box" is the third studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on October 10, 1995 by Battery Records. It is the third Joker's Card entry in the group's Dark Carnival saga. The eponymous Riddle Box is a jack-in-the-box that decides whether your soul is sent to or in the afterlife. The album's themes mostly revolve around those of death; in "12", Insane Clown Posse rapper Violent J takes revenge and kills 12 juror members who were involved in sentencing him to death. There are four different versions of the album: the standard pressing, a version containing a bonus track of snippets from four Hed PE songs, a version with reversed colors on the disc and a remastered version. "Riddle Box" was the second Insane Clown Posse album to be certified Gold. The album spawned one single, "The Joker's Wild".

The album contains 16 studio tracks. "Chicken Huntin'", which was remixed for "Riddle Box", was previously released on Insane Clown Posse's 1994 album "Ringmaster". "Dead Body Man" was also previously released in 1994, on the group's second EP "The Terror Wheel", in a slightly lower key.

The album makes several references to American popular culture. "The Joker's Wild" is based on the quiz show of the same name, though Insane Clown Posse's rendition is set in Hell and is used as a means to punish the wicked rather than reward people. "Ol' Evil Eye" is loosely based around Edgar Allan Poe's famous short story "The Tell-Tale Heart", and features excerpts from the story being read.

Production

"I'm Coming Home" contains a sample from "Confetti Day" by Hot Chocolate. [cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/release/512689 |title=Release information for "Riddle Box" |accessdate=2008-05-12 |publisher=Discogs] A song called "Fat Sweaty Betty" was originally intended for this album. Insane Clown Posse even released a single of the song. It was cut from the album at the last minute, but was later released on "Forgotten Freshness".cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |authorlink= |coauthors=Hobey Echlin |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |origdate= |origyear=2003 |origmonth=August |edition=2nd Edition |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=09741846083 |pages=page 548-549 |chapter=Complete Discography ]

The music video for "Chicken Huntin' (Slaughter House Mix)" was shot at the State Theatre (now called the Fillmore Theatre) during an actual Insane Clown Posse concert. The director of the video, Paris Mayhew, wanted Insane Clown Posse to perform the song several times in order to get the footage from all angles, but the duo refused to repeat the song because it was an actual ICP concert, and not just a video shoot. The video was shot with ICP performing the song only once.cite book |last=Bruce |first=Joseph |authorlink=Joseph Bruce |coauthors=Hobey Echlin |editor=Nathan Fostey |title=ICP: Behind the Paint |origdate= |origyear=2003 |origmonth=August |edition=2nd Edition |publisher=Psychopathic Records |location=Royal Oak, Michigan |isbn=09741846083 |pages=pages 262-263 |chapter=Fuck Jive ] The original version of "Chicken Huntin'" was performed for the video shoot, because their fans were not yet familiar with the remix. This made Jive furious, but there were no editing problems, and Violent J later referred to the video as "our freshest video ever."

Track listing

Bonus tracks

#

"4 Track Sampler" (Hed PE) – 6:06

Message

Time flows like a dark horde, consuming all in its path. Man lives his life in the blink of an eye. Just as day becomes night, all life fades into death. In death each person will be judged for his deeds performed while alive. There are the few who walk a life of purpose, and there are those who trod the path of greed, their souls host to demons. Time slows near each person's end. Those whose deeds were evil grasp onto life as long as they can because, though they don't know what awaits them in the afterlife, they feel for them it is a horror beyond words. Time stops in this world, as the heart becomes still and the soul leaves the body. In the afterlife time is eternal, and even death is but a new beginning.

For you see, when you step into death your soul steps upon the floor of a dark chamber and you look to see it empty, except for a strange looking box on an old wooden table. On the front of the box, you will see a painted question mark faded with time and a twisted crank handle on its side. Turning the handle, a sharp melodic tune will fill the air. For the evil ones this sound will be a deafening noise reverberating off the walls and building into a climatic terror. But the surprise is when the music stops as you slowly turn the handle... and then the top of the box pops. For the few, they will see a vision of God with a golden light warming their souls as they step forth into eternal peace. For most they will see a fog seeping from the box, stripping their sanity, as they witness an image of hell, spawned and formed from their own evil; a hideous reflection of their demented souls. The floor of the room begins falling away as they plummet into a bottomless pit full of shadowy creatures, forever to be lost in a sinister void. What will be in store for you is the mystery, but if you take a look within yourself you will find the answer. For now, you still have time to change the outcome of... the mighty Riddle Box.

Golden Goldies

Confident "Riddle Box" would reach gold status, the Insane Clown Posse held a special invatation-only concert for their fan club, under the name "Golden Goldies". The Golden Goldies consisted of ICP, their friends, and other local rappers, (including Jumpsteady and Legs Diamond,) all under aliases involving or using the word "gold" (eg. "Golden Toby", "Golden Gram", "The Golden Warrior"). All of the members of the Golden Goldies were mentioned in an insert in the "Riddle Box" album. Interestingly, many of the songs created for the concert used beats that would later go on to be used on other psychopathic records releases, such as Twiztid's "Spin the Bottle" and the Insane Clown Posse "Nuttin' But a Bitch Thang". Also, the tapes they rapped over already had their vocals on them. Because of this, the cassette tapes used for the show, dubbed "Gimme Them Fuckin' Nuggets Bitch, Or I'll Punch Your Fuckin' Face" have become a sought after collectors item since they had full recordings of the music at the concert. [http://www.psychopathictraders.com/audiopsy.html Psychopathic Traders] , traders information about the Golden Goldies.]

Personnel

* Violent J – vocals
* Shaggy 2 Dope – vocals, turntables
* Mike E. Clark – turntables, production

Chart positions

References