DOOM – UNEXPECTED GUESTS, GOLDUST

Such is DOOM’s mainstream success of recent years, those foreboding all caps now hold kudos not just among those in the know, but also among those who don’t know their King Geedorah from their KMD –  surely a plus point, since there aren’t many to better lay it down for ignorant suckers than DOOM. Given the broad status Dumile is enjoying then (a likely prerequisite for such PR manoeuvres as his ’strictly all caps’ nomenclature), it is inevitable that this drop will be the subject of mixed opinion. Among those in the know there is an apathy towards what is generally accepted as a mere collection of recycled beats – a verdict that possibly carries the frustration of those expecting more from DOOM’s first solo LP in five years, Born Like This. And perhaps that is where Unexpected Guests tries to fill in the gaps. Such has been the prolificacy of DOOM in those interim years, and given his penchant for putting out projects left, right, and left again, it’s no wonder we see this collection of non-album tracks, guest features, and exclusives get an official release.

Selected and sequenced by The Super Villain himself, Unexpected Guests is an hour long mix replete with all the hallmarks of a DOOM production: ample helpings of comic-book dialogue and DOOM’s legendary satire prevail over rich, oily beats that command your attention and your index finger on the rewind button.

In keeping with the secrecy of a man never seen without his mask, the track-listing so far bandied around the web differs substantially from what would appear to be the official release, which sees a change of artwork, some running order re-jigging, and a lot of extra material. The new artwork is worth a mention: a step away from DOOM’s typically umbral steez, Unexpected Guests sees that trademark metal peeping out from amidst sunflowers and heaps of glaring green foliage, looking something like an environmentalist’s wet dream.

Proceedings kick off with the slightly neurotic Kweli collab ’Fly That Knot’, but Metal Fingerz soon settles down into the dense grooves we’ve come to expect and before long we are treated to the nostalgic, stoned jazz sounds of KMD’s ‘Sorcerers’. Other classics such as ‘?’ (from the seminal Operation Doomsday) bring us right into DOOM territory, and although there will be few who won’t have heard this, it’s a good way of reminding us how we got here. Unexpected Guests serves to highlight DOOM’s collaborative foresight as we see him join forces with various Clan members, such as Masta Killa over the epic Kurosawa-esque brass and strings of E.N.Y. House, yet he also gives props to underground chums, working with the mighty Vast Aire on ‘Da Superfriendz’ with its lolloping pianos and gambolling beats to make you feel as if you had drunkenly stumbled through the swing doors of a saloon bar way out west. There is a great sense of harmony in all of these collaborations, without diminishing from DOOM’s unmistakable, inimitable style – he is undoubtedly a worthy addition to any track lucky enough to be blessed – a fact he evidently feels the need to declare here.

DOOM’s whole package has long been regarded as something more complex than the sum of its parts – carrying enough understated impact to rival an IED – so even despite the lack of surprises you can’t help but be drawn in and many tracks garner play after play. Unexpected Guests drops November 10, and if you are well-versed in all things Dumile, chances are this won’t offer anything fantastically new – though you have to ask yourself if any official release offers unheard material these days, what with the internet leaking more shit than a broken u-bend – but then that’s no reason to hate, is it? By no means a vital addition but, if you ask us, you can’t have too much of a good thing.

John Whybrow