The "Intro" is tight and filled with scratches over a dope beat which say "Strictly hip-hop!" and lists some of the names of the crew. It's the way an album should be introduced.

"You Never Knew" is the first single which samples Opio and Tajai from their song "'94 Via Sattelite".. A different sampled voice sings "You never knew" and then The Souls are scratched "It's like That, and a..." , "A Hieroglyphics, yeah!". The scratching and the samples are dope along with the upper mid-tempo beat which pumps! Every emcee shines on this jam, that's probably why they released it as their first single.  A-Plus kicks it off: "Hiero, y'all, it's not a wrong thing, to be addicted to the mic like a heron fiend...".. Peplove follows and then Tajai adds his thing before the chorus: "From the start, we set apart from the rest- and - our perfection on the microphone was predestined - World reknown, we ground breaking - musical boundaries, running circles around emcees..."  Then, the sampled chorus is scratched. Del kicks a short but dope rhyme with a cool flow. It's a tight song and a dope one at that! Pure hip-hop without nonsense.

"All Things" features Opio and Peplove and was produced by Domino. This song has a dope beat and melody but the chorus is weak compared to the other tracks: "All things ain't what they seem  - you get washed even if you're way too clean!"

Then, the first freestyle solo joint starts the fourth track called "Casual" where Casual kicks a wild rhyme over a Del produced beat. This is a dope track, short and sweet but still wild and loose inside it's tightness.

"The Who" is an amazing song which has Del, Phesto D, Opio, and Pep-Love on it. Produced by Del, this joint is not only catchy but hardcore too.  Del does the dope chorus with the "Who's" going back and forth in the headphones...: "Who! -Who? - Who!- Who?-Who the innovaters cominggg through like cross-trainers with rhymes that you savor?... Who! -Who? - Who!- Who? Who the entertainers stimulate like vibrators with rhymes so major?...." This is a dope song!

"Dune Methane"  which is said like "doin' my thang..." features Opio and Casual. The beat is funky with a wah-wah guitar and the chorus is cool: "Rappers selling out for the money and fame, but I just keep on dune methan..(doin' my thang').. dee-dee dah-dah dee-dee dang.. I just keep on dune methane.."

The next track is the solo joint called "Phesto D" by Phesto D... This is cool, short and sweet. The beat's cool.

"At The Helm" has just Del on the mic and Domino on the production. This song is DOPE!!! According to www.hieroglyphics.com, their next video is for this song. It's a hard beat with a rapped chorus: "Life is a blast when you know what your doing, mista, know what you're doin before your life getz ruined. Life is a thrill when your skill is developed. If you don't have a skill or trade, shut the hell up!" At the end of the song, Del says that "This is the freshest sh*t" and he is absolutely right.  This song reminds me of some of the dope songs from "No Need For Alarm".. It's a modern classic hip-hop track!

"The Last One" featuring Casual and Pep-Love, is a cool song but it did not grab me as much as the others. The sentiments are cool and the hardcore feel is dope too. "Let's see how many rappers can go the length!..."

The next track is "Tajai", produced by Domino. The beat is really cool as Tajai's rhymes are "out there..." Short and sweet...

"Oakland Blackouts" features Del and Opio over a incredibly dope slower/mid-tempo salsa/conga beat which sounds so cool that the song gives a dope atmospheric feel .The chorus is cool due to the lyrics but also the melody of their delivery: Del and Opio go back and forth: "You can never forget - it can be fatal -wait till- Del comes back out and acts out emotions in Oakland blackouts. You can never forget - it can be fatal -wait till- O comes back out and acts out emotions in Oakland blackouts....." Produced by Opio, I couldn't believe that this was him.  The scratches are dope and toward the end, Rakim is scratched "like a Hieroglyphic.." This is a dope song!!!

The second side is not as good as the first but there are still some cool songs. Souls Of Mischief have their own joint called "Mics Of The Roundtable" where they rap like their knights looking for the golden mic while trying not to be tempted by the devil. It's a creative thought but since this is a family album, this strictly Souls track should have been placed on their album and not on this one.  "See Delight" features Opio and Pep-Love over a cool beat. "Open up your eyes and see delight (the light)...."  It's cool but not as cool as the other tracks.

"Pep Love" is Pep's solo part which has a cool beat produced by Jay-Biz with cool organ effects. Stoned out... cool. Pep does a good job.

"Off The Record" is the freestyle joint from the Hiero camp which is produced by Domino. It's a funk extravaganza complete with horns and organs.  Casual rips a dope rhyme and so does Del. Tajai and A-Plus kick some rhymes too. When the horns come in between the freestyles, one of them keeps on saying stuff like "Hieroglyphics! It's on! We got the smoooth flow!" It's cool but he gets annoying. The song would be perfect without it.  Still, it's a cool track.

"A-Plus" is the next mini-song with just Plus kicking a short rhyme. His voice is very high and can be annoying but he rhymes well.

"After Dark" features Pep Love and is produced by Domino. It's an attempt to be a hardcore track but Pep Love's smooth voice is too friendly sounding to sound scarry. "After dark, it's ripping season. After dark, it could happen for the wrong reason..." It's cool. It's a song which give Pep a chance since he's the only one from the crew who did not put out an album.. Though he ripped the mic on the joint called "The Undisputed Champs" by Del, Q-Tip, and Pep Love.

 "Opio", the next min-track, has a very cool beat and cool horn melodies. Opio's voice is very high too which can get annoying but he has skills..

"No Nuts" features Del and Pep Love. Produced by Domino, this song pumps both lyrically and musically. Though it does not have the cool flow of "Oakland Blackouts", it's a cool hip-hop joint. "...Competition shouldn't of showed up with no nuts, we robust, Del is comming through with the cold cuts..."  This is a cool ass track! "Del" is probably the best solo min-song out of all of them. Short and sweet, this jam pumps with lyrical integrity and a hardcore appeal all wrapped up in a cool flow. Del can rhyme.. In my opinion, he has the best delivery and voice out of all of the crew..

"One Life One Love" is produced by Toure and features Casual and Tajai. The beat is slow and mellow and the rhymes vary on life, the devil, slavery.. "The body is the temple..", Pep Love says.. The chorus goes a little like this with many of the crew talking it through: "..Tomorow, what you gonna do? The past is haunting you- you know what, I'm a tell you while I'm sippin' on this brew -you know it's (wrong and true?) - So what you gonna do? the truth is long overdue..." It's a cool song which is saved by Del's voice..

"Miles To The Sun" is another mellow jam but uses cool scratches. Produced by Jay-Biz, the the organs and the beat is quick and cool. This is a nice song as the hiero crew goes back and forth. The chorus goes like this with the crew talking it through: "I don't know what you've been told but this will unfold, and go again the distance, will heed, pay attention, read- the inscription, we givin the night, the day, how many miles away?!?...."

Overall, this is a cool album with no filler but some tracks are just better than others.  One thing I don't like about it is that there is not enough DEL on it... Del, considered the great-grandaddy of Hieroglyphics, should be on more of the tracks. The production is very good. The beats are all thick and full. the scratches are on point and the samples are unused... pure hip-hop. Domino's production is wonderful along with the production by Del, Opio and A-Plus. Lyrically, the crew basically has battle rhymes.  They don't boast about money but their lyrical skill, which they do have. Del is the only one who makes a deep impression about philosophy of life on "At The Helm". Though rhymes of slavery, phony emcees, and street life do creep in and out of the songs, battle rhymes is mainly the focus of the lyrics. Hieroglyphics are very orginal and innovative. Soul's "Mics Of The Roundtable" is a creative piece though it is not an amazing song. "At The Helm" is bold and creative and so is "Oakland Blackouts". Both joints are very original. Other joints like "Dune Methane" and "See Delight" sound cool but are not as original as the previous jams mentioned. The album does have a cool flow to it. None of the songs are boring though some are just better than others.  It's easy to listen to it all the way through especially since the little mini-songs featuring each of the members slice the album up well. Though they have a quick wit and tongue, Hiero are more hardcore in approach to the music than in the lyrics. Del explains in "At The Helm", "Raps not all about making doe and f*cking b*tches..." The hardcore feel is decreased by the high voices of Opio and A-Plus and the smooth feel of Pep-Love's voice (who has the voice of a nice guy... even though I don't know him personally). Still, all of them can rhyme.... very well. Support underground hip-hop and pick up this independant joint!!! Hieroglyphics! Read the inscriptions and open up your third eye!

Beats: 9/10.
Lyrics: 8.5/10.
Production: 9/10.
Creativity/Originality: 9/10.
Album Flow: 9/10.
Hardcore Rating: 8/10.
[ Overall Rating: 8.8/10 ]