M-VIRUS METABOLICS WSCD030 Hailing from the Cypress Hill projects of East New York, Brooklyn, Metabolics (Mr. Dead and Big Pat) inhabit the creative left field of hip-hop in the good company of such trailblazers as Prince Paul and Kool Keith, and labelmates Sensational and Spectre. After meeting them two years ago at a Prince Paul video shoot, Spectre was intrigued by their weird science and put them down with the Sound. Now, after a year's work in the lab, The M Virus (WSCD/LP030) is ready to be unleashed on the unsuspecting masses. Serious as syphilis and deadly as anthrax, The M Virus cannot even be compared to Puffy-influenced hip-pop or the pseudo-underground (c)rap that these so-called "indie" labels are pushing these days. No suh, Metabolics is bringing chemistry to the industry in the form of originality and innovation raised to the umpteenth degree. Mr. Dead is not some crack-dealing, gang- banging, ex-con trying to go legit, but a charismatic, natural-born performer and skilled make-up artist, who has credits in several music videos and B- movie horror flicks. Big Pat is just Big Pat, a moutain of a man who smashes sucker MCs like roaches. Providing the crucial soundtrack are Bimos the Overseer (another protege of Prince Paul), Scotty Hard, Prince Paul, Spectre, and Mr. Dead himself. Combine all of these elements and you have the formula for dopeness. From the opening acoustic bassline of "Last Rights," featuring Villa from Ex- Prez, you'll know that The M-Virus is not the same old tired shit from dudes who are trying to get paid. Metabolics choose to remain raw and real, adding on to hip-hop with their own style and flavor. As hard as anthems like "Brooklyn East NY" are, Dead and Pat also come with plenty of humor ("Do I Make You Horny" and "Stiff Soul Train") and unpredictability ("Issues") so sit back and drink in this elixir from the tip-top to the very last drop. But beware! The M-Virus has been proven to be highly infectious.