2nd studio LP of 2026 & the 16th overall from Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore. Breaking out as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality & it’s sequel produced by Johnny Slash. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations & Living in the End Times, Alchemy & Black Magic, his Goon MuSick debut The 87 Arsonist & the Brenx-produced Agoraphobia. Embrace the Darkness III became some of his greatest material since signing to the label, coming off Pale Horse of the Apocalypse to run it back with C-Lance on Machines.
After the intro, “Metal Hands” flows over a boom bap instrumental to kick things off talking about being the man whereas the 2nd single “Apple Pie” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 linking up so they can get in their battle rap bags lyrically. “Casket” talked about considering death a beautiful escape in a paranoid state of mind & once the title track featuring Merkules joins forces to wipe out any team threatening them, “Terminator ‘91” ends the 1st half discussing his love for horror films.
“Devil in the Pale Moon” begins the 2nd half pulling the curtain back on artists who claim murder rap when it’s nothing more than suburban rap leading into “Action Stars” featuring A.M. Early Morning talks about neither one of them needing a stunt double. “Lords of Chaos” featuring Lord Goat provides the pinnacle of hardcore hip hop for only a couple minutes while the 3rd & final single “Message from Beyond” appropriately concludes Machines talking about the end being nearer than initially believed.
Retaining the dark tradition of Novatore’s whole sound, C-Lance runs it back with him to further reveal how much he’s evolved artistically since Louie II & the Embrace the Darkness trilogy Pale Horse of the Apocalypse in becoming my favorite of the 2 full-lengths the Chi-Town artist has dropped this year. His hardcore lyricism & C-Lance’s production have come a long way since the turn of the decade, but I was happy to see a condensed guest list.
Score: 9/10