Twelve years ago to this day, Eminem returned from a lengthy hiatus to release Relapse, his first album since 2004's Encore. Produced in near-entirety by Dr. Dre, who turned in some of the most cinematic and disturbing work of his career, the project emerged as a loosely conceptual homage to horror. At the center stood an accented and maniacally depraved Slim Shady, firmly entrenched in the persona of a fictitious serial killer and determined to sow carnage.
Following "We Made You," a clear attempt to follow the tradition of a "radio-friendly" lead single, "3 A.M" arrived to set the record straight. Fueled by a menacing Dre instrumental, Em whips together labyrinthian flows as he weaves violent tapestries. Drawing clear inspiration from notorious Silence Of The Lamb antagonist Buffalo Bill -- the killer who may very well be Eminem's main inspiration, alongside Psycho's Norman Bates -- Em set the table for an album that would one day become widely regarded as a cult classic.
In fact, it's become increasingly common to see Relapse regarded among his best bodies of work -- a contrasting opinion to his own, which still seems rather tepid about the project. Here's hoping that Em can begin to see Relapse in a new light; as fans already know, its long-lost sequel currently remains indefinitely vaulted. Yet as any good horror aficionado knows, Em included -- nothing stays buried forever.
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Out the corner of his cornea, he just saw ya run
All you want is to rest 'cause you can't run anymore, you're done
All he wants is to kill you in front of an audience
While everybody is watching in the party, applauding it
Here I sit, while I'm caught up in deep thought again
Contemplating my next plot again
Swallowin' a Klonopin while I'm noddin' in and out on the ottoman
At the Ramada Inn, holding onto the pill bottle, then