For nearly ten years and spanning five albums, Jedi Mind Tricks have balanced a line between righteous and unholy, resulting in their status as one of the most loved and hated groups in the independent Hip Hop world. With the exception of the decidedly wordier Psycho-Social Chemical and Electromagnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness duo Vinnie Paz and Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind have stuck to their violently anti-Christian guns while churning out some of the most consistently raw Hip Hop ever created.

With Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell you'll get the same braggadocios, gutter rhymes over the same gorgeous beats you always do, with the added plus of a more thoughtful, mature Vinnie. The Verbal Hologram already proved his real depth on "Before The Great Collapse," which serves as a lead-in to "Razorblade Salvation," one of this album's more brilliant moments. Paz also allows more than a passing glimpse of his political acumen with "Shadow Business," a haunting track about modern day slavery in both sweatshops and prisons. Using lyrics like "The slave master only let them speak in sign language, plus they suffering from lung disease and eye damage, fourteen hour shifts, seven days a week, two shitty meals a day, very little sleep," Vinnie paints a vivid picture of the decrepit conditions in this too often overlooked world.

For those who are still craving warfare on wax as usual there is plenty to go around. The self-proclaimed "Mark David Chapman with a Salinger book" brings his A-game on fierce battle joints like "Serenity In Murder," "Suicide" and, most notably, the lively "Outlive the War" - another team-up with previous collaborator Sean Price, featuring Block McCloud on the hook. One of the most stunning of all the tracks on the album is "Uncommon Valor (A Vietnam Story)," which finds Vinnie head first in Vietnam, lamenting many of the same troubles of modern day happenings in the Middle East; deceptive government rationale, civilian casualties, and keeping your own life. This may be overshadowed by the fact that R.A. the Rugged Man delivers possibly my favorite verse of the year, a nearly two-minute epic tale of war and it's after-effects on the men involved over Stoupe's wailing vocal samples and perfect drums.

Although some people have complained about too many solo joints by Vinnie wearing thin (Legacy of Blood) or conversely, too many guest appearance (Visions Of Ghandi), JMT finally find a happy medium. The lone fault in that department is, surprisingly, a lackluster Ill Bill verse on the blistering lead single "Heavy Metal Kings." Besides his usual plethora of ill soundscapes, Stoupe gets some solo shine on four vocal snippet-laden interludes which serve as a great way to break from Paz' intense verbiage. Upon listening to "Black Winter's Day," one gets the impression that this is the only song you could possibly end this album with. This gem features extremely introspective, almost vulnerable writing and is like nothing you've ever heard from Jedi Mind Tricks before. The bottom line is with Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell, Jedi Mind Tricks manages to strike a balance between street mentality, social awareness, and topical emceeing and set it to some of the dopest production in all of Hip Hop right now, making this easily their best offering since Violent By Design.