As the World Burns

1	Intro 1:37
2	Backdraft 3:11
3	Shit Ain't Sweet 4:03
4	Pyromaniax 4:21
5	Underground Vandal 2:23
6	Blaze 2:46
7	Venom 2:17
8	Frienemies 2:05
9	Lt. Worf & Chewbacca 1:47
10	Session 3:50
11	Shaboing 3:48
12	Rhyme Time Travel 2:49
13	Live to Tell 3:26
14	Seed 3:04
15	Lunchroom Take-Out 3:50
16	Worlds Collide 4:24
17	Flashback 3:00
18	D-Sturbed Words 2:06
19	Geembo's Theme 2:03
20	Halloween 4:01
21	In Your Town 0:00

Barnes & Noble

Hip-hop can be a lot of things -- trenchant, sexy, and, these days especially, poppy. But it's rarely zany, and if anything separates Brooklyn's art-hop crew the Arsonists from the rest of the rap race, it's their ability to forego frontin' boho chic and thug appeal in favor of letting their weird, woolly hair down. The acclaimed cabal's long-awaited debut, AS THE WORLD BURNS, deserves props not only for obvious forays into the twilight zone -- like "Pyromaniax," which casts the crew as a brilliantly inane clown posse, and a hilariously psychedelic, mid-album spoken-word bit -- but for an overarching mood of loose-limbed experimentalism that touches even the straighter, harder tracks. Sending their anti-corporate, uber-street aesthetic through the Day-Glo lens of the Pharcyde, cuts like the jazzy "Session" and the biting "Blaze" are like caldrons of sound perfect for unhinged MCs who overlay their rhymes like graffiti bombers fighting for the same piece of wall space. AS THE WORLD BURNS might be a wild ride, but in an era of post-Puffy complacency, it's a welcome detour. Jon Dolan

All Music Guide

Rising from the ashes of New York's dog-eat-dog underground scene were the five spontaneously combustible members making up Arsonists: Q-Unique, D-Stroy, Freestyle, Swel Boogie, and Jise One. Fundamentally sound and immersed in hip-hop's old-school heritage, Arsonists amiably keep everything in-house for their debut (which is nearly unheard of nowadays), as there is no outside production or industry-related collaborations. A sumptuously diverse group, each of Arsonists brings differentiating lyrical styles, yet together they manage to mesh into a group setting. Arsonists burn the competition with the expedited cadences of "Blaze," while upholding their vowel to preserve hip-hop's four essential elements with "Flashback." Dispensing a plethora of spit-boxing exhibitions, they give a consummate New York verbal flogging to "Shaboing," the flame-broiled "Venom," and the slow-burning "Worlds Collide." Arsonists have not arrived -- they have emerged, and hip-hop is undeniably a purer place because of it. ~ Matt Conaway, All Music Guide