Review by Steve Huey - AllMusic
Black Sunday made Cypress Hill's
connection to rock & roll more explicit, with its heavy metal-like
artwork and noisier, more dissonant samples (including, naturally,
stoner icons Black Sabbath). It's a slightly darker affair than its
groundbreaking predecessor, with the threats of violence more urgent and
the pot obsession played to the hilt (after all, it was a crucial part
of their widespread appeal). Apart from those subtle distinctions, the
sound of Black Sunday is pretty much the same as Cypress Hill, refining
the group's innovations into an accessible bid for crossover success. In
fact, it's a little startling how often Black Sunday recycles musical
ideas and even lyrical catch phrases from the endlessly inventive debut.
And the rock-derived, verse-chorus song structures start to sound a
little formulaic by the end of the record (how many choruses feature Sen
Dog repeating part of whatever B Real just said?). But in spite of
that, Black Sunday still sounds vital and lively, since the group has a
surer sense of craft. Most of the tracks are fleshed out into structured
songs, in contrast to the brief sketches that punctuated Cypress Hill.
The album benefits immensely from the resulting clutch of excellent
singles (and songs that could have been), and while a couple of tracks
feel redundant and underdeveloped, Black Sunday is overall a consistent,
engaging listen, especially the flawless first half or so.
Unfortunately, it's also the group's last great album, thanks to the
musical recycling operation that began here and would handicap much of
their subsequent work.
