The Opus - Breathing Lessons(2004)

Isis, the 7th track on the album with lyrics from Lord 360

Dramatic, dark, and introspective, those are only three of many words that can describe this album by Mr. Echoes and The Isle of Weight, a group that calls themselves The Opus. Grim at some points, calm and thoughtful at others, it has deep atmospheric melodies and catchy hip-hop beats.

The album is mostly instrumental, with only two tracks having lyrics on them, Fanum's Organs with lyrics by Big B, and the masterpiece Isis, with incredible lyrics coming from Lord 360. Despite the scarcity of lyrics, there is a sense of completeness about the album, and all the samples, voice and otherwise, feel like they've been a part of every given song for eternity. It almost feels like it was nature that sampled the sounds of the songs, as opposed to the other way around.