Salmo
Death USB

"The second album is always the most difficult in an artist's career" (cit. Caparezza, 2003)

Released in 2012, a year after the undisputed The Island Chainsaw Massacre, Death USB marked a turning point for the Sardinian artist. His first (and penultimate album) released after signing with Tanta Roba indeed initiated the mystification process that fans now have for the artist. Undoubtedly it was Midnite that made him a celebrity, but everything starts here.

TICM shocked everyone upon its release, with many convinced that Italian rap could no longer produce something original. In those 17 tracks, Salmo mixed Rock, Metal, Rap, Drum N' Bass, and Dubstep, leaving his mark on the scene.
Death USB, composed in just one week (!!!) and almost entirely produced by Salmo himself (except for track 3 by DJ 2P, track 5 by Fritz da Cat, and track 9 by Belzebass) could have potentially been a flop since it seemed unlikely to provide a worthy follow-up to The Island. However, Salmo came out with this, very different from the previous one. Only 10 tracks (7 excluding Hellcome!, Senza, and Doomsday) for a duration of just over 30 minutes. Here, the sounds are mainly electronic/dub, so no more crossover à la Street Drive In (or if you prefer, à la Nella Pancia Dello Squalo).

After a brief intro scratched by DJ Slait, it kicks off with a bang with Il Pentacolo, which talks about the music business as a satanic ritual, where you have to sell your soul to the devil to succeed.

In Narcoleptic Verses, it talks about the nocturnal paranoia that afflicts Salmo (and Primo and Ensi, in a great collab.)

In Negative Youth, he talks about shattered dreams and a life viewed from a very pessimistic perspective (You wanted to be a lawyer, a life above books, but your father is a farmer so what the hell are you laughing at? You have to work as a parking attendant, a gas station attendant, on a farm and die mumbling about meritocracy).

The beat of Demons to Diamonds (Fritz da Cat=one of the best ever) is spectacular, which the rapper rides brilliantly, creating a series of not-so-clear visual images.

"god forgive me, it's just that I walk straight in a city of coke addicts, stay away from the music economy, we live fast only to die young"

these verses perfectly summarize the sense of L. Fast & D. Young (an entire generation that has seen its plans shattered, and with the economic crisis and lack of jobs, doesn't know where to turn)

In Senza, Enigma raps, while Our Guy provides the base with the/the (both are correct, but I don't want any douchebags correcting me in the comments) beatbox.

Narcoleptic Verses pt.2 continues the theme of the first part, with great lyrics and an absurd beat.

In the title track, self-celebration and criticisms of the state and television are carefully balanced.

The work concludes with Doomsday, which is an instrumental.

Decent second album for Salmo (the first is unreachable) which silenced all those who accused him of selling out by signing with the Harsh and Pequeno label, since "as much as you expand your name, we are sadly what the mind presupposes".