Dark Carnival (Insane Clown Posse)

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The Dark Carnival is a series of concept albums described by hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse in much of their discography. The concept, similar to the "heaven and hell" language of monotheistic religions, is the primary source of inspiration for Insane Clown Posse's two series of albums called Joker's Cards, each containing six albums.

Contents

The Dark Carnival is where souls face judgment based on their individual actions before being sent to heaven or hell. The concept was reportedly inspired by a dream of Insane Clown Posse member Violent J where spirits in a traveling carnival appeared to him.

Most Insane Clown Posse studio albums are a part of the 2 decks of jokers cards as a part of The Dark Carnival. Albums not included in either hand are the double albums Bizaar / Bizzar and The Tempest .

The Dark Carnival concept was introduced with Joker Cards Deck 1, but not named, on Insane Clown Posse's first album Carnival of Carnage (1992), and was developed in subsequent releases Ringmaster (1994), Riddle Box (1995), The Great Milenko (1997), The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (1999), The Wraith: Shangri-La (2002), and The Wraith: Hell's Pit (2004).

It returned with the continuation of Deck 2 starting on the release Bang! Pow! Boom! (2009), then afterwards with The Mighty Death Pop! (2012), The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost / Found (2015), Fearless Fred Fury (2019), and Yum Yum Bedlam (2021).This deck will be completed with the announced sixth card "The Nauht"

Creation

The concept of the Dark Carnival was inspired by a dream Joseph Bruce had after the foundation of Insane Clown Posse wherein spirits in a traveling carnival appeared to him. [1] The group decided to incorporate this dream into their band's newly created persona. [1] The spirits are each revealed in a series of albums called the Six Joker's Cards. Each spirit relays a message through the use of a moral story. [2]

A Second Deck of Joker's Cards was introduced with Insane Clown Posse's Bang! Pow! Boom! (2009), a spirit in the Dark Carnival. [2] The character is a demon-like figure that Bruce describes as a "continuous explosion that stomps his way through the crowd blowing [...] evil souls [...] to Hell". [3] Though the group originally intended to make the character separate from the Six Joker's Cards, he was revealed as part of the second set of Joker's Cards. [2] [4]

Overview

"The way I see the Dark Carnival is it's a place where you have all the evil souls that are going to be going to hell. Some of them may ride the "Murder Go Round" [or] the "Tilt a Whirl". Some of them may ride the "Terror Wheel" [or] the "Tunnel of Love". There are all different shows and rides at the Dark Carnival which will take you to hell."

Violent J [2]

J describes the Dark Carnival as "a place where you have all the evil souls that are going to be going to hell." [2] It features carnival rides and attractions which assist in this purpose, which is the focus of multiple albums and songs within the group's discography. [2] Each of the Joker's Cards relates to a specific character in the Dark Carnival that tries to "save the human soul" by showing the wickedness inside of one's self. [1] [2]

Joker's Cards

First deck of cards

The first Joker's Card, Carnival of Carnage (1992), is a representation of the ghetto and the violence that occurs within. [5] [6] It takes the form of a traveling carnival which doles out the same brutality on those who have ignored the inner cities' cries for help. [6] The Card issues a warning against the upper-class and government's negligence toward the lower classes. [5] [6]

The Ringmaster (1994), the second Joker's Card, is the story of the overseer of the Carnival of Carnage. [7] [8] He leads "the phantoms of the dead" that take the form of the Carnival. The creatures fiercely tear doomed souls from their living bodies and drag them down into hell. [7] The Ringmaster himself is created through one's own sins, and is one of several who will judge whether a soul is worthy to enter heaven or doomed to eternal hell. [2] [7]

The third Joker's Card, the Riddle Box (1995), is another entity used to determine fate. [9] [2] [5] [8] Upon death, a soul enters a dark chamber containing a jack-in-the-box on an old wooden table. The front of the box has a "painted question mark faded with time," representing the mystery of your own afterlife. [2] [9] As the handle is turned, a melodic tune begins to play. When the music stops, the decision is revealed. The pure see a vision of God, warming their souls as they enter eternal peace. [9] The wicked see an immense fog seeping from the box, "stripping their sanity, as they witness an image of hell, spawned and formed from their own evil; a hideous reflection of their demented souls." [9] The floor falls from underneath them, casting the doomed into the bottomless pit of hell. [9] The fate revealed by the Riddle Box can be found by looking deep within yourself and can be changed with righteous actions. [5] [8] [9]

The Great Milenko (1997), the fourth Joker's Card, is an illusionist and a necromancer that acts on dead minds rather than dead spirits. [10] [5] His purpose is to try to trick individuals into greed and other lesser sins. [10] He identifies the worst in an individual and creates powerful illusions in an attempt to cause them to become hedonistic and greedy. [10] The Great Milenko is present within every person, and an honorable individual must fight his magic in order to make it to heaven. [10]

The fifth Joker's Card, The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (1999), focuses on the nine circles of hell, and the morality of man as he is torn between righteousness and evil. [11] Jack "the Sinister" and Jake "the Just" emerge from the smoke of a candle. [12] The Jeckel Brothers juggle pulsating blood-covered balls representing the mortal life of the dead. [12] For every sin committed, another ball is added. [12] Jack throws Jake curves in an attempt to see a ball drop, and if a soul witnesses Jake drop one of the balls, he will be damned to hell. Souls who see Jake successfully complete the act ascend to heaven. [12]

The sixth Joker's Card is "The Wraith", a personification of Death. The card features two "exhibits", Shangri-La (2002) and Hell's Pit (2004), which were each given their own album. [13] The Wraith: Shangri-La revealed that the hidden message of Insane Clown Posse's music was always to follow God and make it to Heaven. [13] Hell's Pit toured where those who do not atone for their sins nor follow the ways of Shangri-La are sent, illustrating the horrors of hell itself. It was announced at the 2012 Gathering of the Juggalos that ICP planned to release a box set of the six original Joker's Cards, with bonus content from each album era, however the only bonus content released was the Dog Beats EP remastered. [14]

Second deck

Bang! Pow! Boom! (2009) is the first Joker's Card of the second deck. [4] The entity is a continuous explosion used to clear the carnival grounds when they become too crowded with souls of evil people who commit heinous sins such as pedophilia and murder. [2]

The Mighty Death Pop! (2012) is the second Joker's Card, describing an entity that targets individuals who take great risks with their lives, The Mighty Death Pop character reaches out to us in a warning to avoid an early death. [15] [16]

The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost and The Marvelous Missing Link: Found , double albums, released April 28 and July 31, 2015, respectively, are the third Joker's Card. The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost is an entity that Violent J describes as "not having god in your life. Always being negative, looking at the world through a negative lens. Always living in fear, and living with hate". The Marvelous Missing Link: Found, the second part of the card, is in contrast, as "having been found," with both albums fitting their descriptions, as Lost has a dubstep base with lyrics about killing and bombs, while Found has rap beats and comedic lyrics, and also piano/guitar bases and uplifting lyrics.

On October 31, 2017, at Hallowicked, it was revealed that the fourth Jokers Card of the second Deck is titled Fearless Fred Fury . [17] Fearless Fred Fury is a character who is a being of toxic anger, punishing souls who fail to live with dignity—those who put off all responsibility for their life, and feed on blame and resentment.

On October 5, 2020, the fifth Joker's Card in the second deck is revealed to be Yum Yum Bedlam . It is the first Joker's Card to be a female character. [18] Yum Yum Bedlam depicts a spirit that uses the lust of men to capture and eat. There are also three smaller plants around Yum Yum which have received their own EPs (Wicked Vic the Weed, Pug Ugly the Stink Bud, and Woh the Weepin Weirdo).

Bruce has revealed that the second deck will conclude, as did the first, with a depiction of Heaven and Hell, told from the perspective of another character. [16]

Themes

The Dark Carnival acts as a way to remind people of the repercussions of their individual actions "in a language that today's world will understand and listen to." [1] [19] It denounces actions that members Bruce and Joseph Utsler are against, including pedophilia, racism, bigotry, domestic violence, greed and sexual abuse. [19] [20] The themes of the Dark Carnival focus on death, morality, heaven and hell. [2] The themes of God's presence and the final judgment of individuals are explored in multiple Insane Clown Posse songs. Throughout their career, the group has used parables set within the Dark Carnival mythology to warn of the ultimate consequences of immoral behavior. [8] [21] Their 2002 album The Wraith: Shangri-La , which ended the first set of Joker Card albums, with a song named The Unveiling, revealed that the hidden message of ICP's music was to follow God. [8] [13] [21] Joseph Bruce remarked that "The ending of the Joker Cards, the way we looked at it, was death. Heaven and hell. That's up to each and every juggalo [to decide]." [21]

Several journalists have commented on the apparent conflict between the group's sexualized and often violent lyrics and their stated spiritual message. [8] [22] In a June 2010 interview with The Columbian 's Alan Sculley, Bruce explained, "[Sex and violence is] the stuff that people are talking about on the streets...to get attention, you have to speak their language. You have to interest them, gain their trust, talk to them and show you're one of them. You're a person from the street and speak of your experiences. Then at the end you can tell them God has helped me out like this and it might transfer over instead of just come straight out and just speak straight out of religion." [22]

In an October 2010 article for The Guardian , Jon Ronson characterized the Insane Clown Posse as "evangelical Christians" who have "only been pretending to be brutal and sadistic to trick their fans into believing in God." [8] In an interview with ICP conducted for the article, two of Ronson's queries referred parenthetically to ICP's "Christian message" and to the members' identities as "[secret] Christians." Several papers, including The Washington Post , published summaries of Ronson's claims. [23]

Eight days after publication of the Guardian article, Joseph Bruce tweeted "I think [it's] crazy how some press say we're a Christian band and act like we're all religious [...] I'm proud that we believe in God but I haven't been to church since I was like 10. I don't even know if [Utsler has] ever been to church!" [24] [25] [26] Christianity Today writer Mark Moring also challenged Ronson's characterization, writing that "The guys in ICP haven't used the word 'Christian' or 'evangelical' [...] so let's not call them anything that they're not claiming for themselves." [27]

In 2011, Insane Clown Posse appeared on Attack of the Show! and denied claims that they were a Christian band. [28] Bruce explained that their Dark Carnival mythology "comes from the basic principle of right and wrong, you know; evil and good. That’s all. We’re just trying to say that there’s bad guys out there and that there’s good guys out there [...] We were taught there’s a heaven and a hell, but that’s all we were taught. We weren’t taught about the [Ten] Commandments [... or] what’s in the Bible and all that. We just [...] want to see good people hopefully go to heaven, which we refer to as Shangri-La." [28] Joseph Utsler explained in a 2002 interview with Craig Markley that "God is in your heart [...] In my definition, it doesn’t matter what creed, religion, or group you belong to. If you’re doing what’s right and are a good person, then you're right with God." [29] Bruce and Utsler have also stated that they are not certain that God and the afterlife exist, but that they'd like to believe that there is something after death. [21] [22] [30]

Joker Cards & Sideshow EP's

Deck 1

Beverly Kills Terror Wheel Tunnel Of Love

Deck 2

CardJoker CardSideshow EP
1 Bang! Pow! Boom!
2 The Mighty Death Pop! House Of Wax EP
3 The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost Phantom: X-tra Spooky EP
The Marvelous Missing Link: Found
4 Fearless Fred Fury Flip The Rat EP
5 Yum Yum Bedlam Yum Yum's Lure EP
Wicked Vic EP
Pug Ugly EP
Woh The Weeping Weirdo EP

Dark Carnival discography

Deck 1

CardAlbum detailsPeak chart positions RIAA certification
(sales thresholds)
US
[31]
IndieRapR&B/Hip-HopHeatseekersCatalogUKInternetAUS
1 Carnival of Carnage Certification: Gold (2007)

Sales: 500,000+

Beverly Kills 50187 EP
2 Ringmaster Certification: Gold

Sales: 500,000+

The Terror Wheel EP
3 Riddle Box 16Certification: Gold

Sales: 500,000+

Tunnel of Love EP
4 The Great Milenko 638422169Certification: Platinum

Sales: 1,000,000+

5 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers 444995Certification: Platinum

Sales: 1,000,000+

Bizaar 2059Sales: 200,000
Bizzar 21810Sales: 200,000
6 The Wraith: Shangri-La 151871
The Wraith: Hell's Pit 12151841249

Deck 2

Card (Overall)Album detailsPeak chart positions RIAA certification
(sales thresholds)
US
[31]
IndieRapR&B/Hip-HopTastemakersAlbum Sales
1 (7) Bang! Pow! Boom! 413
2 (8) The Mighty Death Pop! 4
House of Wax EP
3 (9) The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost 172277
The Marvelous Missing Link: Found 13699131358
Phantom: X-tra Spooky EP
4 (10) Fearless Fred Fury 442242627
Flip The Rat
Yum Yum Lure
5 (11) Yum Yum Bedlam

Related Research Articles

<i>The Great Milenko</i> 1997 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Great Milenko is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on June 24, 1997, by Hollywood Records in association with Psychopathic Records. As the fourth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology, the album's lyrics focus on the titular Great Milenko, who is a necromancer.

<i>The Wraith: Shangri-La</i> 2002 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Wraith: Shangri-La is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on November 5, 2002, by Psychopathic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2002 at multiple recording studios throughout the United States. The album is the first of two albums representing the sixth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. The album's lyrics describe the titular Wraith's exhibition of heaven.

<i>Carnival of Carnage</i> 1992 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Carnival of Carnage is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on October 18, 1992, by Psychopathic Records.

<i>Riddle Box</i> 1995 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Riddle Box is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, released in 1995 on Battery Records and Island Records in association with Psychopathic Records. It is the third Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. It was released a second time by Battery Records and Jive Records. In 2008 it was re-released on a Riddle Box vinyl record. The album was the first Insane Clown Posse album in which the group worked with studio vocalist and guitarist Rich Murrell, who would work with the group throughout much of their career under the name Legz Diamond. It was released in four different versions, and earned a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2008, Riddle Box was re-released on vinyl double LP format. In 2015, Psychopathic Records reissued the album in a 20th anniversary edition, featuring bonus tracks.

<i>Hells Pit</i> 2004 album by Insane Clown Posse

Hell's Pit is the ninth studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. It was released on August 31, 2004 via Psychopathic Records as a follow-up to 2002 The Wraith: Shangri-La and second half of the sixth and final Joker Card in the first Deck of the Dark Carnival mythology. Recording sessions took place at the Lotus Pod in Detroit. Production was handled by ICP themselves.

<i>Ringmaster</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Ringmaster is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, and their second Joker Card in the first Deck of the Dark Carnival mythology. It was originally released on January 28, 1994 via Psychopathic Records and was reissued in 1998 through Island Records. Recording sessions took place at 313 Studio in Detroit. Production was handled by Mike E. Clark and ICP themselves. It features guest appearances from Capitol E and Jumpsteady. The album's lyrics describe the leader of the Carnival, who serves as one of the judges of one's soul in the afterlife, as being created from the listener's own evils.

<i>The Amazing Jeckel Brothers</i> 1999 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Amazing Jeckel Brothers is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on May 25, 1999, by Island Records, in association with Psychopathic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1998 to 1999. The album is the fifth Joker's Card in the group's Dark Carnival mythology. The album's lyrics focus on the nine circles of hell and the morality of man as he is torn between righteousness and evil. The album's titular Jeckel Brothers are spirits who juggle balls of fire, representing the sins committed during the mortal life of the dead.

Psychopathic Records is an American independent record label headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The label is most associated with the hip-hop music subgenres horrorcore and rap rock. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. The iconography of a man with a meat cleaver has been used for years as a symbol of the group, its fanbase, and its associates.

<i>Beverly Kills 50187</i> 1993 EP by Insane Clown Posse

Beverly Kills 50187 is the first extended play by American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. It was released on July 16, 1993 via Psychopathic Records as the first "sideshow" entry in the group's Dark Carnival saga. The group felt that they should release EPs in between their studio albums during the Dark Carnival series, in order to build and satisfy their fanbase. It is the second overall release by Insane Clown Posse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violent J</span> American rapper

Joseph Frank Bruce, known by his stage name Violent J, is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler, and part of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP). He is a co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow ICP rapper Shaggy 2 Dope and their former manager, Alex Abbiss. Also along with Utsler, Bruce is the co-founder of the professional wrestling promotion Juggalo Championship Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaggy 2 Dope</span> American rapper

Joseph William Utsler, known by his stage name Shaggy 2 Dope, is an American rapper, record producer, DJ, podcast host, and professional wrestler. He is part of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. He is the co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow Insane Clown Posse rapper Violent J and their former manager, Alex Abbiss. Along with Bruce, Utsler is the co-founder of the professional wrestling promotion Juggalo Championship Wrestling, where he currently acts as color commentator.

<i>The Tempest</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Tempest is the tenth studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. Released in 2007, the album marks the return of producer Mike E. Clark, who had a falling-out with the duo in 2000. However, he did not collaborate directly with ICP, and would not do so until their 2009 album Bang! Pow! Boom!

<i>Tales from the Lotus Pod</i> 2001 studio album by Dark Lotus

Tales from the Lotus Pod is the first album by American hip hop group Dark Lotus. Released on July 17, 2001, the album featured the only appearance of former member Marz, who was soon dismissed from the group. This was the first Insane Clown Posse/Twiztid related album to be released after their label Psychopathic Records left Island Records.

<i>The Pendulum</i>

The Pendulum is a 12-issue miniseries of comic books based upon the Dark Carnival universe, a mythology detailed in the music of the Insane Clown Posse. Distributed by Chaos! Comics, the series was published from January 2000 until December 2001. A graphic novel containing all 12 issues was released on August 20, 2002 along with an album featuring most of the Pendulum singles. It is the group's 5th compilation album, and their 17th overall release. Prologue and Spin-Off Comics, #1 The Upz & Downz of the Wicked Clownz (1999). #2 The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (1999). #3 Raze the Desertz of Glass (1999). Hallowicked (2001). Halls of Illusion (2002).

<i>Behind the Paint</i> 2003 autobiography by Joseph Bruce and Hobey Echlin

Behind the Paint is the 2003 autobiography of American hip hop artist Joseph Bruce, better known as Violent J, one half of the Detroit, Michigan hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. The book focuses on Bruce's entire life until 2002. It begins with a chronological account of his childhood, professional wrestling career, and musical career, including the conception of Insane Clown Posse's Dark Carnival mythology and the development of their fan base, known as "Juggalos".

<i>Bang! Pow! Boom!</i> 2009 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Bang! Pow! Boom! is the eleventh studio album by the American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse. Released on September 1, 2009 by Psychopathic Records, it was the group's second album with producer Mike E. Clark since his return to Psychopathic Records, and the first album to focus on the Dark Carnival since the conclusion of the group's original "Joker's Cards" series. The character is the first of a set of six new Joker's Cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insane Clown Posse</span> American hip hop duo from Michigan

Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989, ICP's best-known lineup consists of rappers Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore and is known for its elaborate live performances. The duo has earned two platinum and five gold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the entire catalog of the group had sold 6.5 million units in the United States and Canada as of April 2007. The group has established a dedicated following called Juggalos numbering in the "tens of thousands".

<i>The Mighty Death Pop!</i> 2012 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

The Mighty Death Pop! is the twelfth studio album by Underground American hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, released on August 14, 2012. It is their second album to focus on the Dark Carnival since the conclusion of the group's original "Joker's Cards" series. The title character is the second in a set of six new Joker's Cards. It is the group's 29th overall release, and is the last album to date to feature long-time producer Mike E. Clark.

Robert Bruce is an American retired rapper and professional wrestler who would go on to become a Don for Psychopathic Records.

<i>Yum Yum Bedlam</i> 2021 studio album by Insane Clown Posse

Yum Yum Bedlam is the sixteenth studio album by American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse, and their fifth Joker Card in the Second Deck of the Dark Carnival Saga. It was released on October 31, 2021, on Psychopathic Records.

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