The ratio of monumental, earth-shattering albums to just good albums is very low. Sure, every year produces a bevvy of albums that are worth repeated listening, and even a few that are inspiring, but an album that changes the way music is made is truly rare. That is why Cannibal Ox's 2001 album The Cold Vein is particularly special — it changed the way indie hip-hop was made.

When The Cold Vein came out, critics were falling over themselves to compare to to Wu-Tang Clan's Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, for some obvious — but erroneous — reasons. Both Cannibal Ox and Wu-Tang are from New York. Both mix lo-fi production values with dark, intesne lyrics. And Cannibal Ox's début is reminiscent of Wu-Tang's equally unexpected first release. But the most telling comparison is both groups' refreshing originality.

Using Harlem slang for a shang ("ox)" in their name as the word cannibal to imply that they eat other MCs, MCs Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah create a dark, atmospheric soundscape reminiscent of an industrial revolution-era New York. "New York is evil at its core," reminds Vast on the opening track "Iron Galaxy," amid a series of clanking sounds that wouldn't be amiss as a soundtrack to Metropolis.

But the album's show stopping track is "The F-Word," which in this case, is friend. The lyrics are so intelligent that they truly show hip-hop's potential to be one of the sources of modern English poetry.

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