So Wu-Tang master wordsmith Ghostface Killah has just announced the impending release of a new album called Twelve Reasons To Die, which is an excellent title and probably a good indication about whatever’s on this. More encouraging signs: RZA executive-produced the album, and Wu-Tang guys are always better when his presence is flickering in the background, and that album cover is awesome. Also, it’s being described as a “crime/horror concept album,” which could be cool. Less intriguing: The whole thing is a team-up with producer Adrian Younge, who I’ve never heard of. But first single “The Rise Of Ghostface Killah” promises good things; it’s an eerie potboiler about a mythic Ghostface figure, with a really nice little spy-movie guitar figure. Hoping for a classic-level Ghostface album is not a smart thing at this point, but this could be a fun record. Download it below.

Ghostface Killah – “The Rise Of The Ghostface Killah”

Twelve Reasons To Die is out in November on RZA’s Soul Temple label.