Considering the impact that El’s earlier work made on independent hip-hop, as well as the amped-up adrenaline of his later work, it’s easy to forget how far removed his solo debut was from what came before. It’s likely that, had El kept his Cannibal Ox beats for his solo debut, it would not have made such a startling transition. Compared to The Cold Vein and Funcrusher Plus, Fantastic Damage is a highly polished machine, with piercing snare and cymbal hits, and keyboard runs that sound like Parliament-Funkadelic taking designer drugs. Simultaneously, it’s El’s most dense and oppressive collection of songs. While his other records have their moments of quietude and repose, Fantastic Damage fills every possible sonic space with some sludgy noise — the whole drama of the album is wondering if it can possibly hold itself together for the duration (mostly, it can). El overdubs himself many times, forming his own gang chorus and barking his delivery into the mic until he seems like less a man than cerberus itself. The Hades he guards is a fully formed post-9/11 dystopia, complete with totalitarian oppressors (the 1984-quoting “Accidents Don’t Happen”). Fantastic Damage was El’s first stab at holding up an entire album by himself, and he performs admirably as an emcee, though his flow stays pretty aggressive throughout, and he’d learn more nuance later in his career. Guest spots from fellow Def Juxers Camu Tao, and especially Aesop Rock on “Delorean,” provide memorable foils for his style. Also of note: Fantastic Damage produced the one song for which El may be best-known, the nerd-meets-hood anthem “Deep Space 9mm,” which has sadly dropped from his recent set lists.