If you’ve any interest in underground hip hop then this album is probably familiar to you. Widely hailed as one of the most important hip hop albums of all time, The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox a real lightening in a bottle moment for Vast Aire and Vordul Mega. And now, having just celebrated its 20th anniversary, it seems a good a time as any to explore why.

Having formed simply by dint of knowing each other through the New York battle rap scene and hanging out at El-P’s flat/studio, Cannibal Ox came together somewhat at the behest of El-P. What transpired was two years of hard graft on their first (of only two) album together, created as they sat around thinking about rhymes and creating music with producer El-P.

The skills of Vast and Vordul really shouldn’t be underestimated. Having clearly honed their craft through years of spitti ...