Dark Lotus

Are you "down with the clown?" Which is to say, are you the slightest bit interested in watching five sugar-crazed Midwesterners don face paint and rap about ax murder? If so, there's a really strong chance that this Insane Clown Posse-fronted horrorcore supergroup is already figuring prominently in your weekend plans. Formed in 1999 when ICP co-bozos Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler joined forces with several Psychopathic Records label-mates, Dark Lotus are sort of like The Traveling Wilburys for the white mall-punk set; one appeals to baby boomers, the other to jobless Juggalos. Beyond that, they're eerily the same. The extra bodies are also helpful in the stamina department, because Bruce and Utsler aren't exactly a couple of svelte Kenyan marathoners. Non-fans are routinely mystified by horrorcore's durable appeal, but here's the thing to remember: It's all about the love. Maybe these lyrics, from the group's 2001 single "Juggalo Family," sum it up best: "Mass murder makes me happyyyyy/Dead bodies make me happyyyyy/Until eternityyy/We'll always have Juggalo family." Awww, insane clowns say the sweetest things.