MOJO * * * (3 Stars)

You know where you are with a band when an angry sounding rapper has claimed that the pope's a paedophile with a drug habit within the first 15 seconds of their debut. LCN - a reconsstituted House of Pain with Ill Bill and others added - make hip hop for skatepunks, but anyone in love with rap and tired of Auto-Tuned club bangers will dig it too.

Q * * * (3 Stars)

New York trio House of Pain are here rebranded, with Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal wisely ditching the comedy Oirish-isms in favour of gritty rock-rap and cameos from fellow survivors Cypress Hill and Snoop Dogg.

DJ Magazine * * * * (4 Stars)

Man, I loathed House of Pain. Man, I loathed Non-Phixion. So how come I can thoroughly recommend this single from La Coka Nostra, a crew made up of H.O.P and Ill Bill? Partly because Muggs has out down a truly addictive mix of thumping smoky funk and off kilter keys to backdrop the rhymes, partly 'cos Snoop Doggg drops in one of his most mashed out supahigh stoned vocals on the chorus, partly 'cos I don't bear grudges and neither should you. Get on it sharpish

METRO* * * (3 Stars)

Mainstream rap's current Auto-Tuned facade isn't for everyone - andd  those hankering after something  scuzzier will revel in hip hop supergroup La Coka Nosstra. The entire House of Pain line up (Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal) with Non Phixion's Ill Bill and Boston underground rapper Slaine offer up product that seemss to have been cut with rat poison: Hard-core gritt and grime that splices dirty rock riffs with horrorcore beats; bloody violence and gruff paranoia sspat out by MC's sporting permanent scowels. LCN slouch through testosterone driven braggadocio, crime fantasies and political comment with the same squalid swank. Some of it is a mess (Nuclear Medicinemen) and Snoop Dogg's appearance on Bang Bangwas probably surplus to requirements but this is entertainingly adolescent nonetheless.

NUTS * * * * * (5 Stars)

Any other week, this would have been our top album choice. Awesome hip hop between House of Pain and the scary Ill Bill from Non Phixion. Vicious!

TIME OUT (LONDON)* * * (3 Stars)

Just as the likes of Dr Dre's 'The Chronic' reflected the passing of hip hop's drug of choce baton from good old crack to fashionable marijuana, LCN critique the streets' cultural obsession with the easy money and faux glamour of cocaine, Career stoners Snoop Dogg, B-Real and Bun B serve up cautionary guest verses over ambitiously hardcore boom bap beats. It's not exactly subtle, and sometime's lacking in finesse, but undeniably exhilirating.

LTD Magazine * * * * (4 Stars)

This is music for Irish Hoods in bars in Brooklyn, for dock workers in Jersey, for the kids with baseball bats and do-rags outside the club. And if you like your rap music hard as hell andd uncompromising, it's for you. La coka Nostra - a loose alliance of Everlast, DJ Lethal and Danny Boy from House of Pain, plus Slaine and Ill Bill - have just beaten every other album this year under the table, with said baseball bat. The beats are neck-snapping; the MC's are different enough from each other to matter but cohesive enough to stay different. The subject matter, while simple at first glance, is anything but. Even the guests are dope - including Snoop Dogg. Try putting on 'Get You By' or the ultra crisp kicks of 'Once Upon A Time' and not bump your head. La Coka Nostra have created one of the most enjoyable, hardcore and downright ridiculous rap albums of the past ten years. Too Fresh.

D101 Magazine

Rap and Rock have mixed from as far back as Run DMC & Aerosmith. The La Coka Nostra track The Stain features on their album A Brand You Can Trust andd although 'The Stain' may not be the critical choice it is our choice. The album is a mixture of Latin & Caucasian G-Rap with cameos from Snoop Dogg and Immortal Technique to name but two. Still the power of 'The Stain' both lyrically and musically will in my opinion see this track rise above the others on the album.

BUZZ Magazine* * * (3 Stars)

Add together most of House of Pain, Ill Bill (of the invincible Non-Phixion), rugged beats, firearms, distaste for society and hundreds of metaphors for nose candy and you get this. If (and only if) you like your hip hop tough, dirty, thuggish and raw then you're in for a massive treat here. Guests include Cypress Hill, Snoop and Immortal Technique among others and with tracks like Bang Bang, Gun in Your Mouth and That's Coke how can you lose?

247 Magazine * * * * (4 Stars)

A rap group comprised of Ill Bill, Slaine, Everlast, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal, which to me sounds like House of Pain 2, and whilst my initial impression was It's all 1992 again the album sounds fresh and current. With guests like Snoop Dogg and B-Real from Cypress Hill, and production by the ever on-point Alchemist, this is an essential purchase for anyone that likes their hip hop dark, head nodding and no jiggy.

BLACK SHEEP & OLD TO THE NEW (On-Line Music magazine/Blog)

A boisterous mixture of rap, rock, violence, irony, ignorance, political comment, paranoia, drugs, alcohol, humour and testosterone, 'A Brand You Can Trust' is a potent sonic hit from the bong  that goes straight to the head. Brutal music for ugly times.

 ROCK SOUND 7/10

La Coka Nostra marks the surprise return to the fray for the House of Pain with a supergroup of sorts featuring HOP's Everlast, DJ Lethal and Danny Boy plus Non Phixion's Ill Bill and Special Teamz's MC Slaine. A crime-riden concept album featuring cameos from Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill, 'A Brand You Can Trust' is a return to the politically incorrect gang-banging hardcore hip-hop of the mid-90's, coupled with the gothic-tinged humour of the Gravediggaz. With rap still under heavy sedation, LCN aren't here to tear up the rulebook but if it's sheer unadulterated cartoon fun you're after, look no further.

FOR FANS OF: Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Gravediggaz.