Only in Amerika

Music

Similarly to Hed PE's previous albums, Only in Amerika is a fusion of styles ranging from hip-hop to hardcore punk and heavy metal. Johnny Loftus wrote that Only in Amerika is a "thrash-hop spew [which] takes cues from Anthrax, Korn, Dirty South, pre-acting career Ice-T, and the uncompromising Psychopathic Records collective." Overall, Only in Amerika is much heavier and more chaotic than the band's previous albums, courtesy of Jaxon's heavy down-tuned 7-string guitar grooves, Bistany's drumming, and a new level of independent label explicitness in Jahred's lyrics. Apart from the obvious hip-hop influence present on all Hed PE releases, Amerika is much more metal-oriented than the band's debut album, which is primarily hip-hop driven but contains elements of punk rock and alternative, 2000's Broke, which continues the band's original style while incorporating world music, reggae, and ska influences, and 2003's Blackout, which showcases a more melodic hard rock sound while lessening the hip-hop presence.

Lyrical themes

Gomes expresses nationalistic themes in the song "War", and elsewhere on the album, calling for retaliation against Al Qaeda for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Reception

In his review of the album, Johnny Loftus wrote that "[the album] wants to be a confrontational megaphone in the ear of conservatives, but Jahred's torrential rhetoric is too messy and blatantly offensive to incite anything but superficial anger, and the music -- though occasionally explosive -- takes a backseat to the ranting."