The 6th Joker's Card

The Wraith: Shangri-La..  

The face of the sixth Joker's Card is "The Wraith"—or simply, Death. The card featured two "exhibits", Shangri-La and Hell's Pit, which would each be given its own album. On November 5, 2002, Insane Clown Posse released their eighth studio album, The Wraith : Shangri-La, where it is revealed that the hidden message of their music was always to follow God and make it to Heaven. Ben Sisario criticizes the series' ending in the Rolling Stone Album Guide, writing "the whole thing was some bland divine plan ... Is this man's final dis of God, or His of us?"  Some critics perceived the spiritual element of the storyline as a joke or a stunt. Allmusic writer Bradley Torreano wrote that "Even if it is a joke, it isn't a funny one, or even a clever one." According to Bruce, "We went on an in-store tour right when the sixth Joker Card came out. It was the most moving thing we ever went through in our lives. All across the country, it had such an effect. People would come to the in-stores crying, thanking us. A very, very emotional time. ... Some people might've been upset by that, but through our eyes all we did was touch a lot of people. We definitely wanted it to be something everlasting. Maybe a 19-year-old might not understand or like that ending now. But later, when he has four kids, he might think, 'That was the shit.'"

The Wraith: Shangri-La debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top Independent Albums chart. In September 2003, Insane Clown Posse was voted the worst band of any musical genre in Blender, with The Wraith: Shangri-La named as the group's worst album. The magazine also gave the album a positive review for its "charming, good-natured idiocy." Insane Clown Posse went on the 75-date "Shangri-La World Tour", where they performed across the United States, Australia and Europe. While in Australia, customs confiscated all the group's Faygo, assuming that they were bringing it for commercial purposes. Insane Clown Posse tried to explain that they are performers and that the soda was part of their act, but were still unable to use the Faygo and forced to use a different form of soda for their Australian tour.

Bruce and Utsler later signed a new contract with Sony BMG's RED Distribution, and launched the Psychopathic Europe record label.