What at first appears to be aggression is actually 100 per cent anguish, and the prevailing sense is that, like Black Flag, every ounce of that angst has been funnelled into edge, bone-crunching rigour and the sculpting of their largely unprecedented style into austere angles.
From the blood-curdling yells in which the anonymous MC delivers lines about dead cops and human sacrifice, to the positively chilling Charles Manson sample that begins the album, Exmilitary is the real deal, the absolute extent of your parents' worst nightmares when you came home with your first rap album.
It's still a potentially alienating album: unnerving when you're not on its aggro wavelength, inviting when you are, and transfixing either way, thanks to the aggregate work of Death Grips' core.
It's a record that's quite open to cynicism--Exmilitary is easy to dismiss as excessive and carelessly noisy. It's going to polarise listeners, but it's useless to criticise it for being so angry and unlistenable because that's Death Grips' prerogative.
If hip-hop hadn't started falling out of fashion in the late 90s, this is exactly what we'd be listening to on Radio 1 every day. Surely thatIf hip-hop hadn't started falling out of fashion in the late 90s, this is exactly what we'd be listening to on Radio 1 every day. Surely that isn't a bad thing when you consider how damn good this sounds.…Expand
Behind all the anger, desperation and violence, you feel their souls exploding in such convincing ways that there's little doubt these guysBehind all the anger, desperation and violence, you feel their souls exploding in such convincing ways that there's little doubt these guys are a nightmare... you would never like not to have.
10/10…Expand
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This album is another showcase of the creative talent of Death Grips. From the experimental take on hip-hop, to the hardcore rapping of MC Ride, to the ridiculously amazing musical numbers by Zach Hill and the other guy (sorry!), this album is just great. Looking forward to more stuff by these guys…Expand
Loud, brutal, and unique. All of these are the best words to describe Death Grips, and Exmilitary never fails to disappoint. Blending rappedLoud, brutal, and unique. All of these are the best words to describe Death Grips, and Exmilitary never fails to disappoint. Blending rapped and shouted vocals with the intense drumming of Zach Hill and huge electronic beats, the experimental mixtape is strong the entire way through and is almost granted to keep you crawling back for more. Simple hooks, usually a simple phrase repeated, are extremely catchy and get stuck in your head easily. Not a single song isn't fast paced and in your face. The lyrics, if you choose to listen to them, are also a high point: the way MC Ride yells like an angry homeless man makes lyrics like "I AM THE BEAST I WORSHIP!" hit hard. An excellent album that's not for everyone, but should be.…Expand
One of the best experimental hip hop albums ever, made by my possibly favorite band by now. The sound so hard and dizzying combined with theOne of the best experimental hip hop albums ever, made by my possibly favorite band by now. The sound so hard and dizzying combined with the vocal rush of MC Ride allows you to fully understand the obscure meanings of the rapper's streams of consciousness that contain very interesting quotations and ideologies. The productions are raw and aggressive with a lot of punk and rock influences and Zach Hill's drums are one of the best things I've ever heard.
In summary, I think this mix tape is one of the most beautiful and original things of the last decade, and certainly a source of great inspiration for artists to come.…Expand
This review is being written in hopes that innocent ears aren't rendered useless once filled with the demonstrably awful noise that is DeathThis review is being written in hopes that innocent ears aren't rendered useless once filled with the demonstrably awful noise that is Death Grips, unless of course you're in to that type of music. This band, if you can call it that, is basically trying to make as much noise as possible in their tracks in as many 'new' and 'unique' ways that they can. How this collection of noise has received a User Score of 9.0 is beyond me. Usually it's the critics who try to see/hear the things that just aren't there to sound smart, or in this case, ignore all the raging atrocities "Death Grips" throws at you and call it great music because it's doing something 'different'. There is a thick line, nay, there is a line as bold as the Wall of China between creating a new sound that is not only intelligent but truly revolutionary and between just recording noise no one else has dared to before because it literally sounds like a feces-fueled Waterpark. A normal person, God forbid we use the word normal when reviewing this band though, listens to the song Guillotine and instead of enduring the noise, they turn it off almost as soon as it starts (unfortunately I did not have the luxury as I've had to give this album a fair review) while the "indie" crowd cringes and pretends to like it because only they are smart enough and capable of enduring such music, normal people just don't understand. The band provides nothing more than pretentious lyrics that truly have no substance unless analyzed and misconceptions are put therein, a vocalist (excuse me, just the lead) who literally sounds like a dog barking at you throughout the album and a pedophile backing voice, simplistic beats that an angry three year-old marching towards time-out could accomplish, and incoherent instruments that serve no purpose other than to add to the chaos. Many will tell me I just don't understand the music, that I am ignorant. But take a step back. Actually listen to this monstrosity. This is not music, it is a collection of noise.…Expand
