Death Grips - Exmilitary (Self-Released, 2011)

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Zach Hill is one of the most active men in modern music. He has worked with just about every figure in independent music, from finger-tapping goddess Marnie Stern to Nathan Wiliams-- I know. Transitioning from band to band and punishing ears with his solo work, Hill has consistently managed to infuse his dizzying brand of eccentricity into every release. Most recently, aside from the much-anticipated Hella album to be released this summer, Hill’s most recent venture has been in the hip-hop trio Death Grips, which, despite whatever may reside in his discography years from now, will be forever known as one of his most staggering projects.

Even after being awestruck by one of Death Grips’ earliest tracks, “Full Moon (Death Classic),” the debut mixtape Exmilitary remained a challenging 48 minutes. These 13 songs rarely exhibit its sporadic, groove-negligent rhythms, and instead embrace the use of electronically crafted beats, which cease to entail anything traditional ahead. The instrumental foundation for Exmilitary ranges from the foreboding sparseness of “Guillotine (It Goes Yah)” to the infectiously fractured cadence of “Culture Shock”-- both of which and everything in between stand consonantly chaotic and dissonant.

Lyrics and subject matter also cosmically coincide with the ugly, rebellious disposition of the beats. “Spread Eagle Cross the Block” details how one’s urges can overcome their own rationale, while “Thru the Walls” illustrates failed attempts to subjugate addictions and the sudden realization of those faults. Death Grips’ MC doesn’t vent these clever lines in a compelling, revelatory manner; they’re shouted to induce the uncompromising thought that self-depreciation will never end.

Exmilitary is a transcending collision of rap, noise, and hardcore, one currently unmatched as one of the most original releases of the year. Death Grips are a group willing to polarize all ears, even in a day where Goblin’s audacious dissidence and epidemic hype equate to sheer irony. Exmilitary drafts (no pun intended) one of the rare occasions where lyricism fosters its backbone, and vice versa.



[Death Grips Soundcloud]
[Download Exmilitary from Death Grips' website]