Fuck it... I'm going track by track with this one!
Beware: Talk about an album opener that really sets the tone for a band's ideology and philosophy. The Charlie Manson sample is pretty much the mission statement of Death Grips and the sparknotes for saga of their most recent LP No Love Deep Web. The verses about MC Ride being the beast he worships also sets the stage the fucked up character he plays on all their albums. The quick snare rolls throughout give a preview of what happens when you let a drum-savant like Zach Hill make a hip-hop beats.
Guillotine: Creeping and lurching like a cyber Frankenstein with super minimalist beat and the crash of a guillotine, this is still one of the most extreme and stark tracks Death Grips have ever put out. It's also a nice change of pace from the sample heavy songs that dominate Exmilitary.
Spread Eagle Across the Block: Sampling Link Wray's Rumble? Never a bad idea and Death Grips has basically used the same sample on 'Death Grips, Next Grips' and it worked incredibly well. I think the song is a little long but I liked how the sound of Rumble wasn't modified all that much, allowing MC Ride to come to the forefront.
Lord of the Game: Honestly, not a fan of this track. I really like the drums and it has another awesome sample (Crazy World of Arthur Brown's Fire). But the whole Mexican Girl parts do not work for me and the flow MC Ride has really does not work. I do think the last three lines are pretty awesome.
Takyon: Not Guillotine, not The Fever, not I've Seen Footage, not Come Up and Get Me and not No Love... this is Death Grips best song. I cannot find a single flaw in this song. MC Ride's flow is great and rides the beat perfectly and the lyrics are very quotable. Also, MC Ride finds right balance between his aggressive yelling and remaining comprehendable. Zach Hill's drumming. Holy fuck, Zach Hill's drumming is so good on this track. The military-esque drum fills, the heaviness of the bass and the iconic beat. Perfection.
Cut Throat: Of the two interludes on this album, this is my least favorite. Not much else to say.
Klink: Another great sample (Black Flag's Rise Above) and some more of Zach Hill's insane drumming are the highlights. Klink's strength is it's lyrics and they're some of the best on the album. Songs about cops are done to death in rap, but MC Ride's anger and the appropriateness of 'Rise Above' make it one of the most complete songs on the album.
Culture Shock: The only track that really has any DNA that would be heard on Money Store and it is a nice change of pace with MC Ride using a calmer tone. The digital power tool loop is quiet, but probably one of the busier instrumentals on the album.
5D: What a shock, another awesome sample. This time it's Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls and it's constantly looped for about a minute, pretty much like an outro on a podcast. I want it as a ringtone for my phone, I think it would be perfect for that.
Thru the Walls: I don't listen to this track all that often and am not a huge fan of it. I think it would make a great instrumental and it's one of the few tracks where I can say I don't like what MC Ride does at all. Not a great flow and I don't think the lyrics are that great. The last section at the end is pretty cool though.
Known for It: I don't hear a lot of love for this track, and I'm not sure why. It's got a hell of a hook, backed up my a sample of soundtrack from a 1986 computer animated short film which MC Ride rides so hard. It has the ballsiest sample on the whole album, a bass riff from a Magma song. It's a song I didn't really pay attention to but when it finally clicked... it's probably my second favorite song on this album and I think incredibly overlooked in Death Grips short but somehow active career.
I Want It I Need It: Some cool lines and who can't like the Pink Floyd samples, this is another track has enough space and lets MC Ride shine. I think it goes on a little too long, but it's made up with the great lyrics and the samples (have I said that before?)
Blood Creepin': When I've read reviews of Exmilitary, it seems like a lot of people say this is their least favorite track. I happen to really like this track, with the incredibly dark instrumental and, one last time, great lyrics that paint the graphic disturbing picture MC Ride wants us to see. Also, after listening to MC Ride yell for the majority of the album, hearing him full on scream on the final track is incredibly jarring. The chaotic drums and the reverb heavy synths work really well together. It's a great end to one of the most demanding albums to listen to that I've ever heard.
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I'll sum it up with the questions...
What do you feel are the standout tracks?
Takyon, Known for It, Blood Creepin
Do you feel like the production compliments the lyrics well? Also which of the two do you prefer related to this album?
The production is loud and chaotic and it works well with MC Ride's unique style of rapping. I tend to pay more attention to the music rather than the rapping, but both are excellent here.
Would this album have benefited from having more features?
Exact opposite.
Do you see yourself listening to this album again a few months from now?
Like goofle, I've been listening to it on and off since it came out. But some tracks, like Takyon, I listen to what seems like every couple of days.
Have you heard any of this artist's other mixtapes/albums and do you feel like this album stands up to the same quality as the others?
All of it, including the EP several of these songs were originally on. I think this album is a nice mix of the chaotic sound of Money Store and the dark sound of No Love Deep Web. As of right now, it's probably my overall favorite.
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