On April 25, 2011, hip hop trio Death Grips (made up of MC Stefan Bernett, Zach Hill, and Andy Morin) put out their first full length mixtape in the form of Exmilitary. It was highly praised as one of the best examples of industrial hip-hop from the early 2010s, with its choices of production, vocal delivery, and sampling. The decisions shocked critics and listeners alike. Now that the 12th anniversary of the mixtape has passed, does it still hold up as a piece of music in comparison to newer projects?
Background Info
The Exmilitary mixtape was released shortly after the group’s first output, a self titled EP that included songs that ended up being on Exmilitary itself. The cover of the mixtape is a picture known as “Bearded Man of Oenpelli”, taken in 1968 by photographer Douglass Baglin for a photobook that cataloged the aboriginal people of Australia. According to Andy Morin during an interview with The Quietus, the title was chosen “because of its connotations. It’s a loaded word that inspires instant visualization, a knee-jerk judgment.”
Death Grips uses provocative language to send messages and themes throughout its works. Exmilitary starts that discussion through its title alone. Listeners are thrown into these ideals with the very first track off of the mixtape, “Beware”.
“Beware”
Right off the bat, the song begins with a clip of a Charles Manson documentary. It comes from his imfamous “I roll the nickels” speech, which centers heavily on disobeying cultural and social norms in favor of individualism. Afterwards, the beat drops, using a sample of “Up the Beach” by Jane’s Addiction that induces a paranoid mood in the listener. This would also be the first time that the vocals of Stefan Bernett (also known as Ride) are present in the mixtape, and he truly makes an entrance. His performance is thunderous, working to the song’s benefit, as the lyrics are the protagonist of the track’s descent into anger. As the song progresses, it is clear that this protagonist does not care for themselves; their hate takes over their personality. Although their music is aggressive, it pushes the thought that letting anger consume you is the worst thing that can happen to a person, and is what leads to the problems we face in the world.
“Guillotine”
This track is the most bare-boned on the mixtape, with the majority of its beat being made up of a slow drum and bass line, along with the occasional use of a synthesizer. With all that being said, it is still able to pack a punch within the track listing. It is also one of the only songs on the mixtape with a discernible chorus section, which has made it one of the most popular songs to come out in the project.
“Spread Eagle Cross the Block”
An abrupt opening using a sample of “Rumble” by Link Wray & his Ray Men, one of the most disorderly songs of the mixtape begins. This song is partially about substance abuse, references to alcohol are seen throughout the lyrics. The protagonist of this song shows his disaffectedness of events in favor of going on the pursuit of substances. The songs progressively become more disoriented, its original chorus becomes intertwined with the verses, and the sample cuts in and out repeatedly. By the end, it is clear that the protagonist has been completely taken over by his desires, shouting “It’s all mine”.
“Takyon”
As a very minimalist instrumental song, “Takyon” is another example of how Death Grips is able to do a lot with little. The title of the track refers to a hypothesized particle that moves faster than light, and in this context, it is meant to convey as Andy Morin says in the interview with Quietus, “it’s a metaphor representing the sensation of either becoming that particle or harnessing its energy.”
The instrumentation feeds into this with loud blares and additional distortion done to Ride’s vocals at points of the song.
“Klink”
Klink makes a heavy entrance with the use of the guitar riff from Black Flag’s “Rise Above”, and it keeps that momentum throughout its run time. It uses the sampled riff during chorus sections while using only a drum pattern during the verse sections, the vocal delivery manages to keep the energy up. This track is very centric around the police system, which Ride is very critical over abuses of power. At around the 0:50 mark of the song, the momentum is broken but progressively comes back, to create the transition to the track “Culture Shock”.
“Culture Shock”
This track tackles the issues of the internet age and is also the most social commentary heavy of the whole mixtape. It focuses heavily on how media influence online has made a negative impact on society, making people content with the state of things. It is the slowest-paced song on the album and continues to push the ideas of a new age with the use of electronic instruments, like e-drums and the prominent use of synthesizers.
“Thru the Walls”
Arguably the most aggressive song on the track list, this song uses a strong drum pattern and heavy bass in its production. The lyrics possess themes of incarceration, not physically but mentally and emotionally. You can feel the struggle of the protagonist through Ride’s bombastic delivery which is at its peak on this track. The song caps off with a disorderly mess of an outro, leaving the protagonist of the song in immense panic over the situation he has found himself in.
Other Tracks and Conclusion
While each track has something to offer to the mixtape, there are certain low points that could be found. “Lord of the Game” is very well produced, but runs for a much longer time than it needed to and ends up losing most of its punch by its second chorus. “Known for it” is arguably the lowest point of the mixtape, in comparison to the other tracks, it has weaker vocal and instrumental performances. “I Want it I Need it” and “Blood Creepin” both suffer from bloated runtimes and sometimes poorly executed vocals.
It is important to state how important this album was, and still is, to the scene of hip-hop. More producers are willing to take risks making their sound more distorted and rappers chose to go for more erratic and distinct lyrical flows. Even outside of the hip-hop genre, industry legends like David Bowie sighted them as a large influence on their later releases. Death Grips worked on their issues of bloating tracks and by the time their first album came out, The Money Store, their songs became concise and worked off the strengths found in Exmilitary.
Although it was not perfect, Exmilitary remains an important piece of musical history from the 2010s. Death Grips is currently on tour in 2023 and they haven’t put out any releases since 2018. When will we see an album by this industrial hip-hop powerhouse next?
