Exmilitary
| Exmilitary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Mixtape by Death Grips | ||||
| Released | April 25, 2011 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:28 | |||
| Label | Self-released | |||
| Producer | Death Grips | |||
| Death Grips chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Black Google | ||||
 Cover of Black Google |
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| Singles from Exmilitary | ||||
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Exmilitary, also known as Ex Military, is the debut mixtape by experimental hip hop group Death Grips. It was released for free on April 25, 2011 through the band's website.
Background
The mixtape was released for free on April 25, 2011 through the group's official website, thirdworlds.net. It was simultaneously released through iTunes. The track "Guillotine" was released through iTunes on August 3, 2011. "Guillotine" has become the band's most recognized song, with over four million YouTube views on their music video as of October 20, 2015. Other tracks released as music videos include "Known for it", "Culture Shock", "Lord of the Game", "Spread Eagle Cross the Block", "Takyon (Death Yon)", and "Beware."
The cover of the album is somewhat of a mystery, even to members of the band. According to Andy Morin, "That’s a photograph that one of our members carried in their wallet for roughly 10 years straight. It’s a power object."[3]
The album was later released exclusively through the band's website in both vinyl, and cassette formats.[4] It was also removed from iTunes and Spotify.
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound | B[6] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[7] |
| The Guardian |   [8] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.5/10[9] |
The album has received universal acclaim from critics and currently holds an approval rating of 82 on Metacritic.[5] In one very positive review, John Calvert of Drowned in Sound focused on the mentality of the character that the album revolves around and how it reflects the inner nature of man, citing the lyricism and sound production as being focal points around this sound and style.[7] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media gave Exmilitary a 7.5, describing the album as "a bludgeoning slab of hostility" that avoids being an "overbearing mess".[9]
Black Google
On September 8, 2011, the group released a teaser video for an upcoming project titled Black Google.[10] It was later released on the band's website for free and revealed to be all of the instrumentals, stems, and acapellas for fans to remix and record with. The cover of Black Google features a heavily darkened version of the cover of Exmilitary with the word "Exmilitary" replaced with "Black Google".[11]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Death Grips.
| No. | Title | Sample(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beware" | Charles Manson's voice "Up the Beach" by Jane's Addiction "God Is Watching You" by Dickie Burton |
5:53 |
| 2. | "Guillotine" | 3:43 | |
| 3. | "Spread Eagle Cross the Block" | "Rumble" by Link Wray "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" "Girls" by Beastie Boys |
3:52 |
| 4. | "Lord of the Game" (featuring Mexican Girl) | "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown "Brass Monkey" by Beastie Boys "The Ditty" by Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps |
3:30 |
| 5. | "Takyon (Death Yon)" | "Supertouch/Shitfit" by Bad Brains "A Who Seh Me Dun" by Cutty Ranks |
2:48 |
| 6. | "Cut Throat (Instrumental)" | "Death Grips (Next Grips)" by Death Grips | 1:12 |
| 7. | "Klink" | "Rise Above" by Black Flag "Liar, Liar" by The Castaways |
3:22 |
| 8. | "Culture Shock" | "The Supermen (Alternative)" by David Bowie | 4:21 |
| 9. | "5D" | "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys | 0:43 |
| 10. | "Thru the Walls" | "Gettin' High in the Morning" by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Space Is the Place" by Sun Ra "Mental Health Hotline" "Half Life 2" |
3:56 |
| 11. | "Known for It" | "De Futura" and "Zombies" by Magma "Quest: A Long Ray's Journey Into Light" by Eve Schooler and Stan Swiniarski |
4:13 |
| 12. | "I Want It I Need It (Death Heated)" | "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Astronomy Domine" by Pink Floyd | 6:11 |
| 13. | "Blood Creepin" | 4:50 | |
Total length: |
48:28 | ||
Personnel
- Death Grips
- Other personnel
- Liz Liles (credited as Mexican Girl) – backing vocals (Track 4)
References
- ↑ Walls, Seth Colter. "In Defense of Rap Rock". Slate. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ↑ "Death Grips – The Money Store". Fact. April 16, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ↑ "coolehmag.com". Coolehmag.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ "Death Grips Store". Hellomerch.com. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Exmilitary by Death Grips". Metacritic. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- ↑ Young, Alex (June 27, 2011). "Death Grips – Exmilitary". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- 1 2 Calvert, John (August 8, 2011). "Album Review: Death Grips – Ex Military". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- ↑ MacInnes, Paul (December 22, 2011). "Death Grips: Ex-Military – review". The Guardian. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- 1 2 Patrin, Nate (June 30, 2011). "Death Grips: Exmilitary". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Death Grips – Black Google". YouTube. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
- ↑ "Black Google Download". Thirdworlds.net. Retrieved 2012-06-29.