Death Grips
The Powers That B

In this review, in this given space, I don't just want to talk to you about The Powers That B, the latest studio album by Death Grips, but I also want to briefly recount, for those who don't know them, the history of one of the most characteristic bands of recent history.

Halfway between being a true viral phenomenon and a revolutionary artistic ensemble, Death Grips have stood out recently for the originality of their music and an explicit and radical approach, but also for an unconditional cryptic sense in relating to fans and the market.

Originally from Sacramento (California), the band was formed in 2010 and is composed of:
Zach Hill, drummer and producer, remembered for his numerous collaborations and musical projects (Hella, above all).
Andy 'Flatlander' Morin, keyboardist and producer; not much is known about him, except for being a moderately popular figure in the California electro/experimental underground.
Stefan 'MC Ride' Burnett, voice and lyrics; charismatic and frenetic, but at the same time introverted and very reserved about himself, the bearded MC Ride combines lyrical violence with a sense of paranoia and unease, both on record and live, further accentuating the turbulent sonic impact proposed by Death Grips.

From 2010 to today, they have released all their records entirely for free (even reaching a near legal dispute with Epic Records), also using web platforms like BitTorrent and Tor, accompanying them with physical versions, highly coveted by fans of a band that has practically become a cult band over five years.

Starting from the mixtape Exmilitary to the first full-length, The Money Store, Death Grips quickly made a name for themselves for their acid and rarefied style, "nasty" and convulsive, that ties industrial, noise, and electronic music and a purely punk attitude to a solid and catchy alternative rap base. Don't get me wrong, we are far removed from Dälek, EL-P, and cLOUDDEAD.
Here, the flow almost doesn't exist. The typical structures of American rap do not exist, not even the more negative and anti-melodic ones.

Death Grips are, in reality, the true heralds of a unique sound, which combines the primitive screams and paroxysmal intents of a volcanic frontman like MC Ride, with a sound fabric made of sinister synths and samples. All this is aided by drumming that continuously produces splintered grooves devoted to old-school hardcore punk.
In the already mentioned The Money Store, but even more in the controversial (starting with the cover) No Love Deep Web and the subsequent Government Plates, one senses the large constellation of influences that Death Grips draw from to create their music. Musical constructs that recall at times the NIN of The Fragile, at other times Merzbow and Skinny Puppy, but also Black Flag, Jane's Addiction, and Bad Brains. All of this paired with a hallucinatory visual counterpart offered by their surreal music videos.

In 2014, Death Grips, having become an important musical reality thanks to numerous and deadly live sets, made two important announcements: the imminent arrival of the double album The Powers That B, and the unexpected disbandment (announced via a makeshift note written on a handkerchief). The breakup confused fans and angered people like Trent Reznor, who had invited them as support for the Nine Inch Nails tour.

The Powers That B was divided and released in two parts. The first, Niggas On the Moon, was introduced to the public on June 8, 2014 (shortly before the breakup); the second, Jenny Death, on March 19, 2015. The double album was interspersed with the mysterious soundtrack Fashion Week, which contained the message "JENNY DEATH WHEN" in the tracklist, a phrase created first by the band's fans and then used by the band itself to fuel the hype around the release of the second segment of the album. Upon its release, new live dates were announced with a message: "we might make some more", leading many to assume that perhaps the breakup was nothing more than a strange joke.

How does The Powers That B, the latest studio work by Death Grips, sound? It sounds like a dangerously two-headed monster ready to destroy everything it encounters.

The first part, Niggas On The Moon, is based on the thunderous samples of Björk, donated by the Icelandic artist herself to the band, and played via electronic drums by Zach Hill, to form an album that is claustrophobic, sick, and dark, and the antipode of its nemesis, Jenny Death, which instead sounds more lively, more aggressive, and notably more eclectic in the choice of sounds, rhythms, and in MC Ride's vocal performance.
If on the first part of the album the eight tracks that make it up all flow together, as if they were all running on the same musical track in a paced process that feels like the soundtrack to a sci-fi movie, on Jenny Death we almost return to the sounds of The Money Store, where unpredictability reigns supreme, and everything seems to have been created under a hallucinogenic trip.
There is, however, an element that seems to unite the two halves of the album: an absolute instrumental solidity that makes Death Grips' songs simple and linear, direct in reaching our ears and very assertive in establishing themselves in our minds. Music that is complex and, as mentioned, aggressive, but at the same time catchy and easy to assimilate.

Does all this intrigue you? Are you hungry for brutal yet versatile sounds? The Powers That B is that. You will be hit by a hurricane of uncompromising music that will overwhelm you, leave you with huge headaches, but will also make you press the rewind button multiple times to listen to and discover the numerous peculiarities within the compositions of Death Grips.

Greetings to Debaser readers!