Exmilitary

Exmilitary
Mixtape by Death Grips
Released	April 25, 2011
Genre	Experimental hip hop rap rock[1][2]
Length	48:28
Label	Self-released
Producer	Death Grips
Death Grips chronology
Death Grips (2011) Exmilitary (2011) The Money Store (2012)
Black Google
Cover of Black Google
Singles from Exmilitary
"Guillotine" Released: August 3, 2011

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100 [3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(81%)[4]
Pitchfork	(7.5/10)[5]
Sputnikmusic	[6]
Drowned in Sound	(9/10)[7]
The Quietus	(8/10)[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Consequence of Sound	(B)[10]
The Needle Drop	(8/10)[11]

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 three 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."^[12]

The album was later released exclusively through the band's website in both vinyl, and cassette formats.^[13] It was also removed from iTunes and Spotify.

Critical reception

The album has received universal acclaim from critics and currently holds an approval rating of 82 on Metacritic. 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".

Black Google

On September 8, 2011, the group released a teaser video for an upcoming project titled Black Google.^[14] 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".^[15]

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"	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

• MC Ride – vocals
• Zach Hill – drums
• Andy Morin – keyboards, programming

Other personnel

• Liz Liles (credited as Mexican Girl) – backing vocals (Track 4)

References

1. Walls, Seth Colter. "In Defense of Rap Rock". Slate. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
2. "Death Grips – The Money Store". Fact. April 16, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
3. "Critic Reviews for Exmilitary - Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
4. Walker, Ian (2011-05-24). "Death Grips – Exmilitary – Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
5. Patrin, Nate (2011-06-30). "Death Grips: Exmilitary". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
6. "Death Grips – Exmilitary (album review)". Sputnikmusic.com.
7. "Album Review: Death Grips - Ex Military". DrownedInSound. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
8. "The Quietus - Reviews - Death Grips". The Quietus. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
9. "Death Grips: Ex-Military – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
10. "Death Grips – Exmilitary - Album Reviews - Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
11. "Death Grips- Exmilitary ALBUM REVIEW". the Needle Drop. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
12. "coolehmag.com". Coolehmag.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
13. "Death Grips Store". Hellomerch.com. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
14. "Death Grips – Black Google". YouTube. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
15. "Black Google Download". Thirdworlds.net. Retrieved 2012-06-29.

External links

• Official website