On Oct. 1, just after midnight, rap group Death Grips leaked their second studio album, NO LOVE DEEP WEB, against the will of their major label, Columbia. The label had told the band that although the album was finished, it would not see release by 2013.
To circumvent this, and to live up to their “two albums in 2012” promise they had made earlier this year, the band took it upon themselves to distribute the album.
It was an event, a true act of rebellion that listeners could take part in. This manic sense of genius carries itself throughout the album as well, making it a serious force in the world of music.
The album opener, “Come Up and Get Me” immediately sets the tone for the album. The synth line drips pure aggression, sounding like something from an early Nine Inch Nails song.
Zach Hills’ chaotic drumming lays down a quick, aggressive tone, completed by Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett’s barrelling yowl. Album standout “No Love” comes quickly after.
“No Love” is perhaps the most conventional song on the album, sounding like a five-minute hardcore breakdown with an 808 drum machine. Burnett’s rapping turns into something more akin to ranting, his voice coming close to breaking.
The lyrics host some of Burnett’s most nihilistic and abstract thoughts. “On and on it’s beyond insane/why I set myself up in a raging sea of flames.” By the end of the song you can practically feel the spittle spraying as he bellows the song’s chorus.
The album never flatlines, and “Deep Web,” the highlight of the back end of the album, is potentially the most fitting song for use as a single. “People are tryin’ to hear what I’m saying,” says a sampled voice at the beginning of the track. The song then drifts through a sparkling keyboard line for a few seconds, and then collapses back into the murky, brooding world established by the band.
Burnett’s vocals never speed up to a full rap, and the song’s content and pacing feel more akin to punk than hip-hop. This seems to be Death Grips’ ultimate appeal. My favourite metal album so far this year, Torche’s Harmonicraft, sounds like lullabies compared to Death Grips’ feral roar.
This punk ethos offers a much better lens through which to view NO LOVE DEEP WEB. No rap purist would find many redeeming qualities in the album, as it rejects the lyrical content and instrumentation of any modern rap artist. Death Grips fits much more comfortably into some strand of noise-rock or modern post-punk. Even then it is hard to say exactly how the band would describe their music. Obviously they are at dissatisfaction with the norm, and be it in their music or distribution methods, Death Grips are never really the type to settle. Many will call the album over the top, noisy or incoherent, but of course the same things were said of Black Flag. NO LOVE DEEP WEB has undoubtedly made much of its popularity from its unconventional release style, but the work itself lives up to rebellion that it conveyed.
