I feel compelled to write a review on this album basically for the sole fact that what Death Grips did late Sunday night has to be one of the coolest and more “punk” / “rock ‘n roll” / “rock star” / (insert lame anarchist label here) things any band has done in sometime.

I have to admit that when I first stumbled across their first release Exmilitary last year I was really put off by it. I wasn’t quite ready for the crazy brutality these dudes were getting down with. All the aggression really threw me off and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Zach Hill’s new project. Then earlier this year “I’ve Seen Footage”, started doing it’s death break dance across the internet  and I immediately became interested in the band again. As I was doing my research for The Money Store I was honestly shocked to discover that Epic / Columbia Records was behind the release and had signed the band. I knew this was a situation that wasn’t going to work out, because major labels no matter who they are do not have the taters to handle the shenanigans / ideals of most original and creative bands. If they can’t gloss it up and make it commercial the relationship is just not going to last no matter how cool the label wants to pretend they are.

 

So the inevitable happened, when it came time for Epic to step up and release No Love Deep Web, as agreed upon, Epic began back tracking and telling the band “sometime next year”. Of course Death Grips didn’t take this kindly and they did the most extreme thing they could possibly do, they just released the album themselves for free off of their website along with some fairly entertaining yet shocking cover art (something you could definitely share with the family during the holidays).

Now to the actual review of the music on the album. It’s dark, abrasive, hostile, and awesome all at the same time. It’s like the band mixed the anger and rawness of Exmilitary with the with beats of the Money Store and added a more creative and overwhelming production to it. The tunes on No Love Deep Web could be the international soundtrack to the Mad Max inspired civilization that exists after the apocalypse. These tracks are downright gnarly, but the beats are so claustrophobically bass heavy and thick that you can’t help yourself from turning them up. My personal favorite, track three “No Love”, is the epitome of the chaotic vibe throughout the album. There are a few tracks or lights that peek out through the darkness, track four “Black Dice” and track seven “Whammy” offer a bit of a rest from all the intensity.

Overall No Love Deep Web is just as good if not better than The Money Store, but in a more serious way. As stated above the album is just absolutely intense and overwhelming, plus the album cover has a giant wang pic for cover art. I could see why Epic was hesitant to release it, but the label should have known the craziness they were getting into when they signed the band. What did they expect from a front-man that has a giant house fly tattooed on his chest and a drummer that walks around after shows with only one shoe on? Who knows though, maybe this was a publicity stunt. If it was, it definitely worked by getting the band some attention. If not, it still worked by putting Death Grips on my ‘All Time Cool’ list.

Download Link for No Love Deep Web: http://soundcloud.com/deathgrips/sets/no-love-deep-web

Preview pic: http://www.milestsang.com/%20drainting-death-grips-06-21-2012%20/drainting-death-grips-08