The 13 Best Death Grips Songs

Album: Government Plates (2013)

The most surprising moments on Death Grips' albums tend to be the closers. "Whatever I want (Fuck Who's Watching)" is as surprising as No Love Deep Web's finale "Artificial Death in the West," and it's equally out there. Beginning with a sluggish crawl that suddenly snaps, revealing shrill synths, the song structure is among the most adventurous in Death Grips' prolific discography.

It stands as their longest track, and easily one of their strangest. For one, Stefan's lyrics depict him dying through various means, perhaps as a metaphor for loudly cutting ties with Epic Records. It's the type of track that unravels the ever-impressive versatility of the group, reminding you that they have more than one way to deliver their infectious vitriol. It's a collage of sound that really shouldn't be as inviting as it is, but that's kind of Death Grips' deal.

Besides, the track title alone kind of sums up their whole ethos.

Album: Exmilitary (2011)

Semblances of melody occasionally creep into Death Grips' music, and when they do it works surprisingly well. "Known For It" uncharacteristically features a shimmering synth line, and one of Stefan's more subdued deliveries. It shies away from being full-blown catchy, but it comes close with a hook that would somewhat foreshadow the more accessible sound the group would pursue on The Money Store. Maybe "Known For It" is just the sound of a band trying to hone their style, and along the way discovering something that makes for an awesome interlude of sorts.

Album: No Love Deep Web (2012)

If you're ever left wondering what Stefan's lyrics mean, then you're not alone. "Lock Your Doors," however, leaves a lot less to the imagination. The first line is "I've got some shit to say just for the fuck of it," and it's one of the bluntest moments in a discography full of them. It's not necessarily scary, but it's tar black in a way few Death Grips songs manage the whole way through. It's not about the aggression, it's about the uneasy tension created by its whole menacing presence.

Album: Government Plates (2013)

The first thing you'll notice about the opening track to Government Plates is its title. It's a ridiculous, Dylan-referencing title, for a really obnoxious song. It starts the album off with the shattering of glass, signalling yet another shift in sound for the Sacramento-based trio. It's the first of the two most lyrical tracks on the album, but that's not saying much for such an instrumentally focused album. "Come come fuck apart in here," Stefan mutters, seemingly unraveling his own character's forthcoming deconstruction, although ultimately, it's about his death.

Around the time the track was released, a twitter began posting pictures of all three members. Zach Hill and Andy 'Flatlander' Morin had relatively normal pictures, but Stefan's picture featured him zipped up in a bodybag. But, even if you ignore any deeper meaning, that riff is still immensely badass and easy to enjoy.

Album: The Money Store (2012)

Will we ever fully understand what "hustle bones" are and why they are coming out of MC Ride's mouth? Probably not, but it's better that way. With grating synths throughout all the verses, the chorus comes in like a short moment of relief from a sonic assault. Like many of Death Grips songs, this one has the effect of an alarm going off, but it's a surprisingly pleasant alarm.

Album: The Powers That B (Disc 1: Niggas on the Moon) (2014)

The Björk-featuring Niggas on the Moon works best as one cohesive piece, but "Say Hey Kid" stands out as its most noteworthy single track. The sluggish track keeps the intensity despite lowering the group's more abrasive elements, with Stefan actually rapping slowly and coherently. He doesn't sound too far from Del the Funky Homosapien, his lyrics are just even more abstract. As with a lot of their tracks, it can be interpreted in a lot of ways, but it's safe to assume "Say Hey Kid" is making mockery out of those with a "normal life."

Album: Death Grips EP (2011)

As far as debut tracks go, "Full Moon (Death Classic)" is up there with some of the best. The sound isn't quite defined, but its rugged and vitriolic qualities more than make up for it. It's one of the tracks in Death Grips' discography to fully showcase Zach Hill's ferocious drumming, offering no more than a stark math-rock beat of sorts. It's the type of stuff that makes you want to learn how to drum, possibly yelling from the bottom of your gut in the process. It's bare bones, but it's definitely not lacking substance.

Album: The Money Store (2012)

Those not massively into music outside of huge pop artists insist that Lady Gaga is different, because she's the weirdest thing they've got. She stresses in her music that everyone should be weird, or be themselves, but she never tries to make her music as strange as her image, and thus her image loses its intended effect.

Now, this may all seem irrelevant to Death Grips' music, but it's really not. "Hacker" is essentially Death Grips' version of "Born This Way." In the first verse, Stefan yelps: "Be the freak you wanna see / Just don't follow me." It immediately feels more genuine that Lady Gaga's polished pop gems. Besides, for however weird she gets, Stefan acknowledges in "Hacker" that "Gaga can't handle this shit."

Album: No Love Deep Web (2012)

When Death Grips initially announced No Love Deep Web, they described the material as "cold, bass heavy, minimal, rock & roll influenced." It was hard to imagine these things coming together on a release by the group, even if they had toyed with minimalism before. Their fiery intensity didn't seem like it would lend itself well to icy soundscapes, or rock & roll inspired riffs.

With "No Love," Death Grips' proved more versatile than once thought; it was every bit as cold, bass heavy, minimal, and rock & roll influenced as they said it would be. The synth riff trudges along with a glacier like quality, and the bass drum hits like an intermittent pulse of a man on the edge. It's frighteningly vivid.

Album: Exmilitary (2011)

For a lot of people "Guillotine" was the introduction to Death Grips thanks to the music video, which now has over two million views. The visuals are as jarring as the song itself, which sounds exactly what you'd expect from a song called "Guillotine"—frankly, it's kind of scary. In hip-hop, violent imagery and aggressive deliveries aren't uncommon, but how many artists can make some shit that actually makes the listener go, "What the fuck?" Death Grips proved they could do it with this one, and with the career that followed, they proved they could do it again and again and again. It's more than just challenging, it's confrontational.

Album: The Money Store (2012)

"I've Seen Footage" is Death Grips' most accessible song, but they manage to pull it off without compromising the abrasive aesthetic that we've come to know and love them for. It's got upbeat "Push It"-type drums, and it starts off like a slightly left-field workout jam, but the lyrics are pure Death Grips.

Armored cop open fire Glock

On some kid who stepped so fast

Was hard to grasp what even happened 'til you seen that head blow

Off his shoulders in slow-mo

Rewind that, it's so cold

Album: Exmilitary (2011)

"AW SHIT I'M FEELING IT" is a hell of way to drop into a hook. "Takyon (Death Yon)" is one of Death Grips' most aggressive songs, their own demented version of a banger. There's not much going on besides a minimal electronic beat and Stefan's unhinged vocals, and it's all the more effective for it. It's the most Death Grips that Death Grips have ever been, crystalizing all their best qualities into a sub-3 minute burst of electric energy.

It's straight to the point, but deliberately obtuse; so in other words, it's Death Grips.