Released: 2018

Genres: Experimental Hip-Hop, Synth Punk, Glitch Hop, Industrial Hip-Hop, Digital Hardcore

The Musiquarium’s Year of the Snitch Review Score: 9 out of 10

Death Grips entered the scene near the start of the 2010s and seemed to disappear by the end of the decade. Between 2011 and 2018, they had released six critically-acclaimed studio albums, a legendary mixtape, an instrumental album, an EP, and a handful of singles. Fans were eating well, so it was only inevitable that the band would need to take a rest. By 2018, it’d be safe to assume that the band was burnt out, but basing that notion upon the music alone would not lead to the same conclusion. Year of the Snitch sees the band continue to battle complacency and experiment, with a weird album full of icy synths that sounds like it was recorded inside of a skating rink.

Death Grips Is Online displays the chilly synths that will be heard throughout the album and continues the trend of self-referential songs, like @deathgripz and Death Grips 2.0. Songs like Flies, Linda’s in Custody and Hahaha are as interesting as they are bizarre. Black Paint is one of their heaviest, most metallic songs and should appeal to fans of Jenny Death and Bottomless Pit.

Streaky is in the vein of Bottomless Pit‘s Eh. Dilemma uses synthesizers that sound like something from seventies Genesis, Camel or Gentle Giant. The vocals of Disappointed alternate between MC Ride’s smooth and screamed vocals — in fact, a lot of the vocals on Year of the Snitch utilize MC Ride’s gentler, smoother voice over his screaming/shouting one.

Year of the Snitch might not be as impactful as The Money Store, The Powers That B or Bottomless Pit, but it’s still an indication of a band at the height of its powers, as well as a fantastic end to their run of albums from this decade.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Death Grips on Discogs.

Back to the 2018 Album Guide or the Death Grips Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard