When I was 17 in 2002 I had a friend who was a couple years older that was into 5RC records. There was this really skeezy venue called Uncle Doctor's in Columbia, SC where I am from that was almost all hardcore/metal/metalcore stuff that I wasn't really into at all. But my friend told me one night that there was a late show there of 5RC bands called the "5RC Jamboree." After sitting through a bunch of hardcore bands that all sounded the same (not so good), and like 90% of the crowd leaving, Xiu Xiu took the stage. Like half the other 10% of the crowd left, but this shit was blowing my mind, like wrecking me. I cried one of the only times I can think of at a show when they played "Suha." It was absolutely beautiful. By the time Hella was meant to go on it must have been 2 in the morning, and everyone had left except for me and my friend and like 3-4 people that I think were part of the tour. So Zach just brought his drum kit out and they started setting up right in the middle of the floor. I had never heard anything like this at all and it was just immediately fucking insane. One of the dudes that was left was obviously a big fan and was just dancing around like goddamn crazy and we all just started going crazy (I was a really shy kid). It was just like 5 dorks pogoing and spazzing out to this insanely complex and compelling, intense music. That was one of the only other times I can remember crying at a show, the same night, from the shear joy of it. Zach was playing the drums so hard it was fucking madness, everything was falling over all the time, and at points he would be just beating the shit out of them with his bare fists, but everything held together perfectly. To this day it's easily my favorite musical experience I've ever had.
see this makes me angry because where is the press, where is the radio, where are the tv shows, when the f will the mainstream notice what's happening so that this music reaches *everyone* who need it like this.
@@peterbartelt1652 the guitar part is easy. Figured it out in 20 minutes, the drums part is nearly impossible tho unless you’ve completely mastered the drums
i don't think it's better quality, but it is compressed to hell so that here, the guitar doesn't sound like ice picks being jabbed in your ears. which is nice.
For those wondering about the time signature, I analyzed this track (the recorded version) and it starts out in 4/4, with later measures alternating 9/8 and 7/8 until the bridge where it gets quite impossible to decipher. Spencer sticks to 4/4 in that section while Zach changes from 4/4 to some insane polyrhythms.
@@cpsbBXCX Zach is self-taught and I'm fairly certain Spencer is as well, it's so idiosyncratic they literally couldn't put two other people in those spots and have them play it correctly. Had a beer with the both of them at the Fireside Bowl when I saw them there, both really cool guys (at the time, at least)
" The music I'm making with Death Grips is way more along the lines of what I would listen to than anything I've ever made." - Zach Hill. And personally I think that Death Grips is fucking great.
With the level of complexity in the recording of this you expect Zach hill to atleast improv a little bit in but NOPE EVERY SINGLE FUCKING THING IS ON BEAT HOW THE HELL
jameson It's probably just the way he perceives things. To us he's a super genius but to him it's just how he normally thinks and doesn't know what all the fuss is about. Not saying everyone that doesn't think like him is stupid. I'm saying everyone has a specific way of thinking that makes them really good at something.
I always compare it to dancing. Once you know all the moves to the dance it's trivial to perform it, so if you break this down to its components and and master each individually those are the individual dance moves and you put them together in sequence.
I think Zach just has been training in "licks" most of his time. He just repeats them a couple of times untill the next part comes in. The guitarist makes it easier to remind him where he's at in the song.
Martini Blank Chippendale isn't as technical as Zach. Though he plays with a lot of passion, if it were to come down to pure playing ability and technicality, Zach has Brian beat by a mile.
@@elio9974 both are good at the genre they play Brian is more of a direct kinda guy, playing straight beats with fast ass fills inbetween whereas Zach plays more alinear stuff, making sound like one big fill, even though it's not.
I wish I could explain to people why I love Hella so much. Yeah I could show em a video or something, but have you ever tried to do that? In most of my cases people go, "oh man lemme show you THIS! This shit rips duuuude" and it's like some iteration of metal. Whether it's speed or thrash or death or what have you. And I really don't know why I have such trouble trying to explain to them that this isn't fuckin metal. It's...it's beyond that. It's beyond anything I've ever heard. Sure there's a technical side to it, but it's also got a helluva lot of heart. They learned the fuckin technical way they play through fucking around and going to weird places; they learned through feeling. This is still to this day, an unparalleled amount of talent to me. There's still nothing quite like it. This is an anomaly.
When I was in high school, I was completely and utterly obsessed with Zach's drumming. I had a VHS tape dub that a friend had given me of Legs on Earth playing a few shows in Sacramento that I would just loop on repeat in my room after school. I'm lucky enough to have seen Legs on Earth play at most of their Northern California shows, including at my high school, as well as a large number of early Hella shows. Listening to this early Hella stuff again after a long time away still makes me wonder how it is possible that a man can play drums like that.
@@boastandskis3374 No, sadly. This was over 20 years ago and I was just borrowing the tape. Unrelated, I've heard a tall tale that someone who knows someone has a VHS with recordings of Legs on Earth live shows though, and that they are "having it digitized". Who knows if it is true, maybe we'll find out one day.
It's so sick that we live in the universe and time that these 2 existed and found each other. The speed, accuracy and technicality of their arrangements and playing is fucking insane and they do it while still keeping a catchy melody. Their understanding of the eachothers playing i would imagine is at the point of telepathy. They could write this shit in their sleep I bet. I've been a fan since 2006 when this video went sorta viral in the first days of RU-vid. I'm still waiting for that Tripper follow up lol
Before Death Grips and before Team Sleep. Zach Hill is one of my favorite drummers and I haven't even listened to all the music he was involved with/made. Incredible guy.
this band is light years ahead of the music scene, its amazing. both these guys are so talented in music composition, and timing, its pure insanity at its finest. its too bad they didnt stay a duo.
You don't have to be more intelligent to dig this sort of stuff. It's just more appreciation for the more out there in terms of music. Zach claims that he does a lot more thinking than most people might think when he writes songs, and it really shows with how he can differentiate songs really well.
Biblical Violence is the exact opposite of unstructured. It is actually ultra-structured. I can't wait to see the music that spawns from present day hella influenced musicians. And as for your comment on what music "is", I hope you write down this quote. "Hardening of the categories promotes art disease." You should appreciate and enjoy Hella for their technical ability, innovations, and ultimately the fresh food they've brought to the table for all musicians to savor and digest.
it's interesting because usually I don't appreciate virtuosity or technical stuff that much. i mean, it's like "wow!" but i won't listen to it again or feel anything. but with Hella there's something else. i feel lots of stuff. the melodies, the intensity on the drums, the way they combine with each other...it's hard to explain.
I remember seeing this back in high school... now I done with college, and this guys are still awesome. I can still recall that last rmoment in the video when Zach hits and mutes the crash with the same hand!
I'm new to his pre death grips work and what caughts my attention is he's always playing this starter kit drums lol. Without the vids i could only imagine him playing a 20 set pro gear or something like that
This band is absolutely amazing with talent. Most people say Zachs drumming is random beating, but they're obviously ignorant when it comes to playing drums or an intsrument rather. I love Zachs playing its almost like he is playing along with every note,that the guitarist hits, very strategically. JAW DROPPER RIGHT HERE BABY. I LOVE HELLA!
Ryan An I beg to differ; tweaking grammatical rules is one of the essences of altered dialects. Altering grammatical rules is one of the ways words can evolve. Also, yes, my question was indeed rhetorical. Thanks for your time.
A poor excuse for defiling the most significant contrivance of our species... language. Does your poor grammar somehow perpetuate some cultural or ethnic identity? No, its just laziness.
Sayw them open for The Mars Volta and System of a Down many years ago. My brother and sister said they got boo'ed off the stage. I seriously don't remember it that way. They were amazing. Better than System of a Down.
Feel lucky to have been into these guys when they were playing these songs for the first time live. Saw them more than a few times, always amazing! Hard to believe how long ago it was Dx
Zach Hill played Necromancer here this week and I have to say it was the most incredible live drum performance I have ever seen. He IS really tall... AND he only has ONE bass pedal... that's right...
I saw him in Denver a few days ago, too. I agree - most amazing live percussion performance I've ever seen. I saw him 10 years ago in Stockton, CA with his very first band, called Legs On Earth. He only used one bass pedal then, too. Jaw-dropping!
When this record came out, we read in the mag that it was the hottest record out there, and we laughed and humored the article... for once, the media was RIGHT
