Bottomless Pit
Studio album by
Death Grips
ReleasedMay 6, 2016
Recorded2015–2016
StudioSunset Sound Recorders[1]
Genre
Length39:20
Label
ProducerDeath Grips
Death Grips chronology
Interview 2016
(2016) 		Bottomless Pit
(2016) 		Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix)
(2017)
Death Grips studio album chronology
The Powers That B
(2015) 		Bottomless Pit
(2016) 		Year of the Snitch
(2018)
Singles from Bottomless Pit
  1. "Hot Head"
    Released: February 6, 2016

Bottomless Pit is the fifth studio album by experimental hip hop group Death Grips, released on May 6, 2016, through Third Worlds and Harvest Records.[3]

Background

On October 21, 2015, the group uploaded a video to their YouTube page titled Bottomless Pit. It features footage from 2013 of the late American actress Karen Black reciting lines from a film script that Death Grips drummer Zach Hill wrote months before her death. They also posted on their website and Facebook page that this would be the title for their upcoming fifth official studio album.[4][5] Later, on December 16, the group posted a tweet containing the phrase "it won't lit", eventually revealed to be a lyric from the Bottomless Pit track "BB Poison".[6]

On February 6, 2016, Death Grips released the song "Hot Head" from their upcoming album onto their SoundCloud and YouTube accounts.[7] The cover art and tracklisting were then revealed on March 18,[8] followed on April 19 by the announcement of a May 6 release date and a download link for a document containing lyrics for each track on the album.[9]

On April 29, 2016, the album was leaked in its entirety from the band's SoundCloud page.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[10]
Metacritic80/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The Austin Chronicle[13]
Consequence of SoundB[14]
DIY[15]
Exclaim!8/10[16]
Pitchfork8.1/10[17]
PopMatters8/10[18]
Rolling Stone[19]
Spin8/10[2]
State4/5[20]

Bottomless Pit received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

Pitchfork wrote, "On their new album 'Bottomless Pit', they stitch together one of their most cohesive grotesques ever, renewing their focus on songcraft, rather than chicanery." Pretty Much Amazing described the album as "the best release from one of the most exciting artists of the 2010s",[21] while PopMatters stated, "Bottomless Pit will clearly not be for all hip-hop or punk fans, but it is impossible to deny that this album, just like the rest of the trio's catalog, is doing a much-needed service to both genres by experimenting with them in unimaginable ways."[18]

Rolling Stone ranked Bottomless Pit as the 50th best album of 2016.[22]

In media

"Hot Head" was first used in a second season teaser for Animals, and was used again in "Alligator Man", the first episode of the second season of Atlanta.[23] "Bubbles Buried in This Jungle" was used in "Parce Domine", the first episode and "Genre", the fifth episode of the third season of the television series Westworld.[24][25][26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Death Grips

No.TitleLength
1."Giving Bad People Good Ideas"3:07
2."Hot Head"4:18
3."Spikes"3:05
4."Warping"2:54
5."Eh"2:52
6."Bubbles Buried in This Jungle"2:40
7."Trash"2:52
8."Houdini"2:44
9."BB Poison"3:06
10."Three Bedrooms in a Good Neighborhood"3:03
11."Ring a Bell"2:26
12."80808"3:16
13."Bottomless Pit"2:55
Total length:39:20

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Bottomless Pit.[27]

Death Grips

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[28] 193

References

  1. ^ "nick reinhart on Twitter". Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  2. ^ a b Reeves, Mosi (May 11, 2016). "Review: Come Test Death Grips and Get Sliced on 'Bottomless Pit'". Spin. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Strauss, Matthew (2016-03-18). "Death Grips Detail New Album Bottomless Pit | News". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  4. ^ "Bottomless Pit". Death Grips. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  5. ^ "Death Grips Announce 'Bottomless Pit' Album". Exclaim!. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2022-11-20.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Death Grips - Hot Head". YouTube. 2016-02-06. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  8. ^ "Timeline Photos". M.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  9. ^ "Death Grips - the digital release date for our new album... | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  10. ^ "Bottomless Pit by Death Grips reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Reviews for Bottomless Pit by Death Grips". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Wacey, Rob. "Bottomless Pit – Death Grips". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  13. ^ Spearman, Kahron (November 4, 2016). "Death Grips: Bottomless Pit (Third Worlds/Harvest)". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  14. ^ Barry, Sean (May 6, 2016). "Death Grips – Bottomless Pit". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  15. ^ Jones, Craig (May 11, 2016). "Death Grips – Bottomless Pit". DIY. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  16. ^ Slingerland, Calum (May 13, 2016). "Death Grips: Bottomless Pit". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Camp, Zoe (May 12, 2016). "Death Grips: Bottomless Pit". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Elone, Emmanuel (May 10, 2016). "Death Grips: Bottomless Pit". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  19. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (August 1, 2016). "Review: Death Grips' 'Bottomless Pit' Sounds Like No Punk on Earth". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  20. ^ Hamilton, Aaron (May 14, 2016). "Death Grips – Bottomless Pit". State. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  21. ^ Fowler, Luke (May 12, 2016). "Review: Death Grips, Bottomless Pit". Pretty Much Amazing. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  22. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. November 28, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  23. ^ Atlanta S02E01 Death Grips. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
  24. ^ Writers: Joy, Lisa. Nolan, Jonathan. Director: Nolan, Jonathan. (March 15, 2020). "Parce Domine". Westworld. Season 3. Episode 1. HBO.
  25. ^ Writers: Crouse, Karrie. Nolan, Jonathan. Director: Foerster, Anna. (April 12, 2020). "Genre". Westworld. Season 3. Episode 5. HBO.
  26. ^ Renfro, Kim. "A complete guide to every song and piano cover featured on 'Westworld'". Insider. Archived from the original on 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  27. ^ Bottomless Pit (CD liner notes). Death Grips. Harvest Records. 2016.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "Death Grips Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
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