It’s no secret that Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen of Knife Party come from an instrumental background. Before working together in drum and bass band Pendulum in 2002, both artists played guitar and bass for a slew of rock bands – and often cite such groups as their primary influences. Therefore, while it might come as a surprise to the outfit’s newer fans that they would bring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello onstage during a performance, it’s not as unexpected a homage for longtime listeners.
The pace of the ID is largely set by Morello’s contribution: a foreboding guitar riff in minor that hails back to ’90s era Metallica before opening up into the aggressive grunge funk more characteristic of Rage Against the Machine. After a couple measures of the latter, the instrumentals cut out to put the drop front and center, and the clanging trap breakdown is loaded with dissonant incidentals.
Since the sound quality of the above video recording leaves much to be desired, take a closer listen below:
Unfortunately, the collaboration comes across as a bit too much of a stretch in my opinion. As if the two riffs weren’t already distractingly different from one another, they just plain don’t mix with trap, making the whole of the arrangement sound a bit too thrown together.
Then again, Knife Party and Tom Morello’s new ID could be your favorite release all summer, so don’t take my word for it. Tell us what you think of the track by sounding off in the comments section below.
