Fist Of God
by MSTRKRFT
  • Record Label: Downtown
  • Release Date: Mar 17, 2009
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. AllMusic
    40
    All the charm and fun to be found of "Looks" ends up being pulverized by this bland ambition, and Fist of God ends up being just a loud, inspiration-free, truly disappointing dance album that fails to capture ears or move feet.
  2. Alternative Press
    80
    God is an album perfect for daytime iPod consumption--and suitable for keeping the party bumping well after midnight. [Apr 2009, p.142]
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  3. Billboard
    80
    The combination of old-school melody and post-mod dissonance is risky, bold, and one of the most exciting releases of the year so far.
  5. Blender
    60
    Fist delivers a gut punch of awesomely distorted synths and raw, kicks-and-snares percussion....But maintaining a fist-pumping pace can be exhausting.
  6. cokemachineglow
    34
    It’s all so cold and empty and irritating.
  7. Dot Music
    40
    MSTRKRFT make a racket that's impressive at first but eventually the echoes of it return to bite them.
  8. Filter
    48
    Listening to this record, made me feel like the Andy Rooney of dance/electronic music. [Winter 2009, p.92]
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  9. Hartford Courant
    60
    Despite any pretensions otherwise, their second album sounds a lot like the Day-Glo disco and retro house being pushed by every other hip indie-dance act right now.
  10. Mojo
    80
    John Legend phones it in somewhat, and Ghostface Killah makes little sense, but the brain-pummelling tecno that punctuates the latter's profane offerings certainly makes the best of it. [Jul 2009, p.106]
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  11. musicOMH.com
    70
    All in all, passably decent party music, but lacking in the divine touch its title might imply.
  12. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Peppered with hip-hop connections (E-40, Ghostface Killah, Freeway), equally informed by raw Chicago house and the riff-worshipping of Jesse’s previous (DFA 1979), and finally free of the omnipresent vocoder, it’s near-essential stuff.
  13. NOW Magazine
    60
    Not a mind-blowing work of art, but expect at least a few more singles to blow up over the next few months.
  14. Pitchfork
    60
    In a way, this is representative of the album--it's got all the right moves in place, but MSTRKRFT's handle on content is still slightly lagging behind their facility for tone and form.
  15. PopMatters
    30
    In a genre filled with faceless artists, MSTRKRFT only manage to stand out by being exceptionally faceless.
  16. Q Magazine
    60
    Overall this is splendid nonsense. [Jul 2009, p.128]
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  17. Rolling Stone
    50
    MSTRKRFT keep things bouncing, but they never match Daft Punk or Justice on the hook or cleverness quotient.
  18. Spin
    60
    Fist isn't quite a God punch, but it hits with legit impact.
  19. Sputnikmusic
    60
    Fist of God is very much in step with all the party rage of every other club track album that’s been released in the last year or so--and that’s exactly its problem.
  20. The A.V. Club
    50
    'Heartbreaker' is a great song--musical, dance-y, poppy, and interesting--that puts the other artists-in-residence to shame. All the rest is jogging music.
  21. The Guardian
    60
    Their second album is a guest-packed party record built from monster beats, churning synths and power chords, and if there's nothing here that Daft Punk haven't done before, it wins points for sheer muscular euphoria.
  22. Under The Radar
    60
    Dust off your dancing shoes. [Spring 2009, p.79]
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  23. Urb
    50
    Fist of God is surprisingly decent if you can manage to divorce it from its lame context.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. JJones71
    Sep 1, 2010
    6
    So This album has really great songs like "1,000 Cigarettes", "Fist of God" "Vuvuvu" ," It ain't Love", and "Heartbreaker". The GhostfaceSo This album has really great songs like "1,000 Cigarettes", "Fist of God" "Vuvuvu" ," It ain't Love", and "Heartbreaker". The Ghostface killer song "Word up" and the "1,000 Cigarettes remix" just plain suck. The main problem i found with this album is not the songs themselves but those featured on them. "Click Click" for example has an amazing beat but E.40 entire verse kind of brings it down. I just hope next time they have less people featured. So this can be a pass or go depended on what kind of electro you like.… Full Review »
  2. YoureWrongImRight
    Jul 23, 2009
    1
    A Simply awful electro album. This kinds sound has been done a 100 times and a hundred times better. This is the sound of creativity taking a A Simply awful electro album. This kinds sound has been done a 100 times and a hundred times better. This is the sound of creativity taking a backseat to indulgence. An irritating mess. Poor Ghostface got the worst track of them all. A damn shame.… Full Review »
  3. BlakeB
    Jul 5, 2009
    10
    Classic electronic album. Runs circles around "Cross."
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