NAPALM DEATH – “UTILITARIAN”
CENTURY MEDIA (2012)
Thirty one years is a pretty long and impressive period of time for any band to be actively creating and performing and when the outfit in question happens to perform one of the fastest, loudest and most physically demanding styles of music ever created by a human being, then the element of amazement is automatically increased a thousand fold!
Birmingham Grind legends Napalm Death have been through a great number of line up changes throughout these long and hard years but have retained a core of four steady members for the last twenty one years, resulting in a string of cohesive and ever-evolving releases, one of which was 2009’s highly-acclaimed “Time Waits for No Slave”.
Having managed to once again push the boundaries of their normally pretty confined genre, the four noisemakers are about to release their fifteenth studio album entitled “Utilitarian” – an album whose power, quality and directness is such that it will simply blow you away from the get-go!
To the untrained ear, Napalm Death have always been a pretty straight forward band simply out to create noise. Even though there is an element of truth in this, it would be only a small part of the overall picture, as Mark “Barney” Greenway (vocals) & Co are constantly looking for new ways to release all their negative energy and frustration over the current state of the world and there is no better album to portray such a need than this sixteen-track belter.
All the trademark elements of the band’s style & sound are still here: Danny Herrera still pounds his drum kit with, at times, enormous ferocity, Mitch Harris’s guitar riffs are as sharp and dangerous as his high register screams, Shane Embury’s bass guitar provide the much needed support through a wall of sounds and Barney…well, he comes across as commanding and socially-conscious as he has always been.
What this new albums features that its predecessors lacked is even more rhythmically challenging structures and varied vocal performances which, at times, even include…wait for it…choral chants! Interesting? You bet!
The harmonic guitar and spoken part theme of “Circumspect” make it an ideal choice for the opening track of the album and the repetitive up-tempo Punk riffs of “Errors In Signals” provide the energy needed in order to get this ‘party’ going. The first little surprise of the album comes in the shape of “Everyday Pox”, a song which successfully combines Celtic Frost groovy head banging riffs with discordant lead guitar effects.
“Protection Rocket” is another neck-stretching track with intricate rhythmical structures, whereas “The Wolf I Need”, one of my personal favourites, is the first composition to feature band vocal chants that mix perfectly well with its monstrous Punk riff and Mitch Harris’ clean vocal rendition.
“Quarantined” is a typical fast-paced and highly energetic Napalm Death composition, “Fall On Their Swords” finds the band further indulging in these highly impressive and much fitting vocal chants, while the simply-crafted riffs of songs like “Collision Course”, “Orders Of Magnitude” and “Think Tank Trial” will achieve maximum damage with minimum effort.
It is at this point that the listener is introduced to two real gems, the three minute “Blank Look Around Face” and the equally short “Leper Colony”, songs than invest in atmosphere and aggression in equal terms and which feature further variety in the vocal section. “Nom De Guerre” is a short belter with a certain poetic quality to it, “Analysis Paralysis” and “Opposites Repellent” are really another invitation for head banging while the closing composition “A Gag Reflex” portrays Napalm Death as a band which conveys its musical intelligence through both variety and simplicity.
It’s been a really long time since I was first convinced that Napalm Death is a truly special band. “Utilitarian” is the type of album whose quality and nature is such that will further enhance my feelings and affection towards them.
It is indeed pretty amazing to realise that twenty two years on, these four guys are not only on top of their game and the undeniable leaders of their genre but also a band which is simply not willing to rest on its laurels! “Utilitarian” portrays Napalm Death as a band embracing the future with both determination and purpose and it is the kind of album that every fan of extreme Metal would be proud to own a copy of!
John Stefanis
Rating: ****1/2 (4.5/5.0)
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