NAPALM DEATH – Utilitarian

March 1st, 2012 by Yiannis

NAPALM DEATH – “UTILITARIAN”

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

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)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)