Napalm Death
Utilitarian
Rating
Style: Grindcore/Death Metal
Release date: 27 February, 2012
Playing time: 45:31
 

What can I say? Yet again have Napalm Death from Birmingham, England proved that they can kick the proverbial arses of just about all the younger bands out there. With an anger level which fits a 19-year-old youth and a musical daring mixed with decades of experience, the UK/US troupé de brutalité show no mercy in the verbal flogging of the powers political who run this mortal world asunder.

There are many wrongs in this world and clearly a lot to be angry about. Barney of course grunts at the world with his usual panache, and surprisingly Mitch is allowed more radio time this time and does more than just backing on Orders of Magnitude as well as the for Napalm Death rather unusual The Wolf I Feed - it's got clean vocals too! Is that really Barney? Can't believe it. Imagine a song that sounds like a blend of Napalm, Ministry and Fear Factory...NOT bad at all!

In many ways, this is one of the more experimental Napalm Death albums in the band's career. Sinister, brutal, crushing, yes, but also playful with the inclusion of a manically desperate saxophone (Errors in Signals), synths in the sinister intro piece (Circumspect),  choral pieces mixed with blast beats (Fall on their Swords) and a hundred other details. But worry not! The grind is there, and customary Celtic Frost moment comes in A Gag Reflect.

Time flies when listening to this album. It doesn't feel like 45 minutes at all - and that is just one of its marks of quality, I think. It's diverse, powerful and has something new waiting around every corner without ever betraying the core of brutality and heaviness that is engrained in Napalm Death's music. Napalm Death tear shit up, quite simply.


Tracklist
01. Circumspect (2:17)
02. Errors In The Signals (3:02)
03. Everyday Pox (2:12)
04. Protection Racket (4:00)
05. The Wolf I Feed (2:57)
06. Quarantined (2:47)
07. Fall On Their Swords (3:57)
08. Collision Course (3:14)
09. Orders of Magnitude (3:21)
10. Think Tank Trials (2:27)
11. Blank Look About Face (3:12)
12. Leper Colony (3:23)
13. Nom De Guerre (1:07)
14. Analysis Paralysis (3:23)
15. Opposites Repellent (1:22)
16. A Gag Reflex (3:30)
Label: Century Media
Distribution: EMI (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 70/100
Reviewed by: Thomas Nielsen
Date: 5 February, 2012
Website: www.napalmdeath.org