Napalm Death - Apex Predator - Easy Meat
Like many a metal head who leans more to the extreme side of things (hence you being on this page at all!) I've had a long love affair with Napalm Death. I've seen them live about 8 times now. Having been on a winning streak since 2000's excellent "Enemies Of The Music Business" Napalm have just gone from strength to strength. While some refer to their 90's output as their experimental era, I believe they have never actually stopped experimenting. Granted they have more of an idea of what does and doesn't work but while they are always pushing themselves forward they still take the opportunity to try something a bit different on every album.
There's quite a buzz at the moment about this albums opening title track. It starts with Mark "Barney" Greenway doing a slow build up of low sung vocals leading to a darlik sounding march. (it's better if you just listen to it!) What the band have done on this song however isn't really anything new they just normally put it on the end of the album instead of the beginning. If you look the the small EP "Our Pain Is Their Power" that came out last year which compiled songs that highlighted this element of their sound.
As a whole "Apex Predator - Easy Meat" reminded me mostly of "From Enslavement To Obliteration". Starting with a slow doom laden, Swans like track then blasting into an onslaught of all things extreme. This album leans slightly more to grindcore more then some recent albums, we have 17 tracks and only tracks go over 3 minutes and one going over the 5 minute mark, so the album blasts by. Mixing all the elements of grind, hardcore punk, death metal and everything between. It's absolutly glorious!
Tracks like 'Smash A Single Digit' and 'Metaphorically Screw You' already sound like they are old classics and 'Dear Slum Landlord' carries on the more doom tradition. What I love about Napalm Death is that, this far into their career they are more ferocious and angry then ever. Barney's vocal's aren't pitch perfect nor are they trying to be but he sounds so angry! No one else sounds like that today. When 'Smash A Single Digit' kicks in it literally sounds like if he wasn't in a vocal booth he would be smashing the place up! The rest of the band of course are on fine form. Mitch Harris is back to blistering form after getting all the melody and pro off his chest with his brilliant Menace project and Danny Herrera still remains one of today's finest drummer's. The drum patterns he comes up with are crazy. It goes without saying the reason people love Napalm so much is because they never let you down. Like Cannibal Corpse they just smash down the boundaries everytime and just when you suspect they might be past it or you know what your getting they just set the bar higher and higher everytime and they stay forever ahead of the pack.
To sum things up this album is fucking awesome. We already have a contender for album of the year or at least in my top 10. If I hear 10 albums better then this then I've got one hell of a year ahead! Napalm Death rule, go get it!
There's quite a buzz at the moment about this albums opening title track. It starts with Mark "Barney" Greenway doing a slow build up of low sung vocals leading to a darlik sounding march. (it's better if you just listen to it!) What the band have done on this song however isn't really anything new they just normally put it on the end of the album instead of the beginning. If you look the the small EP "Our Pain Is Their Power" that came out last year which compiled songs that highlighted this element of their sound.
As a whole "Apex Predator - Easy Meat" reminded me mostly of "From Enslavement To Obliteration". Starting with a slow doom laden, Swans like track then blasting into an onslaught of all things extreme. This album leans slightly more to grindcore more then some recent albums, we have 17 tracks and only tracks go over 3 minutes and one going over the 5 minute mark, so the album blasts by. Mixing all the elements of grind, hardcore punk, death metal and everything between. It's absolutly glorious!
Tracks like 'Smash A Single Digit' and 'Metaphorically Screw You' already sound like they are old classics and 'Dear Slum Landlord' carries on the more doom tradition. What I love about Napalm Death is that, this far into their career they are more ferocious and angry then ever. Barney's vocal's aren't pitch perfect nor are they trying to be but he sounds so angry! No one else sounds like that today. When 'Smash A Single Digit' kicks in it literally sounds like if he wasn't in a vocal booth he would be smashing the place up! The rest of the band of course are on fine form. Mitch Harris is back to blistering form after getting all the melody and pro off his chest with his brilliant Menace project and Danny Herrera still remains one of today's finest drummer's. The drum patterns he comes up with are crazy. It goes without saying the reason people love Napalm so much is because they never let you down. Like Cannibal Corpse they just smash down the boundaries everytime and just when you suspect they might be past it or you know what your getting they just set the bar higher and higher everytime and they stay forever ahead of the pack.
To sum things up this album is fucking awesome. We already have a contender for album of the year or at least in my top 10. If I hear 10 albums better then this then I've got one hell of a year ahead! Napalm Death rule, go get it!
- Apex Predator - Easy Meat
- Smash A Single Digit
- Metaphorically Screw You
- How The Years Condemn
- Stubborn Stains
- Timeless Flogging
- Dear Slum Landlord
- Cesspits
- Bloodless Coup
- Beyond The Pale
- Stunt Your Growth
- Hierarchies
- One Eyed
- Adversarial - Copulating Snakes
Label: http://www.centurymedia.com
Reviewer: twansibon
Feb 14, 2015
Feb 14, 2015
Next review:
Running Death - The Call Of Extinction
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