As per usual, much of the next nine hundred or so words will unfortunately contain very little of what you would consider critiquing but more of a meandering rummage through the dusty caves of what remains of my memory, reminiscing and possible rattling on about things that may (or may not) have happened all of which contrives into something more akin to some form of public therapy or something self-indulgent and boring. I will leave that for you, the discerning reader, to come to your own conclusions on, but seeing as I am here, I may as well continue. So, what to say about Napalm Death that has not already been said? For band of their longevity, they have been covered extensively in not just the metal world but also as a standard bearer for extreme music (certainly here in the UK) in broadsheets and mainstream Television, featured as musical signpost into the extreme music.
This coverage has not always been constructive, more often, Napalm have been mocked and poked with sticks through the metaphorical bars of a cage. ‘Dance Monkey Dance!’ ‘Play your silly one second songs…isn’t that hilarious???’ ‘You cannot even hear the lyrics!’ ‘Why is he barking like a dog? To be fair, Napalm have done well to court and then subjugate the media in this way without losing their sense of self and humour whilst not compromising their musical aesthetics and stanchly held political beliefs. In fact, you are more likely to find Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway, appearing in broadsheets and on mainstream television channels, railing against but not limited to, blood sports, antifa, LGBTQ rights etc al. It’s important to remember that Napalm have always been at the forefront of a heavily politicised musical movement (Grindcore) and have always stuck firmly to these key beliefs for more than 30 years.
My love for Napalm, stems from a trip to Brent Cross Shopping Center in 1988 and buying (on cassette from Our Price) ‘Scum’ and ‘From Enslavement To Obliteration’ and listening to them both on the bus home (via my Walkman) and being left slack jawed, confused and exhilarated at the music, attitude and savagery contained within those two genre defining albums. From that point on, I was a fan. I have seen them in shithole London venues, on a boat (it’s a long story), at huge festivals in front of thousands and smaller ones in front of 10’s of people. I was also at Glastonbury a few years back when Napalm played on an Earache curated stage (along with Wormrot), and such is the infamy (for want of a better word) that Napalm have curated, the stage was absolutely packed. The band came on and the musical day trippers in the crowd, took pause, looked on for 30 seconds and hightailed it off to see something that wasn’t as musical oppressive and destructive and more importantly wasn’t generating a whirling mosh pit that spilt their gin and tonic.
So, to this, Napalm’s new album, their sixteenth full length effort in total. Napalm’s sound has been gradually refined over time and although certainly not watered down, it has morphed into something a little more considered on later releases, certainly a world away from their early 80’s output. TOJITJOD, is by some way, their best album for many a year and they have achieved this by remaining musically relevant, still having one foot in the past, an amalgam of grind and punk from the 80’s and another planted in the 2000’s manifesting itself as a more considered, smoother, yet jagged metal switchblade stuck in under the ribs .
Steadily, Napalm have crafted albums that differ in tone and musicality and here again they have reinvented themselves without losing the core DNA of makes them Napalm ‘Fucking’ Death. Straight out the gate this is (in part) a brutal exercise in post Grindcore that dips its toes in death metal waters at times whilst Barney’s instantly recognisable vocals coat everything in a sticky veneer of hate. ‘Fuck The Factoid, ‘Backlash Just Because’ and ‘Contagion’ grind, slam and speed away in a fiery ball of beautifulness, metal to the core and brutal slices of grind pie before things segue off, as they have a tendency to, with the eerie industrial stylings of ‘Joie De Ne Pas Vire’ (Joy Of Not Firing) before ‘Amoral’ sees the last vestiges of TOJITJOD veering into alt rock/mainstream metal with a chorus you can actually hum to that’s one part The Fall, two parts Killing Joke and twelve parts something else entirely. That’s the beauty of Napalm Death, they are made up of so many different styles of music and the core members (Shame Embury on bass, Mitch Harris contributing guitars but no longer a member of the touring band) have such a diverse musical tastes that they conflate into the very thing that makes Napalm Death such a thing to treasure, enjoy and embrace.
Heavy as a two ton shit, as essential as a last gasp of air to a drowning man, Napalm Death continue to confound conventional thinking around this music of ours and have created a masterpiece that grooves like a drunk Grandad at his granddaughters wedding and slays like a Mongolian tyrant with a chip on his shoulder. My advice, if you hear murmurings (they are there if you look) from genre elitist snobs, decrying the fact that Napalm have sold themselves out and should just reproduce ‘Scum’ sixteen times, then you have my permission to tell to them to get to fuckery.
(9/10 Nick Griffiths)
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