Napalm Death - Utilitarian (2012)
Being the Napalm Death fanboy that I am, I’ll probably be biased but I’ll try my best to be objective.
The Music:
Well, well. The almighty Napalm Death and their latest album. These grindcore gods have been grinding since the early 80’s and are definitely one of the hardest working bands around (Just take a look at the number of EPs, splits, albums!!). But the main question now is, are they still relevant?
Fuck yes.
This album is just the latest in a string of “comeback” albums by Napalm Death. They are still as heavy and fast as they were back in Enemy of the Music Business. In fact, they sound heavier and fresher than before.
This album is solid. The lyrics are standard Napalm Death fare; politics, injustice, societal problems etc. The riffs, drumming, vocals. All heavy as fuck, exactly what you would expect from Napalm Death post Enemy of the Music Business. The production is also very clear and modern and similar to their more recent albums which I have no qualms about. This album is probably the most progressive album they’ve made so far. By progressive I don’t mean mindless guitar wanking or drum solos that lead nowhere but by adding some unorthodox things (Chanting on Fall on their Swords, Clean Vocals on The Wolf I Feed) that oddly enough, don’t seem out of place at all but rather makes the album more interesting. It is in this way that I see the album as a “progression” for Napalm Death in terms of their sound. This is an excellent example of experimentation done right, where you still retain your basic style of music but when you add or layer it with unorthodox music styles, it enhances your core sound and even makes it better.
However even though the experimentation is, in my opinion, a great success. It will take a few listens to “get” this album. It threw me off at first because it just sounded so different but after a few listens I started to slowly appreciate what they did. The album also gets slightly more traditional after Fall on their Swords. This isn’t a bad thing as the remaining material is really really solid grindcore but the experimentation isn’t as prevalent on the rest of the tracks as compared to the first part of the album. This did leave me a bit wanting. Also, Barney’s voice does sound a bit weaker on this album compared to the other recent ones but hey, nobody’s getting any younger and much respect to him for still sounding so brutal.
All in all, this is a great album and will definitely be in my top few albums of this year. I highly recommend buying this album otherwise you’ll be missing out on a really great grindcore album.
The Artwork/Album Packaging:
The artwork and album packaging won’t affect the score but I feel that these aspects of a CD/vinyl are always overlooked even though they can be quite interesting.
Corporate suits stomping on a common man? Seems like an accurate depiction of the Occupy movements going on now. That main scene is bordered by pictures of missiles, people in gasmasks, faceless executives and more. All in black and white with their logo in that yellow that is oh-so Napalm Death and you’ve got a really badass cover with an old school vibe.
I have the CD version and it comes with a booklet with more pictures like on the cover an with lyrics! I’m so happy and thankful whenever a booklet comes with lyrics. It shows that the band actually wants you to read and understand the message that their trying to get across.
Final Verdict: 9/10 (Fucking Brutal, 2 horns up and 1 saxophone from me)
