{"id":4823,"date":"2012-02-27T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=4823"},"modified":"2013-06-01T15:54:35","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T15:54:35","slug":"album-review-napalm-death-utilitarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-napalm-death-utilitarian\/","title":{"rendered":"NAPALM DEATH – Utilitarian (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAPALM DEATH
Utilitarian<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nCentury Media (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that Birmingham\u2019s other finest have totally changed direction upon hearing \u2018Circumspect\u2019, the instrumental opener on Utilitarian<\/em>, the 14th studio album of Napalm Death\u2019s 31-year-career. However, its crusty leanings give way to \u2018Errors In The Signals\u2019, which bolts from the traps in typical Napalm fashion. So, business as usual then\u2026 and here lies both the strength and weakness in Napalm\u2019s arsenal. Fast, furious riffing, backed by pile driver blast beats and narrated by Barney Greenway\u2019s political vitriol, is exactly what fans have come to love and expect, but you do get the sense of dread that Napalm Death only have a few more albums left in them. However, it is to their credit that they still have the ability to evolve and remain relevant, and also to tread new ground.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everyday Pox\u2019 contains some \u2018grind-sax\u2019 courtesy of 58-year-old American avant-garde jazz punk saxophonist John Zorn (which some may argue sounds like a three-year-old having a sax tantrum), and there are elements of (whisper it) melody in songs such as \u2018The Wolf I Feed\u2019, \u2018Fall On Their Swords\u2019 and the rampaging \u2018Collision Course\u2019. In fact, it would appear that they have incorporated elements from their mid-period albums, such as 1998\u2019s Words From The Exit Wound<\/em>, and to great effect.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the mid-paced songs that stand out either, as speed freaks will lap up the likes of \u2018Think Tank Trials\u2019, and considering he\u2019s been blasting away for over 20 years, drummer Danny Herrera hasn\u2019t lost any of his youthful energy. Special mention also to guitarist Mitch Harris, whose screaming backing vocals are given some prominence throughout and compliment Barney\u2019s distinctive bark. And production wise, Napalm have never sounded more sleek courtesy of Russ Russell\u2019s superb mix, proving that he is one of the better producers in metal at the moment.<\/p>\n

So certainly a worthwhile addition to Napalm Death\u2019s back catalogue, and one that fans of the Diatribes<\/em>-era (1996) can take something from, as well as those whose faith was restored with the unrelenting Enemy Of The Music Business<\/em> album in 2000. Unfortunately, there will always be those whose interests lie firmly in side one of the band\u2019s 1987 debut, Scum<\/em><\/a>, and still regard Mick Harris as the \u2018true\u2019 drummer for Napalm Death, who will stubbornly believe that this British institution have no place in this world. Pity them, as they\u2019re missing out on a corker of a Napalm album\u2026 again.<\/p>\n

Neil Not<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAPALM DEATHUtilitarian Century Media (2012)Rating: 8.5\/10 You\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that Birmingham\u2019s other finest have totally changed direction upon hearing \u2018Circumspect\u2019, the instrumental opener on Utilitarian, the 14th studio album of Napalm Death\u2019s 31-year-career. However, its crusty leanings give way to \u2018Errors In The Signals\u2019, which bolts from the traps in typical Napalm fashion. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-napalm-death"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4823"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12192,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4823\/revisions\/12192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}