Utilitarian 2012

"The gods of grind are back with another barrage of fierce, anarchistic, anti-capitalistic, politically charged music which is certain to make any corporate businessman and conservative politician crap themselves with fear.

Stylistically Napalm Death continue to explore the sound they have been operating with since the release of "Enemy of the Music Business" - that is, the music on "Utilitarian" combines grindcore elements with crust punk and death metal elements (although the death metal is much less dominant than on classics like "Utopia Banished" and "Harmony Corruption"), and the influence from The Swans - in the shape of, for instance, deep baritone choirs - was become an integrated part of the Napalm Death sound by now.

After a dark and almost epic instrumental in the form of 'Circumspect', the album is kicked into gear through 'Errors in the Signals', and the remainder of the album is a cornucopia of blastbeats, crust riffs, metal guitars, sudden changes, dissonance, and growls and screams. The overall impression is that of chaos - although, as we know, Napalm Death are in absolute control of every single note and beat. Greenway's vocals sound slimier and more aggressive than ever and, together with Harris' screams, they fit the aggressive music perfectly well.

An interesting dimension to this album is the occasional use of avant-garde elements, such as the above-mentioned Swans-inspired elements as well as the sick, tortured, insane saxophone that pops up in 'Everyday Pox'.

The production is quite clean actually but does not subtract from the aggression of the music, and the musicianship is - of course - top notch across the board.

Fans of Napalm Death should definitely invest in this album - it has all the elements that define post-2000 Napalm Death.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)"