Review: Napalm Death - Apex Predator--Easy Meat
- Feb 1, 2015
- 2 min read
By Eric Perzanowski, Staff Writer
[Century Media; 2015]
Rating: 8.5/10
Key Tracks: “Apex Predator – Easy Meat,” “Dear Slum Landlord,” “Metaphorically Screw You”
Napalm Death is undoubtedly one of the most iconic pioneers in extreme music, with previous album Scum acting as a landmark innovation of the grindcore genre. It’s astonishing how after all these years, Napalm Death is still on the forefront of extreme music, still making some of the most interesting music of this style.
Despite being 15 albums in, Napalm Death is still able to keep things interesting, and not just fall into a niche, making the same album each time. Apex Predator--Easy Meat is a testament to Napalm Death’s ability to evolve as a band while maintaining many of its distinct core qualities.
There is a variety of different approaches to the songs on this album. “Smash a Single Digit,” and “Metaphorically Screw You” take on a more traditional grindcore style that the band is known for. “Hierarchies” and “Stunt Your Growth” have a thrashier side (towards the end of “Stunt Your Growth,” the band even does a take on the classic thrash cliché of the gang-vocal chant).
Vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway is possibly one of the best vocalists extreme metal has to offer. His growls have a certain griminess to them, and his vocal flow on many songs is impeccable.
The title track is haunting, setting a general ambiance of uneasiness throughout the rest of the album, and is unlike anything heard from Napalm Death prior. It showcases a lot of industrial, ambient/noise influences. The contrasting vocal styles used through the two halves of this song are interesting, as the deep meditative chants turn to a nightmarishly mechanical sing-songy delivery.
“Dear Slum Landlord” is one of the more melodic tunes the band has made. The cynical bellows of Greenway echo throughout the song, “Safety for me / Is many steps too far / Face shaved on stone / And rhythmically clubbed / I am improved / It’s answer enough.” The lyrics are very well-written and are extremely powerful.
Lyrically, this may be Napalm Death’s strongest album in recent memory. On Apex Predator--Easy Meat, the lyrical vitriol is aimed at the greedy and predatory instincts of largely the corporate world, as well as an exposé of sorts on the slavery that still exists today. An example from the song “Stubborn Stains” best showcases this theme: “Spurious lament / Without a neck to hang their corporate heads in shame / They will breeze on through quite unscathed / Turn a profit and turn away.”
Napalm Death’s ability to experiment with different musical elements while keeping the core foundation in place is a good reason why the band has been able to be so successful over the past 30 years. It may only be January, but Apex Predator--Easy Meat oozes staying power, and I would not be surprised at all if this ended up being one of the best metal albums of the year.
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