Thrall From Grace
My friends we continue plodding our way through this disaster zone that is called 2020, and I for one am truly thankful that despite the knockbacks, artists are releasing new material to keep us occupied and sane. Our Meriden music makers, Napalm Death have unleashed a mercurial monolith, well- seasoned and cooked to perfection for you to enjoy. It contains all the attributes that are expected in Death/Grindcore and packs a hefty punch in the abdominal quarters. Those volatile, barking mad vocals belong to Barney Greenway, and they are disruptive yet unifying, when he roars, we roar too. Those bruising drumbeats, especially on ‘Invigorating Clutch’ which attack on the front foot, then simmer gently in the background, only to appear front and centre again. The single ‘Backlash Just Because- reviewed below – is a choice cut that showcases what you can expect from the album.-
These lads have been in a league of their own since day one, not ones to pander to the norm they have been the captains of their own destiny. They are deliberately caustic and provocative, poking you in the eye with a red- hot skewer. Leading the charge in Grindcore and of course the ‘micro song’ they have covered a cornucopia of styles, extremes and delighted in the not fashionable. They present their sixteenth studio album- there should be cake- with enormous gusto and grace, they journey along the fine line between cacophony and euphony, they are discordant yet dulcet, worldly-wise yet they exude an innocence, for instance in ‘Contagion’ where the words are sometimes whispered delicately into your ear. My favourite riff is from ‘The Curse Of Being In Thrall’ it brightens the most hardened daily grind; it is steady and satisfying. Shane Embury provides the bass battalion and Danny Herrera the pulsating, nay, pulverising drums. The heady perfume of grit and grime fill the air in ‘Amoral’ and with the industrial, crushing and scraping of closer ‘A Bellyful Of Salt and Spleen’ we revel in Killing Joke and Swans territory, it’s an unchained beast my friends. The lyric ‘Assassins within our closest kin’ depicts what we know already, sometimes your family is your worst enemy. What I absolutely love on here are the outros, they express so much, they are exuberant yet exasperating and they stay with you long after time has been called. A mammoth slab of Death compacted into three unassuming bodies, lethal and full of loathing for the world at large. So, it should be, we need to speak up, we need to criticise and fight for what we believe in. Our goal is one of unity and equality for all, step up and toe the ND line. Bear witness to a gnashing of teeth, an eldritch cry into the harshness, a shot out into the ether, and sit back and taste the cordite residue.
We have a sickness ladies and gents, Napalm Death have got the medicine, do not take on an empty stomach.
Napalm Death – Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism out 18th September via Century Media Records