Napalm Death - "Enemy Of The Music Business Plus Leaders Not Followers" CD

Fine return to form from grind legends...

Combining the band's 2000 album and attendant EP of classic covers, this 57-minute disc opens with the corrosive "Taste The Poison", which signaled a welcome return to form from the Birmingham-based grindcore legends. 

The tracks to follow prove equally worthy, being extreme clots of aggressive post-metal noise & grindcore. "Vermin" captures the unbridled spirit of Napalm's punk/metal roots, being an ultra-speed-fueled ride, complete with clearly-mixed instruments and Barney Greenway's primal, gutteral vocals. "Volume Of Neglect" features a seriously amazing blur of bass-heavy drums and guitar that rivals the band's earliest work. I could go on, and sure, each song is pretty similar, but that's the beauty of Napalm Death. Discount their shaky death metal period, and the countless lineup changes, and you have one of the most stalwart of their crossover breed. "Enemy of The Music Business" is a solid and exemplary work from the band, and offers crunchy clots of abundantly aggressive metal/punk/grindcore noise that just doesn't relent. 

"Leaders Not Followers" is an EP of covers, including works by Napalm influences like Raw Power, Repulsion, Death, and Dead Kennedys. It's refreshing to hear the band making pretty reverential and faithful covers of their heroes -- yet still maintaining that inimitable Napalm blend of blur and bluster. I wasn't familiar much with most of these underground classics, but the cover of the DK's "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" is just classic. 

Secret Records

Napalm Death site

"Immortalised - Earache Records 1986-2000" DVD

Earache Records seem to be cleaning out their video vaults these days, as there's been not one, but THREE video comps released in the past few months.

This one, reprised from a 2000 VHS release (and transferred from that format, seemingly), actually repeats 5 clips from the previous Earache comp ('Earache My Eye'). But that's splitting hairs, right?

There are some fine, upstanding bits of extreme 90's-era metal included here. Morbid Angel's 'God Of Emptiness', something of death metal icon, is cheesy and overly dramatic. And I never felt their music had quite the bite it should've. Hair farmers Carcass turn in the blistering 'Heartwork', which is powerful until the frilly dual-guitar solos kick in. I still like it, though. Pitch Shifter are always worth the ink, and their clip for the fiery 'Triad' is inspiringly aggro - and a prime example of what I feel is the band's best period, harnessing some lacerating industrial beats and electronics with a punchy metal crunch. Iron Monkey's competent screamer 'Gorgonizer' is a simultaneously appalling and captivating pastiche of brutal wrestling footage. Ewww. And Vader's 'Dark Age' could be a parody of death metal, if not for the weirdly out of place white-clad ballet dancer. Huh?

Also included are favorites (repeated from 'My Eye') from Godflesh and At The Gates.

Anyway, this collection remains a solid encapsulation of influential metal label Earache's relevance during the whole 'alt.rock' boom of the 90's. And a lot of it's better than most of the rock that's masquerading as 'metal' lately, so take that as a tentative recommendation. (Earache/MVD Visual)

"Earache My Eye" compilation DVD

This reissue of an old VHS tape from venerable UK metal label Earache Records includes some righteously heavy stuff, and plenty of forgettable late-80's/early 90's bits as well. Opening with the best is always a wise choice, and Godflesh's 'Crush My Soul' clip (which I'd somehow never seen before) is nicely disturbing, and includes a cameo from none other than Bob Flanagan (best known for his meat-grinding appearance in Nine Inch Nails 'Happiness In Slavery' video, and for the Re/Search book about his masochistic ways). Dub War (who always bored me) turn in a bleah Bad Brains-meets-nu-metal 'Strike It', and Entombed (who used to be good) present their sell-out clip for the tragically sucky 'Wolverine Blues'. Pretty stupid then, and embarrassing now. Cathedral's early doom metal ages reasonably well, and their 'Hopkins (Witchfinder General)' references the mighty Vincent Price film, and includes (likely unlicensed) an 'appearance' by Price himself. Vincent Price is a god, and thus this clip is quite cool (even if the dancing metal babe cheeses me out). The unjustly-ignored Misery Loves Co. are represented by 'My Mind Still Speaks', an industrial metal pounder that outdid a lot of similar stuff of the era. At The Gates (who I have never heard much of) are memorable, with their Carcass-like grinder 'Blinded By Fear', and Carcass themselves bring the catchy 'No Love Lost', which is still pretty ace, if you ask me. Pitchshifter's 'Underachiever' is a nice bit of cyber-industrial metal as they did best, Sleep's 'Dragonaut' is a Sabbath-a-rama, and Brutal Truth are fearsome with 'Godplayer'. Other clips by Fudge Tunnel (awesome band, lame clip) and Napalm Death side-project Meathook Seed are forgettable. A nice collection of heavy sounds, dated perhaps in spots, but solid nonetheless. (Earache/MVD Visual)