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October 12, 2008 |
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NAPALM DEATH - The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code
Century Media (2005) |
8.5/10 |
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01. Silence Is Deafening
02. Right You Are
03. Diplomatic Immunity
04. The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code
05. Climate Controllers
06. Instruments Of Persuasion
07. The Great And The Good
08. Sold Short
09. All Hail The Grey Dawn
10. Vegitative State
11. Pay For The Privilege Of Breathing
12. Pledge Yourself To You
13. Striding Purposefully Backwards
14. Morale
15. Our Pain Is Their Power
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Brutal...punishing...angry...legendary. Those are the words that typically come to mind when you think of British grindcore gods NAPLAM DEATH. Well, that is still the case today, and with the release of their 14th full-length album (and first for Century Media) the boys have injected more (more anger, more grind, more attitude, more adrenaline) into this disc than most, if not all, of their recent releases. It's obvious that the move to Century Media is going to be a win-win-win situation (band - label - fans). It's so cool the hear a band that, 18 years after their debut was released, are still creating relevant, hardcore music.
How many bands can you really say that about? After so many years, you might think that a band could lose direction, but even if they did veer off course a little with a couple of their past releases, NAPALM DEATH (Mark "Barney" Greenway - vocals, Mitch Harris - guitar, Shane Embury - bass, and Danny Herrera - drums) are now back on track and poised to destroy the nay-sayers.
Simply put, "The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code" is unbridled fury that packs a massive, concrete punch. The majority of the songs are short (15 songs in 45 minutes) bursts of aggression, each one just as intense as the next, eventually pummeling the listener into submission. Do you think the band are going to give you even the slightest break? Nope, that ain't gonna happen. The album also features a nice guest list as some the band's friends, Jello Biafra (ex-DEAD KENNEDYS), Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED), and Jeff Walker (ex-CARCASS), stop by to join in the beating and contribute to the backing vocal tracks. That's an impressive group of friends to say the least.
There are some very intelligent lyrical highlights to be found throughout this disc starting out with the slamming opener, "The Silence is Deafening" (which is kind of an ironic title for this band considering that nothing is silent about them!) - which calls for action against political rulers and their indifference to the masses. The amazing title track has a great grinding groove and is another political slam lyrically, this time questioning the governmental color code warnings and looking at the fallacies found within that system. "The Great And The Good" (featuring Biafra on backing vocals) was been chosen as a limited charity single to help out those effected by the December 26 tsunami victims. Not content to deal with strictly political issues, the band take on personal issues as well with songs like "All Hail The Grey Dawn".
Though there are many thought-provoking lyrics on "The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code", the real highlight here is the music itself. It is unrelenting, powerful, and creative - all the things that go into a great grind album. The lyrics, as cool as they are, simply add to the power found in the music.
"The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code" is a triumph on all fronts. After the 45 minutes are up, the listener is beaten up and wiped out in such a way that most of the newer bands out there can't accomplish. NAPALM DEATH show them all just how it's supposed to be done with this completely brutal, utterly hardcore, and very cool disc. One thing is for certain - NAPALM DEATH still pack a helluva punch!
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