Napalm Death – Smear Campaign

This is a very good pressing, very dynamic, rather uncompressed compared to other LPs of the band I own, of a very punk based ND album. I actually had forgotten how good this one is, the perfect blend of punk, grind, death that only ND can properly create.
The cover is pretty good, the LP comes in a polylined inner sleeve and with a lyrics sheet.
Should buy it if you don't own it already

Napalm Death has been an active band since 1981. Originally formed as a Crass-style punk band, they eventually took the British hardcore sound (ala Discharge and others) and created one of the fastest, most extreme sounds ever. What they created was called grindcore, and 25 years later the band is still on the cutting edge of extreme music.

There have been a lot of line up changes in the quarter of a century that Napalm Death has existed. There wasn't an original member in the band by the time their first LP, Scum, came out in 1987. The current lineup has been fairly solid since the early 90's, and the only recent change was the departure of Jesse Pintado a few years ago (RIP). After the lineup change, they opted to remain a four piece.

Smear Campaign marks the second studio album the band has done as a four piece and the second album the band has put out for Century Media. It is the best grindcore album they have done since Utopia Banished. Napalm Death did invent grindcore, but a lot of the albums that they put out in the mid 90's were basically death metal. Since Enemy of the Music Business was released, the albums have been more and more grind-infused. Smear Campaign is the epitome of grindcore - tons of blast beats, scathing vocals, and a pace and feel that draws more from punk and british hardcore than it does from metal.

The sound on Smear Campaign spans the entire career of Napalm Death. There are tracks that would be at home on Utopia Banished or From Enslavement to Obliteration, yet they do not sound dated or really even retro. The sound is timeless. While they are faster and their songwriting abilities have increased tenfold since the old days, they have never lost that dirty crust element that has been a hallmark of not only Napalm Death, but of the grindcore scene in general.

For years Napalm Death opened each new album with an intro, and Smear Campaign follows that tradition. The previous ones were generally a nice way to get things going and build up the listener to the level of intensity that he or she needed to be at before all hell broke loose and the first song started. "Weltschmerz" is no different, with a minute and twenty seven seconds of an ominous guitar line and assorted other sounds that come to a head with Anneke Van Giersbergen adding an eerie female vocal sound to the background. The band immediately goes for the throat as "Sink Fast, Lets Go" explodes into machine gun blast beats and furious guitars. The vocals are as extreme as ever, with liberal use of high screams mixed in with the trademark Greenway guttoral assault. The album continues on at a breakneck pace with the occasional fast paced breakdown and hooks that Napalm death is known for thrown in. "When All is Said and Done" slows down just a hair and is one of the catchier songs on the album, with less in the way of blastbeats and mind-numbing speed but brutal nonetheless. From there the onslaught continues at a furious pace.

There are only a few more places where the band changes things up. One is on "In Deference" where Anneke Van Giersbergen makes another appearance with a vocal delivery that while melodic and almost haunting, mixes very well with Barney's growls and screams. The other is on the album-closer "Smear Campaign" which incorporates a slow-paced, almost doomy sound with some clean vocals. The remaining tracks, however, rarely slow down.

5 stars is a strong score, but one that Smear Campaign deserves. The album is a culmination of a quarter of a century worth of development and innovation. Fans of any era of Napalm Death will be able to identify with this album and the political message is as strong and in your face as ever. How can a band not get 5 stars for an album that is the very definition of grindcore? It captures the intensity of their furious live shows while combining the best elements of their discography. Someone go dust off the crown, because the fathers of grindcore are ready to take their place on the throne for all time. Long live the kings of grind!

Missing the SCR blue/black splatter exclusive, limited to 100 copies. Just picked it up at their show last night but it's not on here

Another version of this promo cd exists with a cardboard case without writings at the top and on the right. The barcode is the same and the tracklist too. There's one version for the US market and another one made in for the european market apparently.

Much has been documented about Napalm Death's return to grinding, blasting form since their 'Enemy of the Music Business' album of 2001. Having heard that album soon after its release, I could hear the band was genuine in its intention of returning to the more intense, extreme type of sound that put latter day Napalm Death - Barney Greenway era - on the musical map. Since that album, the band has released album after album of such intensity & brutality, each gaining a substantial amount of positive press & reviews, including the album reviewed here, the 'Smear Campaign' album of 2006.

Having read many reviews of the album prior to hearing it, the one thing that consistently was focused on was how utterly blistering the album was in of its intense, uncompromising delivery, & how brutally honest the band's intention is to absolutely shred. So then, while listening to the album, it is clear & unmistakable that it certainly lives up to that reputation. The album starts with a bleak sounding instrumental, 'Weltschmerz', which is rather musical & moving, as well as methodically mid tempo in serving as a prelude to what follows it, because then starts the shredding. With the second track, 'Sink Fast, Let Go', begins the uncompromising assault that the band has made its trademark once again. What you get here is the trademark blistering & intense grindcore/death metal that only Napalm Death know how to deliver, with good song structure, strong captivating riffs, & good variation throughout each song, never boring the listener. This skillful & punishing delivery continues as the album rages on with songs like 'Fatalist', the ambitiously titled but convincing 'Puritanical Punishment Beating', & one of the highlights of the album, 'When All Is Said & Done', with its strong chorus line. While each song may follow a slightly different formula in of arrangement, there is always good variation in riffing & tempos, from blast sections, to thrashing parts, to mid-tempo heavy breakdowns.

As this assault continues song after song, there is no doubt this album is living up to the acclaim the many reviews praised it with in of intensity & conviction in the music. There is something else though, that becomes just as evident which is not so positive, & that is the production. What is soon noticeable from the first song is that the album has a rather dry, dead sounding production. Its not that it's not powerful, there is certainly a powerful sound here, but there isn't any of that 'live' feel that was present on albums like 'Harmony Corruption', or 'Utopia Banished'. Instead the album has a somewhat more 'industrial' sound in of production. Everything sounds boxed in, dried out & muted. This is most evident with the way the vocals were mixed, as they have that muted, processed sound that is characteristic of the way 'industrial' heavy music is recorded. At first listen, I thought it may have just been an effect the band & producer attempted with the first one or two songs, but disappointingly though, it continues for the entire album. The question that begs then is, if there was an idea to experiment with a somewhat more industrial sounding production, why not commit one or two songs to that? Why the whole bloody album? Most disappointing I must say, as this is not a step in the right direction if the band is to stay true to its musical origins & the fans of the earlier albums.

Having said that though, the production & sound aspects are not a complete failure. The mix is quite competent in that most instruments can be clearly heard, except the bass guitar. Additionally, the sound in general is punchy, crisp & powerful enough. The guitars boast a heavy crunching sound, & the drums have a good punchy sound, although it loses some of its punch noticeably when the drums switch to faster blast sections, but not to the point of failure, & it is after all a common challenge with mixing drums when recording extreme grind or death metal.

Barney's vocals sound somewhat like a throwback to those on 'Utopia Banished', in that they are a semi-growled, semi-shouted vocal style similar to those on that album. Nonetheless, Barney has extended his vocal range to include high pitched screeching & some rare clean vocal sections, all of which are competently perfomed, adding a plus to the vocals.

I seem to find the best songs are tracks 7-10, with track seven, 'In Deference', possibly being the album's most memorable song, largely due to a most effective & memorable middle section, featuring guest vocals from Anneke from The Gathering.

Generally, although this is a good album, it's not one of Napalm Death's best, & when deciding to listen to the band's musical output during the Barney Greenway era, I would instead be listening to 'Harmony Corruption'.