January 2015 Album of the Month: Napalm Death’s Apex Predator – Easy Meat
Thursday, 5th February 2015
After a month off during the holidays, our Album of the Month has returned, and starts off with a bang with veteran grindcore band Napalm Death as our first staff pick in 2015. Since the band “revitalized” with Enemy of the Music Business, they’ve been consistently on top of their game and Apex Predator – Easy Meat is no exception. But more so, the band isn’t afraid to take grindcore out into new avenues of exploration (as evidenced by cuts such as “Dear Slum Landlord” and “Hierarchies”). Napalm Death deserves plenty of credit for staying relevant after all these years.
An excerpt from Kyle McGinn’s 9/10 review, which posted January 20th:
Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death have enjoyed a pretty consistent ride through extreme metal (barring a few slight missteps in the ‘90s). Weathering the storm far longer than much of their brethren, it comes as little surprise to anyone who has followed them for any length of time. Napalm Death’s ‘music with a message’ approach is still just as relevant as it ever was, and that’s precisely why Apex Predator – Easy Meat will be an easy sell to the band’s legions of fans.
It appears that the years have not condemned Napalm Death, but allowed them to continue flourishing. Hard to believe Apex Predator – Easy Meat is the band’s fifteenth album to date (not to mention the countless EPs/splits). But it just goes to show that when you have something important to say and the abrasive music to back it up with, you’ll always have a captive audience. Apex Predator – Easy Meat is just one more confirmation of Napalm Death’s legendary status within extreme metal.
