Napalm Death - Utopia Banished
Earache - MOSH053 - 1 January 2008
By Paddy Walsh
Utopia Banished originally surfaced in 1992 as the follow-up to 1990's
Harmony Corruption. The latter was the Birmingham grind-innovators second album and the first to hint at the death metal direction which was to follow.
Napalm Death's habit of revolving door line-ups continued, with Mick Harris replaced by Danny Herrera at the drum stool, apparently due to creative differences. The most notable aspect of this release was a cementing of the band's ensconcement into the death metal realm - there's scant trace of their hardcore punk roots music wise, and the nascent grindcore of
Scum was toned down in favour of Floridian-flavoured brutal death, Barney Greenway exhibiting a bark not unlike
Deicide's Glen Benton circa
Legion. Lyrically, they retained the anti-capitalist, left-wing polemic of their early years, the angry rants herein are perhaps
Utopia Banished's best trait, 'Aryanisms' in particular being a satisfyingly bile-filled anti-Nazi tirade.
Why
Utopia Banished was reissued as part of Earache's 'Classic Metal' series is a little suspect, however, as it's far from
Napalm Death at the top of their game. Although opener 'I Abstain' is hair-raising in its intensity, as are follow-ups 'Dementia Access' and 'Christening of the Blind', the subsequent 10 tracks operate in such a similar vein as to render their impact toothless. Lack of variety needn't be an inherent criticism of death metal, but the songwriting just doesn't hold up to scrutiny, as most of this release flies past without grabbing us by the scruff as it should. Only when the slow-burning closer 'Contemptuous' comes around are we treated to any semblance of a departure from the battery, and even this is far from perfect, failing to build on its doomy chug and petering out without having really gone anywhere.
Earache, it would seem, were scraping the barrel of their vaults by calling
Utopia Banished a 'classic' in the first place, the included DVD (replete with live and promo clips) being the only reason for
Napalm Death fans to consider parting with their lucre. Because
Napalm Death are a outfit with several essential and influential releases under their belts, this re-release is best left to the completists.
Official Napalm Death Website
Official Napalm Death MySpace
Official Earache Website
