Customer Reviews

Leaders Not Followers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Covers. Cover songs can be a double-edged sword. They can either write you off as a "cover band" and be forever to re-digest music for hits and make you an extra buck(see Metallica). OR they can not only improve your musical ability, but as well as show your musical doctrines and influences. Napalm Death just does that. For almost 20 years now, Napalm Death have been one of leaders in Extreme Music. But Napalm Death have always had their share of influences such as Raw Power(UK), Slaughter(Canada), Pentagram(Chile), Repulsion (US), Death and Dead Kennedys. What significant about these influences is that they are pretty wide range from Grindcore, Death Metal, Thrash/Speed Metal, to Punk and Hardcore. The thing I really like most instead of picked the more known bands of today, they picked out some of the best from the old Metal tape-trading circuit of the mid to late 80's. Not only am I fan of these cover songs, but as well as the original bands themselves and have forked over a LOT of money to find the origin of the songs Napalm Death covers. Best songs: Incinerator(Slaughter), Demonic Possession(Pentagram), Maggots In Your Coffin(Repulsion), and Back From The Dead(Death). Great cd, really good price, well worth your money too!

I rarely think EP's deserve five stars, but Napalm Death knows how to do it. They have a proven track record of solid EP's, from 1989's Mentally Murdered to 1997's Breed to Breathe. Leaders Not Followers continues that tradition in stellar fashion. While many bands release EP's consisting of B-side material or a handful of live tracks, Napalm offers six cover songs that showcase their musical influences on one hand and their unrivaled intensity on the other. They fly through these tracks in just under twenty minutes, crushing your ears throughout. Three of these covers show up on their subsequent Punishment in Capitals live album; Politicians, a blistering hardcore song by Raw Power; Back From the Dead, a demo-era song from Death; and the Napalm staple Nazi Punks **** Off by Dead Kennedys (re-recorded from the previous Napalm EP of the same name).

Barney sounds crisp, clear, and vicious, and the band shows hints of turning back to a heavier direction from the Fear Emptiness Despair-through-Words From the Exit Wound albums. That's exactly what they would do on the next cd, Enemy of the Music Business, but as of this EP, released in 1999, they hadn't yet made that grindcore comeback. After this foray into cover songs, they released a second, full-length installment of covers in 2004. This first one can be picked up for under five bucks brand new, which I think makes it entirely worth it for a fan of the band. The songs retain the flavor of the originals, but they still sound unmistakably like Napalm Death, and they put their usual 100% effort into the recordings. Intense band, powerful EP; highly recommended.

So you've got every other Napalm Death release ever and are getting a little depressed about hearing "Suffer The Children" over and over ( not that it's a terrible thing ). This release is by far my favorite given it's range of styles for the band, and even the genres covered. The only downer is that you are limited in sheer number of tracks, which leaves you fiending for more. All in all, not your run-of-the-mill ND release, but with brutality and typical thrash fashion

in any way, napalm death is never bland. think of it as meaty growls, juicy twin guitar attack, and spicy bass and drums to complement the flavor. you'll never go hungry listening to them.

In their bombastic style, Napalm Death cover influential bands like Slaughter (Canada, not the U.S. hair band), Repulsion and Pentagram (Chile), and in doing so deliver the clearest statement of the fury and ideology behind their music yet heard. There are also covers from Death and Raw Power which are distinctively OK, and a Dead Kennedys song that not even Napalm Death can make interesting or unmanipulative.

Only 6 tracks ! And i can't here it! that's f$ck great....