Customer Reviews

Utopia Banished

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Omigoddess, I'm glad to see this album again! No, it's not ND's fastest/ bloodiest/ grindcoriest album, and yes, it's attempting a benchmark. But I think it actually succeeds-- it's definitely more layered, say, (the magnificent) Harmony Corruption. And some tracks get downright creepy, "Contemptuous", for example, a wonderful echoing stomp. And you even get the patented throat-bleeding Barney Scream on a few songs to feed your bloodlust. Top picks: "Contemptuous", "I Abstain", "Got Time to Kill", "Dementia Access".

Probably the greatest grindcore album ever recorded from the originators of the sound. If youre interested in what the whole sounds about, check this album out.

NAPALM'S SECOND BEST ALBUM--F.E.T.O. BEING THE FIRST.ALL TRACKS ARE AMAZING AND BLISTERINGLY CRAZY, BUT THE BEST TRACK HAS TO BE CHRISTENING OF THE BLIND.IF YOU WANT INSANELY HEAVY GRIND,BY THE ALBUM!!!!!ND ARE SIMILAR TO CEPHALIC CARNAGE AND NASUM.

If you are wanting to experiment with intense British grind, this might be a disappointing album to start with. It pains me to say this because Napalm Death is one of my favorite grind bands. If you like this band, check out Harmony Corruption or a later work of greater genius, Fear, Emptiness, and Despair. I think the main flaw that detracts from Utopia Banished is that the band members compromised showing a range of emotions for the sake of maintaining the intensity. While the intentions might have been noble, the end result is not something that I can appreciate. While three tracks on this album shine, the remainder of the tracks are too blurred. The best tracks are "I Abstain," "Judicial Slime," and "Upward and Uninterested." Despite the shortcomings of this album, I would still recommend many of the rest of Napalm Death's albums. I point out to people who might be offended by my review that I recall not one of the songs from this album being played at an ND end-of-the-tour show that I saw a year ago. This made me wonder if the band is as attached to these songs as some of their less evolved fans.

Utopia Banished has been what I've thought of for years as my favorite Napalm Death album. They've put out one powerful album after another, but this one has always sounded to me to have just a little bit extra of everything; fire, intensity, brutality, and even catchiness. It represented a shift back towards a more raw grindcore sound, but not a total one. The previous album, Harmony Corruption, had ten standard-length death metal songs, a marked difference from their earlier output. Utopia Banished boasts fifteen tracks, eleven of which are under three minutes long. The style is influenced more by hardcore than Harmony Corruption's was, with most of the songs having more of a swinging energy to them. Trying to mention individual highlights is somewhat pointless because each song is formidable and memorable. Amazing riffs, thundering rhythm section, and one of Barney's outstanding performances make Utopia Banished an absolute must-have for a fan of the band, and a good place to start for anyone interested in checking them out for the first time.

This was one of my favorites by Napalm Death..Utopia Banished features a whirlwind of excellent drumming and the guitar work is very tight,this album was one of the major improvements that they needed.When they first started out they were just messing around and not progressing as musicians.This album and many others by ND showcase a highly talented band.

Amazing record right off the bat. Jesse Pintado RIP right off the bat. This is his waking hour all the riffs, all the arrangements, everything fits so perfectly. I couldn't believe my ears upon putting this CD in my car after directly purchasing it. The production quality even for its day is excellent. I was surprised at the length of the tracks as well. We can agree they play over two minutes sometimes! Judicial Slime and I, abstain are examples of Napalm Death spewing their genius upon the genre of grindcore and metal beyond. We can take Metal classics like Utopia Banished or leave them to forever decay in the dust. I will never stop playing this record for its sheer quality and appreciation of everything that Jesse Pintado gave us. If you don't own this album and Enemy of the music business your not a true ND fan. Nuff' said.

Forget the critics, this ND at it's finest. Still Pessimistic world viewers they blast out Gringcore in songs like; I abstain, world keeps turning

This is by far my favorite ND album. Grindcore with a smigden of heavy metal. Great Riffs. I seen them on this tour at the Hollywood Pallaidium. Biggest pit I ever seen in my life.

In my previous review, I said that the drummer was Mitch Harris. Well it turns out he doesn't exist. I was thinking of Mick Harris who isn't on this album. The real drummer with blinding speed is Danny Hearrea (Sp?). Sorry.