UMUR "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK grindcore/death metal act Napalm Death. The album was released through Earache Records in May 1994. It´s the successor to "Utopia Banished" from 1992, and features the exact same lineup, who recorded that album. That was a first in the band´s history up until then. A history which had otherwise been characterized by multible lineup changes since the band´s inception in the early 80s.

The stylistic changes between releases have also been plenty throughout the years, so it´s no surprise that "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" has a very different sound to "Utopia Banished (1992)", although it´s still unmistakably the sound of Napalm Death. While "Utopia Banished (1992)" was a return to the band´s grindcore roots, albeit in a more controlled and death metal oriented style, the grindcore elements have been scaled back on "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" in favour of a groove oriented death metal style with the occassional blasting grindcore section.

While earlier releases have always featured an aggressive atmosphere and a strong feeling of indignation, "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" also reeks of bleakness and despair. There´s a sadness here about the state of world, which transcends anger. Napalm Death simply seem to have adopted a more reflective way of expressing themselves, beyond just being aggressive. And that should not be misinterpreted as if this isn´t an aggressive release, because it certainly is both aggressive and brutal. The aggression is just balanced with more bleak atmospheric moments.

The material on the 11 track, 39:12 minutes long album is well written, relatively catchy (given some spins), and very powerful. Highlights include among others "Twist the Knife (Slowly)", "Hung", and "State of Mind", but the occasionally ultra fast closing track "Throwaway" deserves a mention too. There aren´t a single sub par track featured on the album and to my ears it´s a consistently high quality release. "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" is in fact one of Napalm Death´s most varied releases and to my ears also one of their overall most memorable ones. The addition of groove oriented riffs and rhythms to their sound has really spiced things up. The word groove may scare off a few deathgrind heads, but this is not groove metal by any means. The grooves are not simple and they are generally delivered with great technical skill and adventurous riffing, which at times gives it an almost abstract edge.

Not that it wasn´t abundantly clear from listening to "Utopia Banished (1992)", but Danny Herrera is one hell of a skilled drummer and his contributions to this album is one of the great assets of "Fear, Emptiness, Despair". He is not only an incredibly fast playing rhythm machine, but also a very creative mind when it comes to composing drum patterns, and you´ll find some very inventive drumming throughout the album. The rest of the band are high level musicians too, and everything is delivered with the right organic professionalism. Lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway continues his hoarse throaty bark from the predecessor, and while I would still characterize his vocals as growls, they don´t sound much like he did on "Harmony Corruption (1990)" (or his years with Benediction). Personally it took me quite a few years to learn to appreciate his new approach to singing, but I get it now. It´s all about grindcore/hardcore credibility and not being associated too much with death metal. He is simply going for a more "natural" way of delivering growling vocals, which has more to do with raw hardcore shouting than it has to do with guttural death metal growling.

The sound production which was handled by Pete Coleman (and mixed by Colin Richardson), is raw, brutal, bleak, and quite original sounding. The drums feature what I would characterize as a "cardboard" sound, with an odd sounding snare drum tone, but somehow the drums fit the bleak despair of the music well. It´s cold and harsh sounding, just like the music. The lyrics of course follow suit and are definitely not about light topics. As mentioned above Napalm Death seem determined to bring those guilty in injustice, corruption, and power abuse to the attention of the world. "Armageddon X 7" is for example about the fact that there are enough nuclear weapons in the world, to blow up our planet seven times. Now why is that necessary? and isn´t it just a horrible thought? That´s the kind of topics which are dealt with on this album. And always in a clever and sophisticated fashion, which reeks of authentic indignation instead of artsy pretence.

Now I know "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" isn´t always well regarded among fans of the band, mainly as a consequence of the groove influence, but looked upon a bit more objectively, it´s a very original sounding release, both in terms of the band´s own discography but certainly also in a broader metal scene perspective. There´s really nothing like it out there and just for the courage and boldness to release something like that Napalm Death deserves a lot of praise. Add to that high level musicianship, adventurous and creative songwriting, and a suiting dark and heavy sound production, and "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" is a high quality release through and through. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

J-Man Fear, Emptiness, Despair is often regarded as one of the stranger albums in Napalm Death's discography, largely due to its groove-based riffing, dense soundscapes, and experimental song structures. While still keeping a firm foundation in their established deathgrind sound, these UK extreme metal legends updated their style with this effort to keep up with the ever-changing death metal scene - the result is an album that's both rather unique and still mind-numbingly brutal. Fear, Emptiness, Despair is a really difficult album to dive into, and I wouldn't recommend it for the Napalm Death newbie, but it's still a great purchase for fans of the band and forward-thinking extreme metal in general.

Musically, you'll find lots of challenging and dense extreme metal on Fear, Emptiness, Despair. The root sound is a mix of brutal death metal and grindcore, but some groove metal has also snuck into the mix. The riffs have an odd, almost avant-garde, tinge to them, and the end result is a pretty unique death metal album that still never strays away too far from the genre's root sound. Behind all of the dense and impenetrable madness, you'll find hints of dark and twisted melodies that subconsciously manage to make each of the tracks memorable. You'll find lots of killer tunes on Fear, Emptiness, Despair, particularly in the form of “Hung”, “Plague Rages”, “State of Mind” and “More Than Meets the Eye” - to be fair, though, the whole album is so blisteringly brutal and captivating that it can be a challenge to pick out highlights. At just under 40 minutes, this album is a prime example of an 'all killer, no filler' extreme metal release.

The musicianship is absolutely stunning throughout all of Fear, Emptiness, Despair. Mark 'Barney' Greenway's trademark growls are as powerful as ever, Danny Herrera's drumming is absolutely monstrous, and the rest of the band is as tight as ever. The technically demanding compositions have no room for sloppiness, and the sheer precision of the band can make this album a blast to listen to. As muddy and raw as the production is, I happen to think that this sound helps emphasize the dense soundscapes that Napalm Death creates here. An acquired taste no doubt, but it's one that I've definitely acquired.

Fear, Emptiness, Despair has been a tough nut to crack for me, and I remember first listening to the album around two years ago to a rather lukewarm reaction. For some reason or another, it just didn't click with me, and I put the CD back on the shelf without ever really listening to it again. Times have changed, though, and this has since grown to become one of my favorite mid-nineties' death metal releases. The dense and twisted nature of the music can make this a difficult record to appreciate for Napalm Death newbies (this was the first Napalm Death release I'd ever heard), but it's an essential purchase for any fan of the band. This is a great (and somewhat classic) album in my opinion, and as such deserves 4 stars. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys brutal death metal and grindcore!

Kingcrimsonprog Along with 2000′s Enemy Of The Music Business; Napalm Death’s fifth studio album Fear, Emptiness, Despair is a clear contender for best Napalm Death album to date.

Released in 1994, with the first occasion of the band not having a line-up change between records; Fear, Emptiness, Despair represents Napalm Death at the absolute apex of their early career, displaying all the immense talent and musicianship they had been building over the years, creating a genuinely unique record that no other band could have ever released.

The album seamlessly mixes their older insane speeds, (then) newer death metal influences and adds in a touch of the groove metal of the time to create an utterly compelling release that ranges various tempos and styles while still maintaining the classic Napalm Death feel and attitude.

Highlights include the absolutely blistering ‘Hung,’ and the famous ‘Plague Rages,’ as well as ‘Armageddon x7′ and ‘More than Meets the Eye,’ although to be fair the entire album is so consistent and enjoyable nothing is really less than fantastic.

The only flaw that the album really has is that the production style is fairly muddy and dense in that distinctive mid-nineties extreme-metal way, which can make tracks from this album seem less polished and perfect than they really are (something they have no problem with in the live show when all tracks are produced the same.)

Overall; Fear, Emptiness, Despair is one of the band’s finest outings and an absolute must-have release for any Napalm Death fan. It isn’t the kind of album you listen to once and then stick on the shelf never to be seen again, this is an album you will listen to for years after your initial purchase. When they play anything from this live, it is sure to bring a smile to your face!