NAPALM DEATH — Enemy of the Music Business (review)

NAPALM DEATH — Enemy of the Music Business album cover

Album · 2000 · Death Metal

4.5/5 · 2020-07-20
UMUR

"Enemy of the Music Business" is the 9th full-length studio album by UK death metal/grindcore act Napalm Death. The album was released through Spitfire Records in September 2000. The title of the album refers to the band´s at the time lack of enthusiasm about the music business at large and especially their acrimonious split with Earache Records. Although the mid- to late 90s weren´t easy years for Napalm Death, in terms of critical praise from fans and critics, they soldiered on and released albums on a regular basis and toured relentlessly. Something must have happened between "Words from the Exit Wound (1998)" and "Enemy of the Music Business" though, because there´s been quite a big stylistic change between the two albums.

Already on "Fear, Emptiness, Despair (1994)", Napalm Death began to incorporate groove metal riffs and rhythms to their music. Something which was further developed upon and incorporated on "Diatribes (1996)" and on "Inside the Torn Apart (1997)". On those albums the band´s trademark blast beats were also very few, but "Words from the Exit Wound (1998)" proved a sort of transition album, as it again featured some blast beats and hardcore punk/grindcore influences and less groove oriented riffs and rhythms (they are still a dominant element on the album though). The transition is complete on "Enemy of the Music Business", which doesn´t feature a single groove oriented riff or rhythm, and again features dominant use of blast beats, hardcore punk/grindcore influences and just generally much more bite and conviction, than the last couple of releases. This is a band ending a period of fatigue and failed experimentation and returning to what they do best. Play raw grindcore with death metal elements and social/political lyrics.

Napalm Death are positively on fire throughout "Enemy of the Music Business". There´s an urgency here to prove themselves, which wasn´t present on most on the above mentioned releases. Mark "Barney" Greenway´s raw barking vocals sound pissed off and powerful and the rest of the band sound inspired and furious too. This is not simple and aggressive grindcore/death metal though, and while the band certainly deliver their music with the right amount of aggression, the 14 tracks on the the 48:35 minutes long album are composed in a very intelligent and intriguing manner.

Napalm Death have generally always stayed clear of regular vers/chorus structures and continue to do so on "Enemy of the Music Business", and even in the most simple tracks, where there are some repetition, the band almost always throw in a curve ball to keep the listener on his/her toes. They successfully challenge conventions and strike the balance between raw recognisable aggression and demanding compositions well. The best example of that is probably "Next on the List", but there are other examples of intelligent and challenging song structures featured on the album. "Necessary Evil" is an example of one of the more simple and memorable tracks on the album.

The sound production is handled by Simon Efemey & Russ Russel, and they´ve created a powerful, raw, and detailed sound, which suits the music perfectly. The more polished Colin Richardson productions of the last couple of releases are now only a distant memory. To my ears "Enemy of the Music Business" is the album which saved Napalm Death´s career and got them back on track again, but it´s not only a great album, because it follows a string of not so interesting releases, it´s also a high quality album in it´s own right and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.