NAPALM DEATH — Fear, Emptiness, Despair (review)

NAPALM DEATH — Fear, Emptiness, Despair album cover Album · 1994 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
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!
Share this review

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us