Weltschmerz

Sink fast, let go

Fatalist

Puritanical Punishment Beating

When all is said and done

Freedom is the Wage of Sin

In Deference

Short-lived

Identity Crisis

Shattered Existence

Eyes right out

Warped beyond Logic

Rabid Wolves (for Christ)

Deaf and Dumbstuck (Intelligent Design)

Persona non grata

Smear Campaign

Mark "Barney" Greenway - vocals
Shane Embury - bass
Mitch Harris – guitar/vocals
Danny Herrera - drums

guest vocals:

Anneke Van Giersbergen (The Gathering)

review by Gary Saul  ___   

The veritable fathers of Grindcore return to us once more with their latest release "Smear Campaign". This being the band's thirteenth studio album and second from their current home with Century Media, they seem to have decided to spice things up a bit by doing a few things slightly different. With their almost experimental intro track "Weltshmerz" the band appear to try and set a moody atmosphere with a creeping song  complete with a very prominent keyboard amid the mild tempoed guitars and drums.

Fear not though! One may get the idea possibly that they have suddenly went symphonic metal which is hardly the case, because as the tension of this track builds,it abruptly leads into the next where it builds even further all the way into a beat blast accompanied with Mitch Harris's high pitched backing vocals and barneys classic roar exploding into your ears. It sounds just like the old Napalm Death we all know and love! One track of note is song 7 " In Deference" which features guest vocals from The Gathering's  Anneke Van Giersbergen. Although I do believe that "guest vocals" really are the wrong choice of phrase since she barely pops in for less than 10 seconds. Another song which I was anxious to here was the final song on this album, the title track and final song for this album, where Barney abandons his typical roar for a more clean approach. However, after listening to this number, I Immediately realized that his attempt at a more conventional style of singing was less than I had imagined. His vocal style at the beginning of this of course still sounds like his normal singing only a little more tuneful. Hopefully that statement made at least a little sense! If it didn't then I'm sure it will after you hear the song for yourself. 

The production on this album is perfect. Not too overdone or the opposite extreme. I've noticed that as some other bands go along they tend to do just that and go overkill with the production sound. All in all I must say that this is another great release from ND just as I had expected. If you did have any doubts about the album   I am most confident in saying that they will be put to rest after hearing this CD.

rating: 8/10

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