Napalm Death | Comment

They grunt and shriek on all corners of the world. They grow like mushrooms, and they all want to make the hardest and wildest music. With so many bands one loses track of things, and most of them sound the same anyway. I ask myself why is Death Metal so in? They all want to sound brutal including texts about death and the devil, massacre and intestines, blood and zombies. Very regrettable when one can't think of anything better, for we live in a time where there is enough reason to shout without inventing horror stories.

A lot of time is spent practising in the studios. Every sound must sit precisely on the right place. One is amazed at the technical masterpieces which the bands produce. But what about creativity and individuality? No interest? What about texts about life and not about death? No ideas? How shall the boys know anything about life when right after they are weaned they disappear in the studios and don't come out until their first album is released?

Who would like to express ideas and values in his music? Is it easier to write a horror story than a reasonable text with meaninful contents? The terrible texts are presented so badly that they are incomprehensible. If you could understand every syllable of this nonsense nobody would listen to it.

Nowadays, any bands of this genre make music for the sake of it. This is more or less allright. Now and again I've nothing against a killer text, sometimes one can even laugh about it. Originally this blunt music was not only there for us to enjoy but also to differentiate between pop and all the other commercial rubbish. There were bands which had something to express, they shouted out in rage about social injustice. It made them sick how industrial nations exploited the third world. They were active against cruelty to animals. They pointed out to us again and again about corruption and nepotism. Yes, they really let off steam. And the greater the hate and the desperation about the deplorable state of affairs, the more powerful and better was their music.

It was not important to produce songs which were technically perfect. The music should jolt the listener and arouse him to see what is happening around him. It appears these days that the people don't care and simply want to party. When I hear this word - to party - what the hell is there to party all the time? Has everybody turned into idiots all of a sudden? Years ago people used to meet not to party but to booze and to smoke pot. Of course birthday parties took place but this was the only time the word "party" was used.

I wish that people wouldn't think so much about themselves. The texts of most of the bands are a load of nonsense and don't exactly contribute to educate the listener. This is not necessarily a must but it would be better if these bands had a bit more style. The audience of this genre are getting younger and younger. There were so many young people at the "Summer Blast Festival" in Trier (see concert report) that it would have been almost worth it to put up a merry-go-round. I was born in 1967 and two young boys looked at me as if to say "Hey Dad, what are you doing here?". It is ok that young people like this music but the bands should be more careful what they write in their texts. It would be nice that, while listening to the music, a moral message could be heard.

Napalm Death are one of the few bands which give thought to the writing of their texts. They deal with up-to-date political subjects that concern all of us. And they will always find something to write about because there will always be enough problems in the world to discuss.

A lot of praise for Napalm Death!