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Napalm Death: Words from the exit wound

13/01/09 || Daemonomania

I reviewed this album elsewhere a while ago, but my opinions and website allegiance have changed, so why not take another look at Napalm Death’s “Words from the Exit Wound?” Yep, it’s time to kick back in your rocking chair, take out your teeth, and wash down the rest of that Werther’s Original with a jar of corn liquor. We’re going back more than a decade – to the year 1998. When men were men, no one owned a flying car, you had to walk eighty miles in a hailstorm to get to school, and folks still had to remove their pants to defecate.

This was during ND’s death metal period (kind of like Picasso’s blue period, except with less paint and more metal…or like your period, only less red and gooey), which I guess happened on and off for a few years during their career. As grindy as a motherfucker might be, a trip to early ’90’s Florida plus tours with Carcass, Morbid Angel, and Entombed will make him or her more DM for sho’. When you listen to “WFTEW” and “Inside the torn apart”, you’ll see what the NaPalm Springs were going for. Kind of Bolt-Throwerish plodding death spiced up with grindy bits and even a hardcore or industrial moment to make you reflexively touch yourself. The production on these albums is quite clear and neither grimy nor artificial. Take notes oh ye tech death bands of many clicks and clacks.

Enough context. There are certainly some highlights to be discussed on “WWJD”. “The Infiltraitor” rips right into the listener pronto – a whole lotta ass kicked and a very wise choice to start things off. “Next of kin to chaos” is a cool, chugging tune that will certainly stick a riff or two in your brain. And “Thrown down a rope” has a section in it that makes me think of something huge collapsing and destroying a whole lot of shit in the vicinity – quite a winner.

The rest of the tracks have their moments, but a bit of “meh” gets in the gears and makes the Napalm Death hit machine operate at a less-than optimal level. But you know these guys are about as dedicated and as true to their craft as they can be. The lyrics are well-written and incisive, and Barney belts them out in a way that says, “I fuckin’ mean it. Ya fuck.” I can’t wait to see these dudes at MDF – they probably won’t play any songs from this album, but they’re always a friendly and cool gang to see live. Napalm’s metal fashion sense is always top notch to boot.

On a completely unrelated note, words from the film “Exit Wounds” starring Steven Segal and DMX include but are not limited to:

What am I, a shit magnet?

Hey no don’t go, don’t leave, he’s gonna try and put a plunger in my ass.

Say hello to my sumo negro!

I’m Steven Segal, and I’ve become too fat to move.

I’m DMX – bark! Bark! Gimmie some fucking drugs biatch!

So while this album is not Barney and Co.’s greatest, it certainly is not their worst. There’s some filler, but a couple great songs carry it. None of “WFTEW is painful to listen to (besides the live bonus tracks unless you’re a serious fan), so I’ll give it the respectable score of 6.8 harmonies corrupted out of 10.

Your trip to the past is over – back to being androgynous, flying in your Dolorean, teleporting to class, and shitting in your slacks.

Information
Released: 1998
Label: Earache
Website: www.napalmdeath.org
Band
Mark “Barney” Greenway: vocals
Lenzig: vocals
Danny Herrera: drums
Jesse Pintado: guitars
Mitch Harris: guitars
Shane Embury: bass

Tracklist
01. The Infiltraitor
02. Repression Out of Uniform
03. Next of Kin to Chaos
04. Trio-Degradable / Affixed by Disconcern
05. Cleanse Impure
06. Devouring Depraved
07. Ulterior Exterior
08. None the Wiser?
09. Clutching at Barbs
10. Incendiary Incoming
11. Thrown Down a Rope
12. Sceptic in Perspective
13. Hung (live)
14. Greed Killing (live)
15. Suffer the Children (live)

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