The Code Is Red…Long Live Napalm Death

September 23, 2007 by Scott

At the beginning of Death Metal week it was mentioned that I should do a post on Napalm Death. Taken into consideration that I never really got into the band even though I bought two of their CD’s I still didn’t feel that I knew enough about the band and their music in order to write a post about them but I still wanted to do one. So after some thought I figured I’d throw an offer out there to the person that made the suggestion. Izzy wrote the post below for me and all the credit to this great piece goes to him, to include the title. So without further adieu…

—”The Code Is Red…Long Live Napalm Death

All of the death metal bands Scott has featured all rule in their own right. But one thing is an undeniable truth- none of them would exist if not for the kings of death metal- Napalm Death. Now I know there are purists out there who would be quick to say, “No, Napalm Death is not death metal, they are grindcore. “ To that I say “how does one really differentiate the two?” Also a listen to some of their later works displays a very distinct evolution to the death metal sound.

So where did Napalm Death begin? The band started in the early 80’s in England. They were fans of punk who wanted to take things even further in terms of extreme music. But they also wanted to deliver a message. Here is the first major difference between Napalm Death and most other death metal bands. Instead of lyrics about Satan, violence, and zombies, these guys were using their music to deliver social commentary (sort of like a heavy metal U2). Their first album, Scum featured over 2 dozen tracks, some as short as 4 seconds. It is brutal, raw, poorly produced, and downright ugly sounding. It is incredible and to Napalm Death fans, it is a classic, beautiful piece of work.

The band went through what seems like a million lineup changes, until it became what it is today. Former members of Napalm Death went on to form Carcass and Cathedral. But the heart of the band and its strongest lineup is the current group- Barney Greenway (vocals), Shane Embry (bass), Mitch Harris (guitars) and Danny Herrera (super incredible drum god). After 20 years, they still continue to do what they do best. And they are the best. No ballads, no bullshit. So this is what I say to you. For those looking at Napalm Death for the first time, I would recommend the following albums- Order of the Leech (probably the coolest title ever in metal) and The Code is Red…Long Live the Code (both similar in sound and style to the first Fear Factory album). If you are a Napalm Death fan already, then you already have everything and you (like I) know every word of every insane song. Here, I’ll give an example of some of the lyrics.