UMUR "Time Waits for No Slave" is the 14th full-length studio album by UK death metal/grindcore act Napalm Death. The album was released through Century Media Records in January 2009. It´s the successor to "Smear Campaign" from 2006. 3 years were at this point in the band´s career the longest time between album releases since they released their debut full-length studio album "Scum" in 1987...

...but I assure you that it has nothing to do with Napalm Death slowing down or showing signs of fatigue, because "Time Waits for No Slave" continues the fiercely aggressive, raw, and energetic death metal/grindcore style of the previous post-2000 releases by the band. Just as the case has been on the last couple of releases Russ Russell was brought in to produce "Time Waits for No Slave", and again he has created a massive, brutal, heavy, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. It´s maybe slightly too polished, and a little more filth and grit could have provided the album with more authentic rawness, but that´s details and not an issue.

"Time Waits for No Slave" features 14 tracks and a total playing time of 50:20 but there exists both a limited edition version and a special Japanese version, which features 2 and 3 bonus tracks respectively. The album was promoted with videos for the tracks "Time Waits for No Slave" and "On The Brink Of Extinction". Stylistically the listener is treated to aggressive, and both fast-paced and mid-paced heavy grindcore/death metal. The vocals are predominantly raw shouting semi-growling but guitarist Mitch Harris also performs the occasional higher pitched screaming vocal part. As always with Napalm Death the listener is challenged in terms of song structures, tempo changes, unconventional riffs and rhythms, but compared to the material on "Smear Campaign", the material on "Time Waits for No Slave" is actually a bit more conventional (which is of course always relative when dealing with Napalm Death).

After finishing the album it´s hard not to think that´s it´s another high quality release from Napalm Death in a now long line of high quality releases from the band, but if I have to make a slight critique it would be that "Time Waits for No Slave" isn´t a standout album in the band´s discography. It´s generally not an album where the band challenges themselves or their listeners much with new stylistic elements or experimental ideas. When it comes to Napalm Death less will of course do, and even a standard quality release from Napalm Death is still better than most of the best albums produced by other similar artists. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog Napalm Death have been playing incredibly loud and angry music since 1981, evolving from a essentially very noisy hardcore punk band, to influencing a thousand grindcore acts with their first few albums, then evolving into essentially a death metal band and later going off on an experimental tangent for a few albums until finally hitting their stride again and settling into a sound that has served them well for an entire decade. Over their career they have been true pioneers and released some incredibly memorable and influential songs and albums.

2009′s Time Waits For No Slave, the band’s thirteenth studio album overall, is the fifth album to feature their new modern style which they initially introduced with 2000′s Enemy Of The Music Business (arguably the band’s best ever album.) All the albums which followed have had a similar sound as a rule; The mixture of blasting, hardcore influences, death metal influences, groove metal influences and a modern twist, along with the one or two obligatory slow tracks are all still present on Time Waits For No Slave which delivers more quality metal as you have came to expect from Napalm Death.

This isn’t an album of strong highlights and then weaker tracks, the whole album is pretty much consistent in every way from beginning to end, stylistically as well in quality. The only exceptions really being the slow songs, as on their previous two records, although which is something that harks back to their debut album Scum.

In truth, for some listeners the formula may be wearing a little thin now, after five albums of increasing perfection but therefor diminishing character, another 14-16 tracks of similar material isn’t going to make your jaw drop and proclaim this the bet release ever.

This is the only flaw with the album however, and if you haven’t heard all of the band’s five most recent albums then it won’t even be a flaw at all. This is top notch, utterly professional, heavy and fast extreme-metal from one of the entire metal genre’s finest bands.

Napalm Death fans should all consider picking up a copy of Time Waits For No Slave; unless of course you thought that Smear Campaign was too similar to The Code’ and so on. Otherwise this is a fine and virtually perfect set of Napalm Death songs and will give you more of what you want.