NAPALM DEATH — Fear, Emptiness, Despair (review)

NAPALM DEATH — Fear, Emptiness, Despair album cover Album · 1994 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Kingcrimsonprog
Along with 2000′s Enemy Of The Music Business; Napalm Death’s fifth studio album Fear, Emptiness, Despair is a clear contender for best Napalm Death album to date.

Released in 1994, with the first occasion of the band not having a line-up change between records; Fear, Emptiness, Despair represents Napalm Death at the absolute apex of their early career, displaying all the immense talent and musicianship they had been building over the years, creating a genuinely unique record that no other band could have ever released.

The album seamlessly mixes their older insane speeds, (then) newer death metal influences and adds in a touch of the groove metal of the time to create an utterly compelling release that ranges various tempos and styles while still maintaining the classic Napalm Death feel and attitude.

Highlights include the absolutely blistering ‘Hung,’ and the famous ‘Plague Rages,’ as well as ‘Armageddon x7′ and ‘More than Meets the Eye,’ although to be fair the entire album is so consistent and enjoyable nothing is really less than fantastic.

The only flaw that the album really has is that the production style is fairly muddy and dense in that distinctive mid-nineties extreme-metal way, which can make tracks from this album seem less polished and perfect than they really are (something they have no problem with in the live show when all tracks are produced the same.)

Overall; Fear, Emptiness, Despair is one of the band’s finest outings and an absolute must-have release for any Napalm Death fan. It isn’t the kind of album you listen to once and then stick on the shelf never to be seen again, this is an album you will listen to for years after your initial purchase. When they play anything from this live, it is sure to bring a smile to your face!
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