Napalm Death – Resentment is Always Seismic – A Final Throw Of Throes
Release Date: 11th February 2022
Label: Century Media Records
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Genre: Extreme Metal
FFO: Pig Destroyer, Cattle Decapitation, Discharge.
Review By: Rick Farley
U.K. extreme metal legends, Napalm Death probably don’t need much of an intro, but for those of you unfamiliar here goes. Considered to be the godfathers of Grindcore, Napalm Death has been churning out socio-political charged Crust Punk infused Death Metal since the early eighties. Numerous early line-up changes further broadened their sound to also include Post Punk, Hardcore and Thrash Metal. Now better categorized as simply Extreme Metal, Napalm Death has influenced countless bands and musicians for the better part of thirty-five years. Unafraid to experiment with their sound, the band has had some phenomenal highs as well as a few lows. Having already released the excellent Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism in 2020, Napalm Death returns with a new mini-album Resentment is Always Seismic – a final throw of Throes that’s basically an extension of the previous album using leftover songs from the recording sessions.
The EP kicks off with the furiously rampaging Narcissus. A slow heavily distorted bass line gives way to thrashy guitars that follow along up ticking the speed to a full on blasting punky rage. Lead vocalist Barney sounds as angry as ever, manically barking his way through. Fast, punishing heavy chugging brings the song to a euphoric headbanging end. Napalm Death has a history of starting their albums this way, and Narcissus is a banger. Swans inspired song Resentment Always Simmers has a slower intoxicating rhythmic dark groove that breaks into a catchy heavier guitar driven version of the main riff. Barney’s verse delivery has an older Neil Fallon style feel to it that takes this song to earworm status. Track three By Proxy is a little over two minutes of thrash/punk riffs going at breakneck speed. Fairly standard stuff for Napalm Death. Slab! Cover song People Pie takes the band to a funky, catchy bass rhythm with raspy baritone vocals and quirky guitar noises. Even though it’s a cover song and originally released in 1988, it reminds me of Faith No more with a bit of Primus vibes. I suppose that at least helps in explaining the overall sound. They do get credit for trying something different, but I wasn’t fond of this cover song. Man Bites Dogged is a straight to the point old school sounding Thrash song with an ominous and atmospheric dark outro. Again, standard fare, enjoyable for the most part, but doesn’t really go anywhere. Slaver Through a Repeat Performance, unfortunately feels like album filler. It has some cool moments, but it’s mostly uninteresting. The last two songs, one being a Bad Brains cover Don’t Need It and the other being a remix Resentment is Always Seismic (Dark Sky Burial Dirge) are both songs that don’t do a lot for me personally. But hey, after all this is just an EP, and they are purposely experimenting with their sound, so I shouldn’t complain too much.
In the end, Resentment is Always Seismic – a final throw of Throes is a fun listen that probably doesn’t have a ton of replay value and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. A couple kick ass songs, a couple decent songs and a few duds. Honestly, I think this suffers a bit more because the previous album was so damn good and wasn’t released that long ago. A lot of EPs can be hard to review because most of the time you’re just getting leftovers, however this is still Napalm Death and that alone at least warrants a few listens. 
(3 / 5)
