Napalm Death promise 'inventive' sound

Napalm Death frontman Barney Greenway says upcoming album Apex Predator – Easy Meat embraces a mix of styles.

Earlier this year he revealed the follow-up to 2012’s Utilitatrian would be a “sonic assault.” And he says the band’s sound continues to evolve as they’ve drawn on two distinctive influences.

He tells Metal Wani: “It’s not reinventing the wheel but it’s a couple of steps forward. There’s two quite distinctive styles.

“You’ve got the traditional, fast, chaotic and almost off-the-rails Napalm approach. And then you’ve got a queasy, ambient and quite depressive edge. We’ve been doing the two in tandem for many albums but as time goes on we’re tending to mix the styles in more inventive ways.”

Apex Predator – Easy Meat, their 16th album, launches on January 26 via Century Media Records. And Greenway says their spontaneity in the studio keeps the material fresh and allows them to stay motivated.

He continues: “It’s in the chemistry of the band. We feed off each other – it just sort of works. There are moments during an album’s process in the rehearsal time where we say to ourselves, ‘Is this stuff good enough? Are people going to like it?’ But when you get into the studio it tends to click into place and the songs take on a mind of their own.

“We’re a very spontaneous band and we’re not afraid to try different bits and pieces.”

Guitarist Mitch Harris is on indefinite hiatus from the band to deal with a family illness. He’ll be replaced on their upcoming live commitments by stand-in musicians.

Apex Predator – Easy Meat tracklist

Apex Predator – Easy Meat 2. Smash A Single Digit 3. Metaphorically Screw You 4. How The Years Condemn 5. Stubborn Stains 6. Timeless Flogging 7. Dear Slum Landlord… 8. Cesspits 9. Bloodless Coup 10. Beyond The Pale 11. Stunt Your Growth 12. Hierarchies 13. One-Eyed 14. Adversarial/Copulating Snakes

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