Review of the Album "Enemy of the Music Business" by British Death Metal Band Napalm Death
Here is An Elite Album by a Great Band Napalm Death
Enemy of the Music Business is the very good death metal album by the band Napalm Death and it is one of the very best albums of the year 2000. Why is this album so good? The first obvious reason is the first punk influenced fast song called "Taste the Poison." The album is definitely a few notches above Utopia Banished even though that album has three of the finest songs ever written by this band.
I have never been so eager to listen to any Napalm Death song except perhaps this one and maybe The World Keeps Turning. The bass guitar work on Taste the Poison is superb as well.
What is the Main Message of this First Awesome Song Called "Taste the Poison?"
This song ends very quickly before most fans would have the time to absorb and adjust to its heavy sound with excellent bass guitar work by Shane Embury. The message of the song is that abstinence is the best policy and anyone that tries to go after someone in a more than disagreeable fashion because of their differing political views will ultimately pay the price for their mistakes. The song could be thought of as trying to address the political disharmony in various countries of the world.
This Album Enemy of the Music Business Brings Attention to the Flaws of World Politics
The second reason why this album is one of the best of the year 2000 and especially beyond is because the album brings attention to the dysfunction in the US Congress without actually mentioning about it. The album also brings attention to the flaws of the conservative ideology. The song Constitutional Hell is a song that addresses what typically happens in the political arena as decisions are made and there is usually a kind of power struggle as one political party tries to prove that they can outsmart and outwork the other. The song tries to point out that there is a constitutional crisis when politicians yell and etiquette tries to take the place of integrity.
The next song called "Vermin" is about people that are in this world to pillage, plunder, and devour the world’s resources for their own personal gain. These kinds of people can be referred to as rats and they bring no benefit to mankind.
The Vocal Contrast and Philosophical Lyrical Approach Makes This Album an Elite One
There is also an interesting contrast in the vocals in this album and that is a higher sort of screaming voice as the words abstinence and intolerance are uttered in the first song. I can tell that the band also takes a technical yet philosophical approach to their lyrics when they suggest that it makes no sense for there to be things that are worse than intolerance.
The Song Called "Taste the Poison"
The Rest of This Napalm Death Studio Album is Worth Listening to as Well!
The riffing in this album is also in place and this album was the start of a real upward trend for these British and American guys. The riffing in the song "Volume of Neglect" is more modern for a grindcore song and it briefly addresses that when some people try to achieve happiness it seems to elude them and they feel like life neglects them. The song "Thanks for Nothing" is a song about the fact that sometimes when we trust someone we get duped as they take advantage of us and we basically tell them thanks for being no use to me. "The Cure for the Common Complaint" is a song that criticizes the super wealthy people of the world as many of them care not for the less fortunate around the world that suffer.
The song "Necessary Evil" features one of the most mid-tempo riffs that this band ever wrote. Sometimes in life we have to bargain to get our way when it comes to business decisions or any other kind of choice. Is bargaining a necessary evil? The song called C.S. (Conservative ****head) part 2 is a song that totally speaks out against the right wing conservative agenda as the person believing these views is actually espousing views that are the opposite of what Jesus Christ preached in his lifetime. The conservative actually has a knee jerk reaction to events that occur in the country. The last song called "Fracture in the Equation" is about the fact that humans sometimes take the wrong path in life as sorrow and pain occurs. They sometimes blame themselves for what results.
"Necessary Evil"
Is "Enemy of the Music Business" the finest album in the career of Napalm Death?
Overall, Enemy of the Music Business is a very solid death metal album and should be ranked as one of the best albums ever in the career of Barney Greenway and the rest of this talented British band. Even the drumming on the song Next on the List is good as well. Some of you may ask whether Enemy of the Music Business is the finest in the long career of Napalm Death. Such an assertion is tough even for me to make because since Mark Barney Greenway's entry into the band in 1990 or so, Napalm Death has been very solid as a band ever since.
© 2017 Ara Vahanian
