Century Media Records have renewed their deal with British grindcore legends NAPALM DEATH, who wrapped up the recordings for their yet-untitled 14th studio album earlier this year at Parlour Studio in Kettering, UK with longtime producer Russ Russell.

Jens Prüter, Head of A&R; / Century Media Records Europe states: “Napalm Death is not only one of the most important and influential extreme metal bands, they are also a band that always raises their voice against social ills – and even against record companies (remember Enemy Of Music Business). Therefore I’m even more glad about Napalm Death re-signing to Century Media for more great albums of intelligent and meaningful noise. And have you ever seen a weak Napalm Death show? I haven’t, and I have seen them MANY times and will never get tired to see them again and again. Thanks to Mitch, Danny, Shane and Barney for their resilience and resistance – and a special thanks to Marc from MAD for fighting on their side.”

Napalm Death vocalist Mark 'Barney' Greenway comments: "We're very happy to be re-signing to Century Media. In fact, I think it's the first time we've actually re-signed on a longer term deal with anybody since the days when we didn't strictly know that we could be digging ourselves a big hole with labels... It's important for Napalm to stay with an independent and Century proved to us with their overall enthusiasm and attention that this is where we needed to be. There's a perfect balance of getting the band out there in people's faces whilst still understanding the point that not everything is acceptable or 'ethical' promotion. It's more like working with friends who actually care, and who could argue with that?"

In a recent exclusive interview with BraveWords.com scribe Aaron Small, Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury revealed that although his band’s new album was originally scheduled for release this October, it’s since been pushed back to February 2012.

“The October release isn’t going to happen,” says Shane. “We’ve finished the album. We’re still negotiating with the record label, Century Media, which is pretty much done, but I think it’s safe to say that the album will probably come out in February of next year unfortunately. It’s a bit of a shame, unless something miraculous turns around, but pretty much everything is good to go. It’s just a case of waiting for the label to decide how they want to push it and in what particular way, because obviously the label does their campaign and promotion. We’re getting to that period of the year now, time just goes so fast. We’re already in the middle of August and before you know it, it’s going to be the end of the year, so February might be a better time slot for it.”

When asked how the new Napalm Death album compares to the 13 that came before it, Shane replied, “It’s very tricky for me to explain it all because I constantly write songs. Even when we finish an album, I have ideas left over, so it’s always a continuous thing from my part. There’s one song on the new album that I started writing a couple of the riffs like fucking 20 years ago; I’ve only just finished the song, it’s weird. It’s got everything you would like from Napalm. There’s crazy chord changes, some really catchy heavy mid-paced stuff, Barney (Greenway, vocalist) is trying some different stuff vocally. Mitch (Harris, guitarist) is actually singing the verses on a couple of the songs and Barney’s backing up on the choruses, so that’s going to be a little bit different. Mitch has this very old school Bill Crooks - CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER kind of voice, so you hear his tone coming in for a little bit. I think the album’s pretty varied. Sometimes you’re so close to it, it’s hard to define to anyone else. If you like the band, then you won’t be disappointed.”

Fans can expect “16 tracks on the main album. We actually recorded 21 songs – a couple which we’re going to save for a split with MELVINS.” As far as the album title goes, Shane admits, “We’ve got a title but I’ve been told that I can’t tell anybody. We have song titles like ‘Quarantine’, ‘Think Tank Trials’, ‘Analysis Paralysis’ – quite abstract titles as per usual with Mr. Greenway. It’s a pretty manic record. I tried to push the noise element a little bit, there’s stop-start time structures. Mitch has pushed the CELTIC FROST vibe. It carries on from the last record (2009’s Time Waits For No Slave).”

Although the new album won’t appear until next year, a single is on the horizon. “We’ve been talking about doing an exclusive free download of a track, just to get a taste of what’s going on. It would be nice to put something out this year, get a little video going, perhaps a YouTube special. Hopefully we can get that together in the next month or so.”

Catch Napalm Death on tour:

September

23 – Krasnoyarsk, Russia - Havana Club
24 – Tomsk, Russia - Fakel
25 – Novosibirsk, Russia - Rock Coty
27 – Ekaterinburg, Russia - Nirvana
28 – Moscow, Russia - Tochka
29 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Aurora

October

3 - Kingston, ON - Time To Laugh
4 - Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
5 - Windsor, ON - Blind Dog
6 - London , ON - Music Hall
7 - Toronto , ON - WreckRoom
8 - Sudbury, ON - Jubilee Hall
9 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks
10 - Joinquiere, QC - Place Nikitoutagan
11 - Moncton, NB - The Manhattan
12 - Halifax, NS - The Seahorse
13 - Rimouski, QC - Cactus
14 - Trois RIvieres, QC - Trois Rivieres Metal Fest - Batissse Industrielle
16 - Thunder Bay, ON- Crocks
17 - Winnipeg, MB - The Zoo
18 - Brandon, MB - The North Hill Inn
19 - Regina, SK - The Exchange
20 - Medicine Hat, AB - Olys Pub
21 - Calgary, AB - The Distillery
22 - Edmonton, AB - The Pawnshop
23 - Prince George, BC - The Generator
25 - Victoria, BC - Club 919
26 - Kelowna, BC - Rutland Centennial Hall
27 - Vancouver, BC - The Rickshaw

Napalm Death are also confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2012, which is set to take place August 2nd - 4th in Wacken, Germany.

Confirmed acts for Wacken 2012 now include: AMON AMARTH, CRADLE OF FILTH, DARK FUNERAL, DIMMU BORGIR (with orchestra), ENDSTILLE, FORBIDDEN, GAMMA RAY, HAMMERFALL, IN EXTREMO, MINISTRY, MOONSPELL (with orchestra), NAPALM DEATH, PARADISE LOST, AXEL RUDI PELL, HENRY ROLLINS (spoken work engagement), SCORPIONS, SICK OF IT ALL, SIX FEET UNDER, U.D.O. (Birthday Party), WATAIN, WINTERFYLLETH.

Tickets for Wacken 2012 are exclusively available at Metaltix.com. Organizers have announved that over 50% of tickets have been sold for next year's event.

For more info visit Wacken.com.