NAPALM DEATH - Time Waits For No Slave
February 20, 2009, 15 years ago
(Century Media)
I’ll go out on a limb and say it (and I’m not the first to make this proclamation): Time Waits For No Slave is Napalm Death’s best record. Moreover, the fact that Napalm Death is releasing an album this impressive in 2009 is an incredible feat given that the band is now two decades into its career; as it stands, Napalm Death is now a more focused institution than ever before. Beginning with ‘01’s Enemy Of The Music Business, Napalm Death has been in career resurgence mode but the group’s two previous efforts - The Code Is Red… Long Live The Code and Smear Campaign - have especially solidified Napalm’s upward trajectory, much to its fanbase’s delight (and relief). But not even the mighty Smear Campaign could prepare us for Time Waits For No Slave, an effort that is focused (there’s that word again), pissed off, inspired and, most importantly, written superbly, these tracks flowing and grinding with some of the best aggressive records of this decade. The key to Napalm’s renaissance has been twofold: first, the group found inspiration in latter-day grind god Nasum (basically second generation Napalm Death in the grindcore alpha male department) but then also re-embraced its ‘80s hardcore roots, culminating in a vigorous and vital sound that is producing the best results of Napalm Death’s storied legacy.
