Napalm Death - Smear Campaign

Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death are in fine form on their latest release.

After nearly a quarter century of blazing trails in extreme music Napalm Death is as relevant as ever. Their last few albums have seen a creative rebirth of the band, and that continues on Smear Campaign.

Napalm Death invented grindcore, and of course that is still their bread and butter. But they are also able to dial back the tempo and get into a crushing groove. It's a good balance of lightning fast blast beats and breakneck riffs along with more ominous death metal style playing.

Barney Greenway's vocals are more ferocious than ever, and this is a band that has not mellowed with age. They're still railing against war, religion and other social issues. Anneke Van Giersbergen from the Gathering adds some guest vocals that add a little variety to a couple of the songs without removing any of their inherent brutality.

Napalm Death are as extreme, technical and brutal as they've ever been, and don't show any signs of slowing down any time soon.