It goes without saying that Napalm Death are one of the most influential bands in metal (and punk) history. I mean, these guys were already underground legends by the time they released 'Scum' (1987) and when they released the colossal 'Smear Campaign' (2006) they had become untouchable.

Their latest album is comparable to their 2006 effort in the sense that it is fast and aggressive in the vein of their first two albums, but with a modern metal production and more mature songwriting. Hell, the first four songs here could have easily been on 'Smear Campaign' without any trouble. If someone enjoyed the aforementioned album, he could easily enjoy these songs as well. But after 'On the Brink of Extinction' the album takes a U-turn in terms of the feeling of the songs, and goes into darker territory. The atmosphere in the songs after comes in through the added effects on the vocals and the odd riffs most of the time, but to be honest I can't really place my finger on it. Atmosphere can't really be described in words, but the title track (and the song after that) is a perfect example of this. The dark feeling is a firm nod to 'Harmony Corruption' (1990) but other than that, the rest of the songs aren't much different. The song structures are very free flowing and spontaneous, but at the same time they feel strong and focused too. The first two songs, 'Diktat' and 'Strongarm' display the album's mature yet chaotic songs in the best way.

The individual performances on this album are top notch, which has been mentioned by the other reviewers also. Every member of the band is in top form, and this is the main reason why the album feels so tight. The legendary Barney Greenway also delivers one of his best vocal performances, the best since 'Harmony Corruption' in my opinion. His growls sound mechanical at times but not forced at all and he just oozes charisma. His high pitched screams have the power to make the songs become 10% better for a short period of time. The riffs here are brilliant, more catchy than in 'Smear Campaign' and also show good variety, from the thrashy riffs in 'Passive Tense' and 'On the Brink of Extinction' to the odd riffs in 'Life and Limb' and 'Work to Rule'.

Overall, I think this is a great album. Napalm Death have finally managed to strike a balance between the aggressiveness of their grindcore days with the focus of 'Harmony Corruption'. 2009 has only just begun but I feel that this might as well be the album of the year.

Rating: 9.3 (out of 10)

Reviewed by MegaHassan
02/09/2009 00:21

It's quite difficult to believe that this band has been around since 1982. They started as a punk rock band, which then became extreme grindcore and now are currently playing grindcore/death metal. This newer sound fits the band better. They've also gone through several lineup changes since their origin. On this new release, they feature Mark "Barney" Greenway on vocals, Mitch Harris on guitars/vocals, Shane Embury on bass/vocals and Danny Herrera on drums.

The time signatures on the music are all over the place. Some tracks start out with a groove style on guitars. Then, there are riffs that are heavily tremolo picked. In addition, a harmonic riff is also exhibited. Also, on some tracks there are a few cliche type of rhythms. However, some guitar riffs are very unique and catchy. There is only one guitar solo on this entire album. They really should've kept it out because Mitch does a better job on rhythm only. He did the writing on the bulk of the compositions. Shane wrote some of songs too though. There are 14 tracks clocking in at almost 51 minutes in length.

For the overall sound, each instrument/vocals you can hear very clearly. Everything was mixed well. The guitar is thick, the drums blasting, the vocal outputs are mostly hoarse though some are screams and also some very little clean voice. The playing here shows that this band still has talent. They have not slacked off at all. They still know how to create intense/extreme music. Their age haven't gotten in the way of that whatsoever. They're still putting out quality albums.

The lyrics feature topics such as political unrest, hate, aggression, and social issues. "Barney" wrote most of the songs. Though Shane wrote a couple and Mitch on one track. The lyrical content is rather interesting. They're not about death, dying, gore or anything else that's mindless. These words are actually intelligent. There is much admiration that I have for the songs. There are no covers on this album at all. All of the tracks are brand new.

In conclusion, 'Time Waits for no Slave' is one hell of a solid release. Not every track was entirely innovative though. As I mentioned previously, there were some guitar riffs that were a bit cliche. But overall, Napalm Death composed some new awesome songs. 'Harmony Corruption' (1990) remains to be my favorite release of theirs however. If you're into grindcore/death metal, then do yourself a favor and pick this release up!

Rating: 8 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
09/02/2009 21:35