Utopia Banished [LP]

Utopia Banished has been what I've thought of for years as my favorite Napalm Death album. They've put out one powerful album after another, but this one has always sounded to me to have just a little bit extra of everything; fire, intensity, brutality, and even catchiness. It represented a shift back towards a more raw grindcore sound, but not a total one. The previous album, Harmony Corruption, had ten standard-length death metal songs, a marked difference from their earlier output. Utopia Banished boasts fifteen tracks, eleven of which are under three minutes long. The style is influenced more by hardcore than Harmony Corruption's was, with most of the songs having more of a swinging energy to them. Trying to mention individual highlights is somewhat pointless because each song is formidable and memorable. Amazing riffs, thundering rhythm section, and one of Barney's outstanding performances make Utopia Banished an absolute must-have for a fan of the band, and a good place to start for anyone interested in checking them out for the first time.This limited edition version is an almost shockingly good value. It comes with Napalm Death The DVD, which is a full concert from '89 and footage of the songs Scum and You Suffer from a BBC TV metal show. It also has the Salisbury Arts Centre show, which is on the Live Corruption CD and DVD. Besides these two concerts, the bonus disc has the music videos for Mass Appeal Madness, The World Keeps Turning, Suffer the Children, Plague Rages, Greed Killing, and Breed to Breathe. I'm a big fan of Napalm, and I already needed a copy of my favorite album of theirs on CD, so getting two extra titles from their discography plus their music videos was icing on the cake. Anyone who likes the old material from these guys should definitely go for this Earache Classic edition, because if you don't already have The DVD and Live Corruption, it just doesn't make sense not to.

nd classic good price. you will hate it ha ha nobody cares

I got into Napalm Death when I got the "Harmony Corruption" cd.This Limited Edition of "Utopia Banished"is indeed a Earache Classic.Sounds digitaly remasterd but no bonus tracks.The DVD is killer with all their videos and Live Performances inculding rare TV clips with guitarist Bill Steer(Before joining Carcass) and then Vocalist Lee Dorian(Later formed his band Cathedral).I had not gotten a chance to get the DVD.This is a cool Napalm Death Limited Edition.

Omigoddess, I'm glad to see this album again! No, it's not ND's fastest/ bloodiest/ grindcoriest album, and yes, it's attempting a benchmark. But I think it actually succeeds-- it's definitely more layered, say, (the magnificent) Harmony Corruption. And some tracks get downright creepy, "Contemptuous", for example, a wonderful echoing stomp. And you even get the patented throat-bleeding Barney Scream on a few songs to feed your bloodlust. Top picks: "Contemptuous", "I Abstain", "Got Time to Kill", "Dementia Access".

GRIND

Excellent

Napalm Death's last full-length album of new material, 1990's "Harmony Corruption," found the band opting for a concerted death metal approach, even though their primitive grindcore elements were still firmly in place. And the end result was, of course, excellent. Napalm's next full-length release, 1992's "Utopia Banished," is also, unsurprisingly, a great record. But what is surprising about it is that it sees those grindcore elements again shifting back to the forefront of the mix.The fact that "Utopia" blasts its way through fifteen proper tracks (or twenty-one, if you get the 2006 reissue of the album) in just thirty-nine minutes, screams "classic grind." Only a few of the songs crack the three minute mark, and a handful of them sound reminiscent of N.D.'s debut, 1987's "Scum." And also in true grindcore fashion, the vast majority of the tracks present, here, overflow with simplistic, repetitive riffs (the guitars usually lock into a straightforward, chugging groove, and remain there for much of the time), roaring vocals, a distorted bass bottom, and a frequently quite amazing, Dave Lombardo-worthy drum performance (from newbie skinsman Danny Herrera, who replaced Mick Harris in '91).But even if Napalm Death do indeed go back to their roots, here, they do so while retaining the exceptional production job and full-fledged, fleshed-out songwriting that characterized their more recent work. (These are actual songs with memorable parts, not just tiny, lightning-fast blitzkriegs/blasts of noise.) And also in the spirit of the latter day material, the band's musicianship is impeccable, here, and their rage is downright palpable. (And, thanks to frontman Barney Greenway, who joined the crew for the above-noted 1990 release, there is a heavy political bent to these lyrics.)Many -- one might even say most -- of the songs are pedestals to showcase said new drummer's extraordinary talents. Indeed, Herrera anchors the dissonant, unorthodox riffing in "Dementia Access" and the almost-dare-I-say catchy guitar figures in "Idiosyncratic" with a breakneck, thrashing blast-mania. And the man pretty much runs the show in cuts like "Aryanismus," "Cause And Effect, Pt. 2," "Malignant Trait," and the thunderous "Insanity Excursion," all of which overflow with smashing, head-rattling, carnage-inducing, "rat-tat-tat," Gatling gun-fast blast beat barrages. Herrera also stands out in "A Means To An End," which features some noteworthy, tricky time signatures, and smart, stop-start grindcore blasts.Elsewhere, some later songs ("I Abstain") augment their thrashy, chugging riffs, equally as discordant, esophagus-shredding bellows, and crashing drum beat with a mini, shredding guitar solo that brings to mind Napalm's earliest days. And some tracks ("The World Keeps Turning") are slamming blast and blistering thrash beat excursions. And still other tunes (such as "Christening Of The Blind" and the already-mentioned "Malignant Trait") find the four-stringer, Shane Embury (perhaps you've heard of him), flexing his bass muscle by laying down plenty of strong, grumbling bass lines and a couple of mini bass interludes. But only the best songs (i.e. "Judicial Slime") can claim to have all of the above attributes.Some of the other best moments include the trippy little instrumental intro (entitled "Discordance"), the especially blistering guitar-drum interplay permeating in "Distorting The Medium"; the really cool and memorable, high/low vocal patterns in "Upward And Uninterested"; and "Awake (To A Life Of Misery," which features an introductory sample (from the movie "Full Metal Jacket"), and even more excellent, jackhammer-fast drumming (including some airtight cymbal rides). "Contemptuous" is possibly the biggest standout track, though, on account of it being far-and-away the set's biggest anomaly. It sounds heavily digitally processed, and is backed by a portentously downtuned bass into, mid-tempo, chugging guitars, and marching, lumbering rhythms that evoke some Godflesh stuff. And furthermore, it is a comparatively epic number, clocking in at an uncomfortable four-and-a-half minutes in length."Utopia Banished" might not be a magnum opus, but it is a darn fine and highly enjoyable album, nonetheless, from one of extreme metal's most consistently amazing bands of all time. Thus, it should satisfy just about all fans of either death or grind. And if music that hits like a shotgun blast to the chest makes you feel all tingly, this beast ought to be a just about essential listen.

My girlfriend ordered this for my birthday and I have been a big fan of napalm death for a long time and I am loving listening to this album it's very heavy and fast and I'm going to enjoy drumming along and playing guitar with this album

Great album to bang your head to, great album \m/

excelente disco

One of there best albums

I always appreciated this album on vinyl. Well worth purchasing on Cd 25 years later.