U.K. grind-core pioneers NAPALM DEATH, who recently announced the release of their first album in five years, “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism”, on September 18 via Century Media Records, have released the second single from the highly-anticipated album. Watch the official video for “Amoral” below.
“A good shout to work once again with Michael Panduro (michaelpanduro.com), as he really adapts his style video to video rather than just using a singular approach,” said Napalm Death vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway. “We delight in a generous helping of the absurd, so for one thing, the footage of children seemingly at play but displaying signs of systemic obedience really propels Shane’s lyrical thrust of our default powerlessness within the pecking order. As sonics go, I think it’s post-punk as f**k and grooves massively and accordingly.”
Greenway previously stated about “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism” and its theme: “The phrase sticking in my mind when I started thinking about the lyrical direction for this album was ‘the other.’ You could recognize at the time that there was a rapidly growing fear and paranoia being generated about everybody, from migrating people to people with fluid sexuality and this was starting to manifest itself in very antagonistic reactions that you felt were almost verging on violence. Not everybody resorts to such reactions, of course, but even the basic lack of understanding can become toxic over time. I’m not saying that this is an entirely new phenomenon, but it has been stoked in recent history by some particularly attack-minded people in more political circles and, as ever, I felt that it would be the natural antidote to endorse basic humanity and solidarity with all.
“The artwork specifically uses a white dove as a centerpiece, which, of course, is a commonly recognized symbol of peace and cooperation. The dove has been mauled very violently by a sterilizing hand and in death appears particularly broken and bloodied. However, through the violence you can see an equality symbol in blood on the chest of the dove, which perhaps demonstrates — visually at least — that equality cuts through in the end. A positive amidst many negatives then, much like the album title itself being a bit of an oxymoron — the celebration of humanity even in the mangling jaws of negativity.”
From the pinnacle of confrontational instrumental extremity and steadfast lyrical humanity, NAPALM DEATH‘s new album warps musical landscapes all over again. “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism” includes 12 songs seething with caustic evolution and unrelenting scope.
“Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism” Album Artwork
“Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism” Track-listing:
- f**k The Factoid
- Backlash Just Because
- That Curse Of Being In Thrall
- Contagion
- Joie De Ne Pas Vivre
- Invigorating Clutch
- Zero Gravitas Chamber
- Fluxing Of The Muscle
- Amoral
- Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
- Acting In Gouged Faith
- A Bellyful Of Salt And Spleen
NAPALM DEATH most recently released a quickly sold-out 7” / digital EP titled “Logic Ravaged By Brute Force” to coincide with the band’s most recent European tour. Check out the track “Logic Ravaged By Brute Force” below.
The group previously released “Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs” in 2018, a special compilation gathering a total of 31 songs in a playing time of over 90 minutes, including rarities and exclusive ear-worms spanning 2004-2016 from the whirling gene pool of noise that is NAPALM DEATH.
NAPALM DEATH is (from left to right in photo)
- Shane Embury / Bass reverberations, barks and moans, noise-testing everyday objects
- Mark “Barney” Greenway / Bawling, shrieking, intermittent baritone
- Danny Herrera / Turbulent beat throes
