If I had been asked 12 months ago if I was “looking forward to the new Prodigy album?” the answer would have been a resolute no, followed by a light chuckle. This was largely down to a few poor live performances I had the misfortune to witness and one extremely poor album in over ten years, ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’. However on hearing the title track from this album which was released as a free download in late 2008, my interest was renewed.
‘Invaders Must Die’ sees Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, and Maxim Reality back together on record for the first time since 2002, while the last time out was largely fruitless this on the other hand is not. There is a real retrospective feeling to this record which sees them attempting to evoke the intoxicating rave vibes, keyboard riffs, and concussive breakbeats of ‘Experience’ and ‘Music For A Jilted Generation’. It is not all nostalgic with the inclusion of seriously heavy, dirty beats and an undeniable energy with striking similarities to Pendulum’s rock/drum and bass escapades.
The album opens with title track; ‘Invaders Must Die’ which sets their stall out early. This is one, if not the best tune on the album, it is unbelievably infectious complete with for a dirty beats, bass and tones of energy. This is followed by ‘Omen’ which is one of the less favourable tracks as it sticks to the 90’s rave formula a little bit too rigidly. ‘Thunder’ continues with this formula but it is achieved with less ‘cheese’. The parallels between this and “Out Of Space” are undeniable with the loping reggae vocal but unlike ‘Omen’ it comes together nicely.
‘Colours’ sees a little change of tact with the listener being bombarded by fast drums and bass which are accompanied by gritty guitars and jumpy 80’s/90’s-esque computer sounds, creating a really immense track. ‘Take me to the Hospital’ continues with drums driven approach along with raspy vocals. ‘Warriors Dance’ would be a great tune if one thing was removed, the female vocal loop, it is really cheesy and becomes increasingly annoying on further listens, and it just reminded me of being about aged 12, on the waltzers in some rubbish carnival.
The album takes a turn to the dark side with ‘Run with the Wolves’, a very dark tune full of anger and accompanied by numerous racy loops. The drumming is really impressive on this one and comes courtesy of Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl. It really feels like Prodigy’s own take on the Pendulum rock/dance compo with Keith Flint strangely claiming to be “hung like a hound”, but crucially it works. ‘Worlds on Fire’ retains the rock fusion accompanied by lots of electro beats and the 80’s/90’s-esque computer sounds and blips are once again very prevalent. The fusion continues with ‘Piranha’ but this time it’s the old rave formula thrown into the mix.
The album ends on a perfect note with ‘Stand Up’, an unbelievably cheery and uplifting track that would even bring a rye smile to Brian Cowen’s solemn face. It is full of beautiful trumpet playing, rhythmic drumming, simple electro sounds and samples evoking found memories of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica era.
Overall the album may in many cases be a glance backwards in time but it is definitely a step forward in terms of quality compared to recent releases. It is an interesting album that should see them able to go the distance with new kings of live electro, Justice and Pendulum. This will surely get people dancing even if at times it’s a little cheesy and retrospective in its approach, importantly they have managed to fuse them well, for the most part, with newer sounds.
Invaders Must Die Video:
Comments (3)
Matu wrote on March 05, 2009
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This Album sounds very like Prodigys older stuff looks like they are trying relight old flames
djfilthmonger wrote on March 06, 2009
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Wicked album really liking THUNDER the third song on the album. Also Omen Reprise is wicked but it could be longer and watch out for the bootlegs .
Barry wrote on March 06, 2009
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The album is actually growing on me more since i got it, and Thunder is one hell of a track
