Napalm Death
Leaders Not Followers Pt.2

January 2005
Released: 2004, Century Media
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

There have already been two reviews of this disc on Metal-Rules, but the Evil one himself sent this to me, so I feel obligated to say something about it. Of the other two reviews, one was positive and the other was somewhat on the fence. Put me on the fence, but leaning over onto the positive side somewhat. See, I’ve never been a huge fan of Napalm Death, but I respect the fact that they like to pay respect to their influences and shed some light on some otherwise forgotten names. I mean, let’s face it, bands like Hellhammer and Sepultura are known to just about everyone into heavy metal, but they may not know classic bands like Anti-Cimex, The Dayglo Abortions, and Discharge. Of course, a reason for that might be that those are largely hardcore and punk bands, which until recently never crossed over into the metal realm. Still, I have a soft-spot for punk, so I’m very OK with their inclusion here.

Needless to say, the Napalm boys do a great job of running these songs through their meat grinder, with already metal songs like “Riot of Violence” and “Troops of Doom” sounding the best. Depending on your tolerance for punk, you will love or hate the rest of this disc as songs like “War’s No Fairytale” can be quite grating if you are not into that style of music. Of course, the best part is that they are all short songs so they won’t annoy you for long!

The bottom line is that you already know if this disc is for you or not. Even for me, I like it but will probably play it only sparingly. Do what you will, but at least recognize Napalm Death’s endearing respect for their influences.