Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism

Napalm Death need no introduction, they are undeniable legen... just kidding, it won't be another one of these articles. Almost every extreme metal and hardcore fan knows that Napalm Death is the band responsible for the names such as "grindcore" and "blastbeats", Guinness Record Holders, favorites of Jim Carrey and an outfit with no founding members for more than 30 years. But what more people need to know is that these men's modern creations are way more than grindcore and death metal, even way more than metal and punk in general. These British gentlemen have been releasing music interesting, important and intense for many, many years. But none of their other modern records is as important and ambitious as Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is.

Everything about Napalm Death's sixteenth full-length album is very interesting and intriguing, including the title and the cover, elements that everyone sees first. In one interview Barney said that their new art should relate to current events, so the people could hook up to it. So in the title he used a clever oxymoron referring to the discrimination of minorities in the world, among others. The cover is portraying this idea very well and is one of the best album covers that I've seen this year so far. It kind of continues the path that Napalm took on Apex Predator - Easy Meat, but musically that album was more straightforward and more focused on grind.

The term that I always have in mind while listening to Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is "grindcold". The music styles on the album are very diverse and the whole is really eclectic, but what is common to most of the songs are the cold guitar melodies here and there that remind of... yes, black metal! But most of these melancholic parts isn't black metal-inspired, but post punk-inspired and that reaches its climax in Amoral, an enormously catchy and magic song. The songs that the term "grindcold" fits the best are the first two: Fuck the Factoid and Backlash Just Because. Despite having a style pretty typical to Napalm Death, they stand out with this cold atmosphere and are very fresh and memorable. Fuck the Factoid is a perfect Napalm album opener. You expect the album to start in similar way it does, but still are surprised later.

During the full spin the listener hears a catalog of the band's inspirations, for example: the main one, 80's hardcore punk (That Curse of Being in Thrall, Contagion), mentioned above post punk (Amoral and parts of many other songs) or industrial (Joie De Ne Pas Vivre, A Bellyful of Salt and Spleen), but the classic Napalm deathgrind style is still present, especially in the very energetic and straightforward title and opening tracks. Talking about catalogs, how impressive is Barney's vocal performance here! He especially surprised me in Joie De Ne Pas Vivre. Sometimes I couldn't believe it's him, but as far as I know he wasn't joined by Mitch this time. By the way, who recorded the guitars here? I know that because of private issues Mitch no longer plays live with Napalm, but was supposed to record on the albums and even though Shane wrote almost every song alone, he is credited for doing so. But it's not certain for me, as he isn't on any of the promo photos and in every interview with Barney that I have watched, he didn't tell anything about Mitch. Also, Mitch is at the moment promoting his new band with Dirk Verbeuren. But whoever is responsible for the guitars here, he delivered a strong performance.

Worth noting is that despite being very eclectic, the record manages to remain consistent, but it may not be certain after first spins or at least that's how it was for me. It's actually very impressive that a mostly grindcore/death metal band put post punk and industrial into their music and it came out being very good. It only shows how good of a songwriter Shane Embury is. But I still miss Mitch's songwriting a bit. Fun fact is that (as far as I know) the only song that he co-wrote is A Bellyful of Salt and Spleen, a song... without guitar. But at least it's a very intriguing song. For me, it doesn't work as a single, but it's perfect as the song that ends the album. The lyrics are worth a praise too. Barney has always been a visionary that loves to play with the language and here he showed it again. Whether it's very straightforward and brutal or more deep lyrics, it works well here.

But I don't understand one decision that was made here. In the extended version, there are two songs between the title and the ending track and in the standard version there's only one. And what I kind of don't understand is the fact that the bonus song is way better than the one that made it to the standard version, which is the weakest part of the record. Feral Carve-up in turn impresses with its punk structure with some hidden melodies. In general, despite many mixed styles, the "grindcold" is always here and I love it. All of it makes Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism transcend musical boundaries and despite not being perfect, being one of the most intriguing extreme metal albums this year so far. This in turn makes Napalm Death still stand out after all these years, but in a bit different way than before.

I'm trying hard not to be one of these "They did it again! Another masterpiece!" guys and I'm actually not. Napalm's discography (like discographies of most of the other great bands) has its worse and better parts, but on the last two albums they are definitely at their best. Without any idealization that often happens to the fans of this band, I can confidently say Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is a must-listen for any extreme music fan.

Originally written for Tony Blackthrasher on Instagram and Facebook and The Metal Observer.