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Not only is “Time Waits for No Slave” as intense as ever, it successfully borrows bits and pieces from each of the bands eras and uses them to build a tight and cohesive album. The instrumentation feels more like grindcore, but the songs are longer and catchier than is common in that genre leaning more towards death metal. Things are further complicated by slight nods to the bands experimental era sprinkled throughout the album. The end result is an album that is intense, punishing and somehow catchy. Blastbeats are skillfully offset by grinding breakdowns and each song is constructed carefully and in a way that makes it stand out from the last. Barney Greenway’s vocals are as caustic as ever; he sounds pissed and wields his guttural bellow with fury and purpose.
“Time Waits For No Slave” sees all of the ideas that Napalm Death have toyed with over the years distilled to their essence and mixed at just the right ratio. It is an album that grabs the listener early and does not let go. Simple enough to punish you yet complex enough to hold your attention through repeated listens, “Time Waits For No Slave” is the best album Napalm Death have put out in years.
Rating: 90
Reviewed By: Garett F.
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The time signatures on the music are all over the place. Some tracks start out with a groove style on guitars. Then, there are riffs that are heavily tremolo picked. In addition, a harmonic riff is also exhibited. Also, on some tracks there are a few cliché type of rhythms. However, some guitar riffs are very unique and catchy. There is only one guitar solo on this entire album. They really should've kept it out because Mitch does a better job on rhythm only. He did the writing on the bulk of the compositions. Shane wrote some of songs too though. There are 14 tracks clocking in at almost 51 minutes in length.
For the overall sound, each instrument/vocals you can hear very clearly. Everything was mixed well. The guitar is thick, the drums blasting, the vocal outputs are mostly hoarse, though some are screams and very little are clean voiced. The playing here shows that this band still has talent. They have not slacked off at all. They still know how to create intense/extreme music. Their age hasn’t gotten in the way of that whatsoever. They're still putting out quality albums.
The lyrics feature topics such as political unrest, hate, aggression, and social issues. "Barney" wrote most of the songs. Though Shane wrote a couple and Mitch on one track. The lyrical content is rather interesting. They're not about death, dying, gore or anything else that's mindless. These words are actually intelligent. There is much admiration that I have for the songs. There are no covers on this album at all. All of the tracks are brand new.
In conclusion, "Time Waits For No Slave" is one hell of a solid release. Not every track was entirely innovative though. As I mentioned previously, there were some guitar riffs that were a bit cliché, but overall, Napalm Death composed some new awesome songs. 'Harmony Corruption' remains to be my favorite release of theirs however. If you're into grindcore/death metal, then do yourself a favor and pick this release up!
Rating: 80
Reviewed By: Death8699