February’s Napalm Death cover story opens with three full paragraphs pertaining to Barney Greenway’s undergarments. No, we haven’t gone full Maxim (although we know you’re still eagerly anticipating the sequel to the Hottest Doodz in Metal). Napalm, after all, are a band who’s most recent album was called Utilitarian, and writer Justin Norton is merely underscoring the point that Greenway is a man of meticulous preparation — packing weeks and sometimes even months in advance for tours — while cohort Shane Embury simply ad-libs his suitcase contents a few hours before a flight. These disparate personalities (not to mention those of drummer Danny Herrera and currently on-hiatus guitarist Mitch Harris) have led to a lot of turmoil in Napalm’s career, but also galvanized their will. This current incarnation is, against all odds, making some of their strongest music together roughly a quarter-century into their tenure. The proof is in the pungent pudding that is new album Apex Predator – Easy Meat.
And that’s just the centerpiece of a packed issue that should make the onset of this sure-to-be grim and frostbitten winter palatable. Our annual Top 20 Anticipated Albums list makes 2015 look pretty damn exciting, Nick Holmes gets frank about his difficult transition to fronting Bloodbath, Tiamat’s Wildhoney earns HOF honors, and we get in on the ground floor on obscure doom trio DoomentoR. Oh yeah, there’s also a blitzkrieg Nails flexi, with two new songs written specifically for us in advance of their forthcoming third album. Pick this rager up right here.
