June 3, 1997 - Inside The Torn Apart

A year and a half after their last album Napalm Death released their seventh album "Inside The Torn Apart" on June 3, 1997. Napalm Death are still in the same experimental, more standard metal style as their last two albums, but the previous one was a step up, can they continue to improve? Let's find out!

The album begins with "Breed To Breathe" and Shane Embury starts us off with a pretty cool bass riff before the rest of the band syncs up with him for a slightly offbeat and plenty heavy main riff that fits their new template pretty nicely. Barney Greenway sounds like his usual self overtop and unfortunately that's not the best thing in this experimental setting as he sounds fairly monotone and toned down for the most part. This a decent song still, don't get me wrong, but like a lot of their newer stuff, it's just nowhere near as exciting as their grindcore style and by the end you're ready for the next song to start, which is not a good sign. Up next is "Birth In Regress" and Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris play off each other nicely with one of them playing a stop-and-start rhythm riff while the other fills in the gaps with some cool lead guitar. Embury adds some backing vocals to the chorus in an attempted back-and-forth with Greenway, but his voice isn't very good and he should just leave the singing to Greenway. After a couple rounds they shift gears to a slightly space-y new riff that is atypical but solid, then it breaks down into a hard-hitting new part that is easily the highlight of the song. They end it as it began with a predictable final round but this was a solid little tune. Track 3 is "Section" and they jump right into a distorted and interesting main riff, ai just wish the production wasn't so muting, it's like it's trying to rein in what should be let loose! Greenway sounds pretty good yelling overtop on this one and the chorus is a bit boring, especially compared to the solid (by their new standards) verse. The next track is "Reflect On Conflict" and it's not quite grindcore speed, but it's easily the fastest song on the album so far as they dive right into a pretty cool main riff that is still way faster than most metal bands play! The chorus is intentionally much slower, but it's really short so the sudden return to the speedy verse comes fast and hits hard! They don't stray far from the main drag on this one, making it a tad repetitive, but it's still decent. Track 5 is "Down In The Zero" and once again Embury starts us off with a fast and cool bassline that everyone else forms around as the guitars sync up for another template-fitting main riff. The chorus is very, very similar to the main riff and Greenway just shouts the name of the song a couple times as things sound okay, but definitely not their best work. After a couple rounds Danny Herrera plays some cool drums as they ramp into a faster new riff and it's got some groove to it as my head is nicely banging along. This part is way better than the rest of the song, which they return to for a predictable finish. Up next is the title track "Inside The Torn Apart" and it's driven by a slow but interesting little riff that seems to swing back and forth and it's not particularly heavy either making this a bit of a weird main riff for these guys. Greenway's vocals are strange as well as things just keep getting weirder (and not in a good way). The chorus has his more typical shouting vocals, but this takes experimentation to a whole other level! It's my least favourite song so far for sure, I think Napalm Death should really stick to their guns! Track 7 is "If Symptoms Persist" and it's driven by some slightly offbeat guitars that make for an interesting main riff. This shorter song really sticks to the main drag though and I'm ready to move on before the song is over, which is never a good sign. The next track is "Prelude" and they dive right into a solid main riff that is faster by their new standards (but definitely no match for grindcore). Herrera is still wailing pretty damn quick on drums and there's lots of cool guitars on what is easily one of the better songs on the album as the energy stays high throughout! Track 9 is called "Indispose" and it's got a slower, stop-and-start main riff that is solid (for this new style at least). Greenway sounds good for the most part, but in the chorus he tries talking at a few points and I could do without that, it adds nothing in my opinion. Not a bad song by any means, but definitely one of the lesser ones (which there are several unfortunately). Up next is "Purist Realist" and there's all kinds of distorted and speedy guitars right from the get-go for another interesting and unique main riff. I like the sudden change from super low to super high notes they do at times and this is easily one of the better songs, even though it's fairly repetitive, because of all kinds of cool guitars by Pintado and Harris. Track 11 is "Lowpoint" and for the first (and only) time on this album I would say we reach grindcore speeds! The production is still making things sound tame and reined in, but everyone is furiously trying to break free with some classic, super speedy drums, bass and guitars! This sums up the first half of the song, but the second half they slow things down for the most part with a decent little breakdown to a heavy new riff. This is probably my favourite song on the album, but that really shows the low bar being set as it still sounds like someone is trying to drain all the heavy Insanity out of things! The final song on the album is "The Lifeless Alarm" and it's a very atypical, experimental song that is super slow with lots of space-y guitars and some super low bass by Embury. One guitarist eventually adds a faster lead riff that is pretty cool and Greenway yells, but his vocals sound very distant and space-y to fit the mood. It's a little boring honestly and not what I'm looking for from these guys at all! What a disappointing way to end another experimental album.

That is the end of "Inside The Torn Apart" and I thought it was a very meh album from Napalm Death. After their last album "Diatribes" took this new style to a slightly higher level, this new album brings things right back down as being comparable with "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" is not really a good thing! I actually think this is their new worst album, but it's fairly close. Can Napalm Death rebound?