Review Summary: Friendlier to the public, but not for die-hard fans
Diatribes is Napalm Death’s six studio album, released in 1996. The biggest problem with this album is that it sounds like an identity crisis for such a stellar, consistent band. A large portion of the material here is formulaic, generic, and incredibly bland as a whole – something you’d probably least expect from a band that has produced some of the most brutal, relentless grind albums in the past. While some of the tracks here are indeed straight-up catchy (ex. the popular ‘Greed Killing’, ‘Ripe for the Breaking’, ‘My Own Worst Enemy’), most grow tired after repeated listens, making it quite difficult to set apart each track. If there’s one song you should automatically stay clear of, it’s ‘Cursed to Crawl’, which sounds like a circa 2000 Limp Bizkit track. It features rapped vocals in place with a generic “echo” effect – certainly not Napalm Death's strong suit. Almost every department here seems to be out of place, but luckily Danny Herrera’s drumming is very strong – sacrificing chaotic blast beats for more fluid drumming.
Contrary to what seems to be the popular opinion, I’ve always found their experimental era to be somewhat underappreciated overall – during this era, it was nice to see them change their sound from blistering musicianship to a more mid-paced, catchier sound with more use of melody. But of course, I could see anyone a die-hard fan of
Scum to find this distressing and underwhelming.
Diatribes certainly doesn’t make a groundbreaking impact on their discography – it’s more so forgettable with a few nice twists here and there.
