Prodigy
Invaders Must Die

And here they are, those three Englishmen who, since the late '80s, have been blasting our eardrums by bringing the London Rave scene to the mainstream. Over the years, their punk attitude and rock influence have become increasingly evident. And here they are now, twenty years after the start of their rise and five years after a tremendous flop (“Always”...), releasing their fifth album (not counting various EPs, selections, compilations, and best-ofs) which, according to them, was supposed to bring back to fans the original sounds that crowned them as emperors of violent and "bone-shaking" electronic music. And, fortunately, that's just what happened!

The trio presents us with 10 danceable, dense tracks, with violence, powerful guitar riffs, interrupted drums, strong reggae influences, rap, and a few stars from the alternative music scene called in to collaborate for the successful outcome of the album (including the omnipresent Dave Grohl on drums in “Run With The Wolves”). The album opens with the title track: an obsessive riff dominates for the first 30 seconds of the song and then merges with the guitar, which follows a similar loop and the drums mark the tempo that Prodigy had accustomed us to; the first vocal sets off a keyboard riff that brings back memories of the old days. An excellent start and a great choice to use it as the first single. Hot on its heels is the "very badass" “Omen” (the second single from this new album) where the three show us their ability to mix a very good danceable track with a vocal that is not exactly dance-like; another well-made choice, perhaps a bit too flashy but definitely enjoyable. And then comes the third track, what I've defined as the nostalgic moment, “Thunder”, because it recalls the way of playing we learned to love in the song that quickly became a rave music anthem (“Out Of Space”), and in “Thunder” we find the typical elements of the aforementioned: a voice likely taken from a reggae song; rampant and violent drums and bass to the borderline of bearability. Everything you need to dance. Another good performance. Right after, the violent synth of "Colours" kicks in, a great track with a good vocal part (like the rest of the album) which, in my opinion, will undoubtedly become the third single of this album.

The fifth track is “Take Me To The Hospital”, which our guys used as the main motto of their website even before the album in production was known; the track is a concentrate of keyboards and rap. Nice, it reminds me of “Everybody In The Place” (for being such a lively track) and “Jericho” (for the intro). The sixth piece, which in my opinion is the best on the album, “Warriors Dance”, perhaps being another nostalgic moment as it very much recalls “No Good”; apart from the self-references, the three take us onto the dancefloor, ready to witness a frantic battle made of dance steps where only the most resilient (or the most "altered") will make it through these 5 minutes and beats of nonstop motion. “Run With The Wolves”, featuring Dave Grohl on drums providing evidence of being an artist worthy of note, represents the most "Drum'N'Bass" moment of the album but, alas, not with too surprising results though maintaining the quality standard to which the three have accustomed us. Now it's time for this album's minor flaw, “Omen Reprise”, an attempt to split the brash “Omen” into two tracks. Weak but there's worse. The following track, “World's On Fire”, makes it clear that the trio is ready to repel the invaders. And they won't do it by tossing them candies. The penultimate track, "Piranha", represents the most rock moment of the album; and I must say I like it a lot. And finally, here we are at the last track, "Stand Up", which gives the idea of: hey guys, the party's over, get up, catch your breath for a second, and head home. This track is also very rock with some hip-hop undertones. Very well done.

In conclusion: The prodigy is back to blast your eardrums and move those damn butts for quite a while with 10 tracks that might just be a rediscovery of the band's characteristic sounds, so nothing innovative and not a masterpiece but definitely an enjoyable album. The invaders are dead and now those three fellas are ready to win us back.