Napalm Death has been working on the follow-up to 2015's Apex Predator – Easy Meat for quite some time, though you won't get to hear it this year.
According to bassist Shane Embury, the music has been recorded since June 2018 and vocals are mostly completed. Embury tells Extreme Metal Festival News that with all the touring Napalm Death is doing and will be doing, they're going to push the record off until early 2020 to make sure it all gets done right.
"The music for the new album has been recorded now since June of last year and it was done in two sessions. Mitch did come over and record guitars on the new record, but all the compositions were written by myself, which was quite a challenge to make it all flow but at the same time hopefully have diversity, which I think it has. Barn has nearly recorded all his vocal parts."
"We have been playing so many shows in support to Apex and, of course, the Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs compilation, and there's more shows already booked coming up towards the end of September, so we have decided to take our time with this album. We have a strong amazing album title, but I don't think the album will be released now until early 2020."
Sure it sucks a little bit that we won't get a new Napalm Death record this year, but considering the high quality of their past few records, taking the additional time to really nail this new one seems to bode well. It's also good to hear that guitarist Mitch Harris is still in the band. Harris hasn't played live with Napalm Death since 2014 and has been filled in for by Corrupt Moral Altar and Venomous Concept guitarist John Cooke.
