I used to like Napalm Death quite a bit back in the early 90's. It was around Harmony Corruption and Utopia Banished but then came the boring Fear, Emptiness, Despair and I totally lost interest in the band so honestly my knowledge of what the lads have been doing up and till their previous album Order of the Leech is rather limited but judging from what I've heard from their most recent albums I'd say they are back on track.

The jump from Order of the Leech to The Code is Red… Long Live the Code is not that big even though the band have put aside the death metal approach in favor of a more back to basic grindcore angle and it suits the band that they have gone for a somewhat more direct and rooted approach than on some of their latter day material. It gives the music even more edge and makes it all sound a bit fresher. Song-wise the album leaves little to be desired and the more I listen to it the better it becomes. It's packed with catchy songs and passages that make it a joy listening to. Songs like "Silence is Deafening", the titletrack "The Code is Red… Long Live the Code" are great with their direct yet sophisticated articulacy. Not to say tracks like "Instruments of Persuasion" [featuring Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed], the very catchy "The Great and the Good" which by the way features Jello Biafra, "Sold Short" and "All Hail the Grey Dawn" - all have this fresh and devil-may-care attitude to them. Furthermore I will mention the odd "Morale" which is not a typical Napalm Death track with its slow, doomy and spine-chilling atmosphere. It adds even more to the diversity of the album. Moreover I shouldn't neglect to mention the two minute plus closer "Our Pain is Their Power" which is a instrumental piece in vein of "Discordance" from Utopia Banished, and it really makes a great closer.

I'm not particular fond of the production. It seems very live-like and to an great extend very light, sure it makes it possible to spot all the little details but it also make the music sound thin and that is perhaps my biggest problem with The Code is Red… Long Live the Code. In a way I'm able to abstract from the aforementioned because the quality of the songs sorta makes up for it but on the other hand it is an annoying factor. Of course I'm aware that grindcore usually have this kinda production but I honestly don't find it very compelling and The Code is Red… Long Live the Code don't convince me of otherwise. It's obvious that Napalm Death is still on the top of their game and judging from the new album they are not on their way down. Perhaps seven in score is a bit to low but the album doesn't quite deserve an eight so I had to settle with a huge seven figure.