Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

British Invasion
By
Michael C. Riedlinger
Editor-In-Chief

            The last time The Prodigy really hit it big in the United States, a Democrat was in the Oval Office, and the band consisted of three main members: Liam Howlett, Maxim Reality, and Keith Flint. Now, the stars seem have realigned for something of an American comeback, and their latest record, Invaders Must Die, is absolutely as fulfilling as their efforts from the late 90s.

            This record is almost a lesson in the aesthetics of dance music and DJing. It starts out with the digitally released title track “Invaders Must Die”, an infectious anthem not unlike the band’s song “Firestarter”. It is robotic, but hits like a brick, and has a groove of heroic proportions. From there, the first single to come from this album is a track called “Omen”. Fans of Brit dance-punk outfit Does It Offend You, Yeah? should fall in love with this track, as will anyone familiar with early Prodigy tracks like “Jericho”. Keith and Maxim add their seemingly nonsensical vocal contributions to the mix of bells, synth melodies and distorted beats to create something akin to a banshee directing her attention at today’s stale rock scene.

            Speaking of which, back in the 1990s, I fought listening to The Prodigy when it hit the rotation at the music store I was working at. I was a Nirvana/grunge kid, complete with flannel and long greasy hair. I fell in love with Music for the Jilted Generation back then, and now Dave Grohl makes an appearance on the song “Run with the Wolves”. Honestly, it’s the drums that really make the song work. This thing kicks you in the face about twelve seconds in, and it’s the kind of song you put on a workout mix because it gets your heart racing. The cocky British sneer is loud and clear in the vocals, and Liam Howlett proves he can mix any type of sound into a coherent dance track.

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            For ardent fans of the band, there’s a little bit of everything here. “Colours” sounds like it could have been a b-side to anything off of Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, and sounds like Daft Punk took Liam out on a speed bender before he laid the track. Pure electro tones contrast with dirty guitars and are set to an impossible tempo only the young will be able to keep up with. “Warrior Dance”, on the other hand, starts out with a melancholy sax, but quickly twists into hard, distorted beats with a high-octave female backup singer that dares us to sing along without sounding like helium addicts. Bass addicts aren’t left out either, as tracks like “Thunder” and “Omen Reprise” deliver the goods, and fans of old school house and new wave rave music will all find this record sating their needs.

            As much as the contents of this album reminded me of older electronic songs, there’s something new to be found in Invaders Must Die as well. Sure, Liam Howlett sticks to his guns, mixes ballsy beats with standby samples like he always has, but there is a completeness to his work here that just can’t be found in a lot of dance music anywhere. Those that criticize that what he has made isn’t music, or even artistic, are deaf fools. If he’s fighting a war, then his weapons are the sounds he wrangles into cohesion over the course of 45 minutes, and trust me when I say the invaders don’t stand a chance. This record releases on 23 February (3 March in the US) 2009 on CD/DVD, Vinyl, and iTunes, and belongs in the collection of any self-respecting DJ or fan of dance music.

Final Verdict (out of 5):