Artist: The Prodigy
Title: The Day is my Enemy
Genre: Electro Punk/ Hardcore / Breakbeat
Release Date: 27th March 2015
Label: Vertigo Berlin (Universal Music)
Album Review
In 1990, Liam Howlett (DJ, keyboard, programming), Keith Flint (vocals) and Maxim (MC, vocals) got together to form THE PRODIGY. Musical head of this band is Liam who worked as a DJ and bought later a Moog- Prodigy Synthesizer in order to work on his own ideas and songs. So this instrument was the eponym for the band. In the beginning, the band had also Leeroy Thornhill (dancing, keyboard) and Sharky (dancing, vocals) on board but the latter left just one year later when a record contract was signed. Leeroy left in 2000 but Maxim who performed intermittently with the band, became a regular member later on. The second album, ‘Music for the jilted generation‘, sold 1 Mio. copies and reached No 1 in the British charts. The band toured the world and furthermore won the MTV award “Best Dance Act” in 1995. At the end of 1997, the video for ‘Smack my bitch up‘ aroused an outcry for visualising drugs, sex and violence excesses and the video was banned in the USA, the UK and some other countries. Liam then announced that no fourth album will be released. This announcement lasted five years where the band members worked on their solo projects. Fortunately in 2004 a new - the fourth- album - was launched. Though it sold quite well it was not critically acclaimed. The following album was more successful again. Characteristically for the sound is an exciting blend of all kind of styles like Techno, Rave, Breakbeat, Acid House, Electro Punk, as well as Trip Hop, Drum and Bass and others making it suitable for the dance floors.
Many of us were thunderstruck when we heard and watched the video to ‘No good‘ and ‘Out of space‘ of THE PRODIGY for the first time, back in the early 90’s when they still played music on MTV and Viva. It was confusing, completely different to the usual listening habits but fascinating and very cool at the same time. With the sixth studio album now the band tries to tie on the early successes of the first two albums. Surely not an easy endeavour nowadays, where it is hard to release something innovative in the domain Hardcore/ Electronica/ Electro Punk when you have the impression that you have heard already all kind of crazy stuff. But yes, the band made it to create something splendid, nevertheless sounding typically THE PRODIGY without being dusty. Opener is the name giver of the album, a dependence to the lyrics of the COLE PORTER song ‘All through the night‘. With hammering beats, partly reminding of a military style and a childlike voice announcing the song line “The day is my enemy the night is my friend” is the opening for an angry statement of the down side of the city life at night. THE PRODIGY take us on a journey of anger and aggression which is expressed with dissonances, distorted vocals, break beats, energetic drums and bass, but also middle eastern sound elements. Despite the aggressive and angry attitude the songs invite you to dance. And what could be better than dance away the frustration? Apart from the album opener ‘Nasty‘, ‘Destroy‘, ‘Rhythm bomb‘ and ‘Wall of death‘ are my personal favourites. The album might not appear ground-breaking as the songs in the early 90s but still it has great dance tracks.
The album is available as standard version, limited version with live DVD, download version but you can also only download each song of this album.
Tracklist
01. The day is my enemy
02. Nasty
03. Rebel radio
04. Ibiza (feat. Sleaford Mods.) {Explicit}
05. Destroy
06. Wild frontier
07. Rok- Weiler
08. Beyond the deathray
09. Rhythm bomb (feat. Flux Pavilion)
10. Roadblox
11. Get your fight on
12. Medicine
13. Invisible sun
14. Wall of death {Explicit}
Line-up
Keith Flint - vocals, dance
Liam Howlett - DJ, keyboard
Keith Palmer/ Maxim - vocals, MC
Website
http://www.theprodigy.com / https://www.facebook.com/theprodigyofficial
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
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