Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
Invaders Must Die ‘ Prodigy
By Sam Moginie
Invaders Must Die isn’t any more intelligent or subtle than you would expect a Prodigy album to be, despite (or perhaps in spite of) Does It Offend You, Yeah’ frontperson James Rushent’s production contributions. It’s still brutal, frenetic, dense and dramatic. Sadly, it doesn’t have the charm of what came before. When The Prodigy broke their ground in the 90’s, dance music technology was primitive, more restrictive, as were the authorities in Britain (the rave being effectively illegal) – the resulting music was dark, brimming with incendiary energy and caustic anti-authoritarianism. They were of the jilted generation; they spat fire and held power in contempt. They were, in a sense, The Clash of the Big Beat movement. But that was then. Now Invaders Must Die comes off as a much more commercial project. Each song sugar-coated with digital spazz-edits and smoothly-rendered samples. Dave Grohl features on drums for Run With The Wolves, but it feels quantised, lifeless; it sounds like high-energy money, and it will probably be a hit. If you’ve never heard The Prodigy before, it might be exciting for you. But if you loved them before you’ve got to ask, where’s that middle finger so fondly remembered’
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