Go ahead.

Call me out on glossing over your favorite trip-hop band. Label me a retard for defending the shrieks of Thomas Erak and Tim Ward. Hell, even threaten to sue me for a particularly controversial review. Just do me a favor: give the fucking Prodigy a chance.

I've been listening to their new album since it leaked, and I like it. I liked it a month ago, I liked it this morning, and I'll hopefully like it just as much tomorrow and in another thirty days. And for once, it seems like the critics might just be on my side.

Dabbling in house, breakbeat, and dance punk, Invaders Must Die is a lot of things. Serious is not one of them. I think that many people are quick to forget that this is the same band that, barely a decade ago, rode a song called "Smack My Bitch Up" to moderate crossover success. Vivaldi this isn't - enjoy it for the same reasons you enjoy those shitty vending machine beefsteaks. They're quick, they're easy, and if you're fucked up enough, they're actually a whole hell of a lot of fun.

"Invaders Must Die" starts with a churning bass that reminds me of Brand New's "Not The Sun." The build-up on "Thunder" is the best kind of bait-and-switch, never really exploding but paying off in the end. Closer "Stand Up" is the march that Sousa never wrote, and even after hearing it twenty some-odd times, "Warrior's Dance" still manages to come off charming and exotic. These are the reasons why I like Invaders Must Die, and they're probably the same reasons why a lot of people hate it.

But, come on. Just give it a shot. And know going into it you're not going to be dining on filet mignon.

For once, just eat the fucking beefsteak.

The Prodigy — “Invaders Must Die”

Review by Neil Thakor

Trance fans need wait no longer: The kings of rave have returned. Without releasing an album featuring all three members of the band since 1997, The Prodigy has finally come out with its fifth studio album, “Invaders Must Die,” and the album is worth the wait.

Although The Prodigy has been around since 1990, it is still groundbreaking in 2009 and the band can still appeal to all of its fans. “Invaders Must Die” has everything: a little bit of the band’s old rave roots, some modern electronic and dance beats and even some hip-hop thrown in. The end result is an album that should be considered for 2009’s album of the year.

The album kicks off strong with an anthem entitled “Invaders Must Die.” The title track may not be the best on the album, but it certainly is good. The song finds The Prodigy going back to its roots, starting the track off with heavy, deliberate bass beats which leads into vocalist Maxim Reality exclaiming, “We are The Prodigy!” before blaring into an upbeat electronic riff. There couldn’t be a more fitting way to start the album.

The next track is the album’s lead single, “Omen.” There is no doubt that this track will find itself on the most notorious dance floors all over the world. “Omen” starts off with a more high-pitched riff than the opening track, and is much more energetic. It is rare to talk about vocals in a trance album, but the mix of Reality’s vocals shouting, “The writing’s on the wall” and the chaotic high-pitched riff gets under the skin and makes the listener want to dance, making it one of the strongest tracks on the album.

Although the album starts out well, it doesn’t hit its peak until midway through the album when The Prodigy starts to show the versatility it has acquired throughout the two decades it has been around.

“Take Me to the Hospital” introduces the first blatant electronica sounds in the album. Its high-pitched, electro-pop nature compliments the synthesized voices chanting in the background. This song is very similar to something Daft Punk would put out, but without losing the rave roots The Prodigy is known for.

“Run with the Wolves,” featuring musical genius David Grohl from the Foo Fighters, is the best track on the album. It is not traditional rave music, but that does not mean it is not a killer track. The Prodigy takes full advantage of Grohl behind the drums, by starting the track off with rambunctious drumming that sounds more like a rock ballad than a trance one. However, soon enough, the synthesized guitar and electronic riff enter the track to form a sort of electronic-rock hybrid that sounds phenomenal.

The Prodigy continues to stretch its versatility all the way up until the last track of the album with “Stand Up,” in which DJ Liam Howlett expresses his love for ’70s funk and hip-hop. This track emulates originality, and the change of pace from the thumping electronic riffs is a welcome one.

While the majority of this album is first-class trance, it is not perfect. The lowest point on this album is the track “Colours.” In a trance/techno track, it is important to vary the riff, however only to the extent that it is needed. “Colours” is too scattered and never fully catches the listener with a hook. The synthesized guitar clashes too heavily with the baselines, making the track sound more like noise rather than music.

All in all, this is an exciting return for The Prodigy. For the most part, the band takes the right risks at the right times, and simply produces a hot album. There is no doubt that “Invaders Must Die” will take over dance floors across the world.

Electro-wiz Liam Howlett applies his prodigious talents to muscular, swaggering breakbeat freakouts that transparently revisit The Prodigy's rave origins.


It's a welcome throwback considering the ferocity, ease and unabashed glee that drive the London trio's fifth studio album. Synths and machined beats rule, but Howlett makes room for organics: the saucy horn samples in “Stand Up” and Dave Grohl's galloping drums in "Run With the Wolves."

Download: "Omen," "World's On Fire," "Invaders Must Die"

Consider: "Stand Up," "Warriors Dance"

Skip: "Piranha"

It seems like an eternity since UK knob-twiddler Liam Howlett and his phenomenal techno act Prodigy transformed the music scene with their groundbreaking CD Fat of the Land – when singles like “Firestarter” and “Smack My Bitch Up” daringly asserted that stacks of synthesizers, drum machines and sampled breakbeats were not cold, inorganic constructs but could rock your ass off with that primal energy a lot of punk and metal acts seemed to have forgotten in the wake of navel-gazing Grunge. Like many of their contemporaries, the band helped push the rave scene out of the underground and into pop culture – which eventually spoiled the party, sending folks in search of something new. Liam’s 2004 follow-up Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned didn’t make as strong a showing, indicating that maybe that signature sound wasn’t as relevant as it used to be. As the band resurfaces this month with Invaders Must Die, we ask ourselves: does that rebel-robot vibe still thrive?

Reunited with the band’s core trio, which includes vocalists Keith Flint and Maxim Reality, Liam tries with Invaders to find that tricky balance between the elements that made Prodigy great back in the day and the techniques of contemporary electro dance artists. But it’s hard to keep up with the ebb and flow of a constantly morphing genre, so this balancing act doesn’t always work… but when it does, it kills.

The album opens strong with the throbbing bass line of the opening/title track, which leads into a warm overdriven guitar phrase that blows up into a crazed video-game-gone-amok groove; the energy continues into first single “Omen,” which slithers in with a low-fi spookhouse lead, and features a simple but roof-raising anthem sung by Flint before breaking into a gut-busting bass line and eerie xylophone sample. (The tune is reprised later in buzzy, more abstract form, complete with shimmering Tangerine Dream synth washes).

“Thunder” and “Take Me to the Hospital” are creative callbacks to Prodigy's early '90s rave classic Experience – the former with its gritty low synth lines, big-beat kicks and Maxim's dancehall ragga, and the latter's snarky rave stabs, chipmunk vocal dubs and skull-crushing bass, over which Flint delivers sly phrases with relish (“Welcome to the scene of the crash”). Nothing groundbreaking, but a nice touch of deja vu for anyone who felt an electric thrill when hearing these guys in a club for the first time.

But far and away the coolest, most innovative track on the album is the slam-tastic “Run With the Wolves,” a concentrated jolt of dead-on electro-rock, featuring the signature drumming style of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and an ultra-heavy guitar riff synched to a powerful bass line. Great dirty synth leads and angry vocals from Flint make this one a strong repeater and one of the band's coolest cuts ever.

Less savagely inventive but no less energetic are “World's On Fire,” with its dangerous vocal & guitar loops and intricate Superfly groove, and another sweet electro-rock track in the form of “Piranha,” which blends distorted brass synths, garage-y guitar riffs and punky vocals with a groovy sci-fi theremin as the retro cherry on top. In a pleasant surprise, the album closes on a celebratory note with the proud brass ensemble and trashy drums of “Stand Up” – as close to a feel-good, party-in-the-streets number as anything Howlett's concocted to date.

At heart, Prodigy’s always been an electro-dance act with rock ‘n’ roll attitude, and by embracing that feeling again, Liam and company have tapped back into the elements that set this band apart from formulaic four-on-the-floor mediocrity. It was smart to keep this material from slipping completely into late-‘90s nostalgia – if it had, the album would have been fun for a listen or two before being deleted from your playlists altogether – but at the same time it wasn’t necessary to reinvent the wheel here. Thankfully, they manage to avoid the tired “back-to-old-school” grasping at bygone glory, and just set out to rock some solid beats with a wink and an evil grin. At the end of a rough day, that’s all you need.

It seems like an eternity since UK knob-twiddler Liam Howlett

But far and away the coolest, most innovative track on the album is the slam-tastic “Run With the Wolves,” a concentrated jolt of dead-on electro-rock, featuring the signature drumming style of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and an ultra-heavy guitar riff synched to a powerful bass line. Great dirty synth leads and angry vocals from Flint make this one a strong repeater and one of the band's coolest cuts ever.

Impossibly loud, disgustingly sweaty and ridiculously energetic - The Prodigy proved at two Big Day Outs, in 1997 and again this year, just how fantastic they can be live.

So it's a shame that Invaders Must Die, the first album to feature vocalists Maxim and Keith Flint since 1997's The Fat of the Land, fails to fully capture the Prodigy live experience on record.

After their lacklustre last album - 2004's Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, which was mostly comprised of main man Liam Howlett and guest vocalists - The Prodigy have gone back to their rave roots.

For that they should be commended.

There are glimpses of their firestarting glory of old, like doomsday anthem World's on Fire and Omen, a party-starting punk-rave rocker in the form of Voodoo People that finds Flint doing his best Sid Vicious impersonation.

Then there's Take Me to the Hospital, a brilliantly jagged breakbeat track full of distorted chipmunks, Flint's snarled vocals and wonky, mashed-up rhythms.

When they play it live, moshers might end up using the chorus' chant for real.

Elsewhere, the synth riffs gleam and the drums pound, but some of it starts sounding far too repetitive.

Warrior's Dance is a relic from the late 90s that should have stayed there, while Thunder has a mistimed reggae vibe. And Piranha's basic rhythms are simply annoying.

The biggest surprise is left for last. Stand Up is an uplifting instrumental full of horns and kick drums that ends the album in a playful, chirpy and relaxed manner.

That's the exact opposite of how anyone who attended one of the Prodigy's Big Day Out shows would have felt. Didn't they used to be firestarters?

the opinions on the tracks are scattered all over the place. for example some love warriors dance while others find it shit.

just shows how pointless album reviews really are.

Prodigy - Invaders Must Die Review
Posted by Jesse Coy on 03.13.2009


I may very well have gotten a chance to hear some of this material about seven months before its release. Performances in South Korea where I’m currently situated are far and few between. Even though I had none of their albums, I was set and ready to go, press pass approved, to a big music festival in Seoul that Prodigy was to headline. Only the festival organizers planned poorly. The summer festival was cancelled. Alas, it was not meant to be.

But hardcore techno, at least the more interesting darker, harder stuff, has been on my mind of late. Just last fall I reviewed fellow pioneers, the Chemical Brothers (they’d released a greatest hits CD), and the newer Hadouken! I also just recently (after wanting to hear what it sounded like for some time) picked up Lords of Acid’s second release. Lords of Acid was the first release of the genre that I got, way back when it came out in ‘91.

I’d certainly been aware of Prodigy in the 90’s, especially with the controversy over “Smack My Bitch Up.” Though somewhat familiar with the genre, and very well versed in its industrial predecessor (unless you think rave and techno’s predecessor is more disco than industrial), this will strictly be a first full-exposure review of the band. That said, I’m aware of many particulars of the back story. For many ravers and technoids of the 90’s, Prodigy served as a soundtrack of their party and dancing nights. Yet the case has been brought up that this sort of electronic music is old hat, part of a Matrix era that has come and gone. Newer bands, like Hadouken!, for example, are trying to dub themselves Grime or New Rave to distinguish themselves.

If that is the case, Invaders Must Die missed the memo. My opinion has always been that the first two tracks of a release are most vital. Based off that, Prodigy’s fifth release is on very good ground. The opening title track, “Invaders Must Die” is both a statement and reaffirmation. It seems to say, “we’re Prodigy, and we’re back.” It’s heavy pounding, full of fuzz distortion, and sewn together with some great computerized riffing. The second track, “Omen,” is the first to feature the return vocalist Keith Flint, absent since '97, as most Prodigy fans might know. That one has a great loop and a hard, throbbing dance beat, though for Prodigy dance fans of old, it might run too hard.

And that brings me to my other point, that being the fact that some of the electronic or dark rave music in some ways has blended with the industrial genre, which itself is quite a broad genre. A track like “Omen” is proof of that, as is “Run with the Wolves,” one of two tracks featuring the drumming work of Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl. That should come as no surprise, as Prodigy has used various guest musicians in the past, and Dave… well, from Tenacious D to Probot, to working with Tony Iommi and David Bowie... where is Dave not?

And it’s a good mix. It would be interesting if Prodigy worked with other notable drummers. This one, “Run with the Wolves,” is for sure another standout track. Depending on how you like you Prodigy, you’ll either love it (if you are interested in the band dipping further into a more organic style in part) or not (if you miss purer dance tracks). From this track to “Piranha,” you have what to me bears a core of industrial… bands like earlier Ministry, RevCo, and Front 242. Yet it’s done in the patented Prodigy style.

“Warrior’s Dance” and “Take Me to the Hospital” are a bit more dance and groove oriented, the latter of the two making reference to the band’s own label, on which this one was released. So there is something for you strictly hardcore dance whores. That was said in the strictest terms of a tongue in cheek, my friends (the dance whore bit… unless you are a dance whore). “Omen” is reprised toward the end of the album as… well, “Omen Reprise.” It’s a sort of spacey interlude, which could very well have been part of “Omen” as a middle cool-down, but stands nicely situated where it is.

And it all ends with “Stand Up,” Dave appearing on drums for the second time. This final song, as far as I’m concerned, was designed to signify light creeping into the club, which means it's dawn, and sadly, time to go home and sleep the day away, to wake to a new night. It’s an upbeat, rousing, and rallying song, solely instrumental.



The 411: From one of the originators of this offshoot of the rave and electronic genre, this one comes off as both confident and aggressive. It's also a great psyche-up album, as the pace rarely lets up.
Final Score: 8.5 [ Very Good ] legend

DJ Liam Howlett has returned to the world of big beat techno this week with The Prodigy's eagerly anticipated effort, Invaders Must Die. The Prodigy have been a black sheep of electronica for the past two decades. The group remains an unapologetic counterpoint to a scene which has been dominated by French DJs nonchalantly caressing a turntable with one hand and a woman in the other. Invaders is a typical, if tired, example of testosterone techno. The album accomplishes a formulaic auditory assault of stadium hip-house with a vulgarity and crassness that would get most producers into detention.

And this youthful edge is a feat for 38-year-old Howlett now twelve years behind 1997's breakthrough album Fat of the Land. This time Howlett along with vocalists Maxim and Keith Flint have resurrected rather than reinvented the rave anthems of their glory days. It's as if the shards of formerly discarded songs have been strung together to form a medley of raw hip-house beats (I have a good feeling that the same drum kit has been used and reused throughout their careers). However, in true big-beat style the songs still resonate with can only be described as "epicness". Fans will surely be satisfied with the relentless bass punctuated by catchy polemics of "Warrior's Dance" and the track "Run With Wolves", featuring Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on percussion.

The album is raw and unsophisticated but the simplicity of the sound is not a criticism of Howlett's creation as much as a comment on this odd subgenre. Testosterone techno is made for jumping, flailing, mindless echolalia. It's the musical equivalent of flannel- it creeps into your wardrobe with puberty and you put it on when you're tired of wearing slick fashionable duds. The Prodigy's sound will always bring back a fun wave of nostalgia for the rave scene of the nineties that is sure to induce a good head bob.

Despite the collection of cut/copy imitators The Prodigy have survived as the triumphant picture of testosterone techno. The sirens and alarms piercing through the songs are loud, abrasive and fun. The fat, jolting bass is still worthy of a good head bang. In short, Invaders Must Die is exactly what you would expect from The Prodigy- a loud, obnoxious, good time best heard with the subwoofer shaking your rib cage. As such the group will be bringing its renowned live show to the Kool Haus this Wednesday March 25th.

As the very first words sequenced through some digital audio processor inform us, the name of this band is 'The Prodigy' and not just 'Prodigy'. Is this fact of any importance? To answer that, we will first have to answer this. Are words relevant in any album by this trio? No? Good, that excuses me from trying to explain the 'The' before their name.

Anyone who risked severing their neck and limbs grooving to hits like (the over-rated) Firestarter, Smack My Bitch Up and (the sublime) Breathe can be assured that this new collection of beats offer no such threat. The band’s edge that made them pioneers of the decadent stop-start brand of big beat has sadly been blunted now. The title song and the following Omen are just mindless ditties of passive aggression. The band is not venturing to bring new twists and they have not yet found the exit to leave the land that made them fat in the ’90s.


Invaders Must Die can only be judged on the atmosphere it attempts to create. At its core, it’s a party record that’s built to fill the dancefloor. And since it’s the drums, and nothing but the drums, that make people get up and dance, this album is centered around its fat beats.

Colours is catchy with a struggling guitar riff and a cheesy ’80s synth riff that give it bounce. Take Me To The Hospital sounds like 2Unlimited attempting a comeback. A minor change of tempo helps this song to be the best one so far. Mind you, it’s all still pretty mindless but faint slivers of their musical creativity can be heard for the first time.

And since it is nothing but a dance record, let me tell you that these tracks should only be heard at full volume. Whatever juice The Prodigy offers on its fifth outing can only be squeezed by turning up the volume knob. And if possible, get rid of those pesky gaps in between songs. Absorb it as one continuous piece of dance culture and it just may work.

The Prodigy has made the mistake of revisiting 90s nostalgia way too soon. Their output in the previous decade was quite outstanding and they were certainly pioneers of the big-beat spectacle that consumed the world 12 years ago. But coming full circle and expecting your audience embrace a pariah sound is probably too tall an order in 2009. This CD would have worked beautifully if it was offered in 2020. That’s when the millions who grooved to The Prodigy would be old enough to remember their past glory, yet young enough to shake it loose.

http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicrep ... viewid=228

A dissonant loop roars while thick bass confronts the ears; this is "Invaders Must Die," the title track of The Prodigy's latest album of the same name. Often when a band is described as returning to its base, what results is a watered down memory of the band's former glory. Thankfully, this is not true of The Prodigy's latest. This time around they have managed to strike the same chords, as well as cut a few new nerves.

One minor problem with the album is its reliance on tired techno beats, as some sound as if they were created in a tweaked out high school student's basement. This minor complaint is excusable, since they have written a few chapters in the proverbial book of contemporary techno music, having been around since 1990 and introduced many in the mainstream to techno through singles such as "Fire Starter" and the controversial "Smack My Bitch Up." For many in the States, the triumphant return of this intimidating band of Brits may be a bit of a shock, but it's apparent those in The Prodigy's native land still love and listen to the band since their recent album debuted at No. 1 on the charts.

All commercial success aside, the fundamentals are present for this album to become a club standard, at least in Europe. It is hard to know how American audiences will take to the album. If upon first listen, things sound stale or overused, just wait for the next loop and the track to build. Most tracks are dance ready, although some are best for sedentary activities. For many, the most commonly associated icon of The Prodigy is the terrifyingly intriguing Keith Flint, whose vocals can be found on the more punk influenced tracks such as "Run with the Wolves" and "Take Me to the Hospital." Although these are the most iconic tracks, Flint is not represented on all tracks, as one might expect. Flint may represent the attitude of The Prodigy, but he is not the sole mouth piece of their bedlam, as evidenced on "Warriors Dance," which is actually a sampled track of "Take Me Away" by Final Cut and True Faith. It ought to be pointed out that Flint has never been the lone vocalist and indeed has sat out whole albums vocally.

The most notable collaborations (and hardest to spot) are the drum additions offered by musical giant Dave Grohl, as well as a noteworthy producer's credit from James Rushent (Does it Offend You Yeah?). Somewhere behind this album is no doubt a marketing genius, able to reintroduce "The Prodigy sound" without it becoming over-branded. Indeed they have made yet another monumental album that if given a chance will not disappoint.