NAPALM DEATH: New Album To feature Guest Appearance By THE GATHERING Singer

NAPALM DEATH frontman Mark "Barney" Greenway has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"As you may have heard, we are back in Wales at Foel recording the next NAPALM album (this place is fast becoming our favourite place to record!). Really, this thing is sounding absolutely immense. If you liked 'The Code Is Red… Long Live The Code', you'll really love this one, I think. We absolutely busted our arses to get everything ready, and the rest of the band really pulled out the stops to make some great, grinding music, with Russ Russell working wonders once again to produce that NAPALM DEATH 'wall of sound'. I also have to mention Chris Fielding, the in-house engineer, who has also made a great contribution to the proceedings.

"I can give you some more titles right now (everything, including the ones you had before, are definite): 'Rabid Wolves (For Christ)', 'In Deference', 'Atheist Runt', 'When All Is Said and Done', 'Sink Fast, Let Go', and tons more. The lyrical debate is perhaps for later but, generally speaking, the album is (hopefully) a deep critique of religion and religious governance/restrictions from an atheist perspective. All jolly stuff, then. And the music: still fast and furious, raging riffs and a couple more SWANS-style tracks this time (like 'Morale'),only progressed a bit more with even more atmosphere and a more rounded melodic vocal performance (if I may say so myself).

"Anneke [van Giersbergen] from Dutch band THE GATHERING has offered up a few parts to a track, which I've yet to hear. But before some people recoil in horror about NAPALM going operatic rock or whatever, this was done for good effect and relevance to the track. It will work. It will rock. I'm sure. And we're grateful to Anneke (who is an awesome vocalist in her own right) in advance for giving it a stab.

"Studio events: Russ threw up in Chris Fiedling's car after a night on the sauce; Dave, the studio owner, decided to shovel the sewage out of the septic tank right in the middle of a vocal session (barf!) and, on a more serious note, I ran over a badger on the single-track road around here. Nothing I could do to avoid him, but mortified nevertheless.

"Oh, and Jeff Walker, ex-CARCASS, turned up in his capacity as master-ligger. We didn't let him sing this time though, and just poked fun at him really."

NAPALM DEATH's new album, tentatively tititled "Smear Campaign", is scheduled for release later in the year via Century Media Records.