Customer Reviews
One of the Best Undiscovered classics in the history of music - By: Mr. R. D. Morgan, 13 Aug 2008 
Genuinely, I mean that. This album is an absolute corker & the chap who stated that it was a 'failed experiment' clearly doesn't understand the band or the genre. Maybe he read somewhere that Napalm Death had a 'slump' & was trying to be clever with his review. Let me tell you, that comment was never levelled at this record. In fact, this is Napalm Death at their absolute peak & like the other 5 Star reviewer, I think this is their best album by a country mile.
Don't forget, this is the album which received a 5K reviewin Kerrang & got a 5 Star reviewin Raw (if anyone remembers that fine magazine!) upon its release.
So why is this such a great album??? - Firstly, its monsterously heavy, but it never descends into a noisy mess.
Secondly, the grooves are immense & there are very few bands who have ever managed to fuse the kind of twisting groovy riffs with heavy music like Napalm did on this album.
Thirdly, every track is incredible & within each track there are around 5 different directions that the song takes the listener, as new riffs keep exploding out of the speakers - hung is incredible, retching on the dirt is a monster & the opening riff on Remain Nameless should be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
All true Napalm Death fans will have this album anyway, but for all fans of heavy music, I urge you to buy it as it truely is an undiscovered classic. Then you can be really smugin front of your mates when they all want to borrow it! It really is that good!
The beginning of the slump... - By: dogbarkssome, 10 Oct 2006 
Prior to this album Napalm Death had been famous for their speed, with the vast majority of songs (even on the more death metal than grindcore `Harmony Corruption') built around insanely fast blastbeats. However with the bands 5th album `Fear, Emptiness, Despair' there is a noticeable shiftin emphasis, with final track `Throwaway' being the only song harking back to the bands grindcore sound of old, with the vast majority of the album comprising of mid-tempo grooving. As such this comes across as a rather plodding album at times, though when it comes together such as on standout track `Hung' the band can still excite. Perhaps mindful of being labelled sell-outs for slowing down this album is still one hell of a noisy racket, & the band favour very odd time-signatures throughout, though occasionally this complexity backfires with some songs overburdened with unmemorable mathematic riffs. There are still enough flashes of brilliance here to make this a worthwhile listen, but it's fair to say this is probably one of the bands least enjoyable albums. Perhaps best written off as a failed experiment this album marked the beginning of Napalm Death's mid-period slump, & is probably only for the hardcore fans.
The best from the Pioneers - By: , 15 Nov 2001 This is my personal favourite. I know purists will say that scum was their finest but for me 'Fear Emptiness Despair ' has it all. Dark & throbbing, heavy but not overwhelming. This is not a soft album by any desription but it is very accessible. Vocals are hard & growling & the riffs are spectacular & memorable. Some call it grindcore, some death, some thrash. To me it's just Napalm Death at their best.
