Invaders must die! (Special) – Live Review
Vulgar, loud and perfectly old skool: Keith, Liam and Maxim are back and as fire-starting as ever!
We’re under attack. An incredible onslaught of noise. The sound of missiles, choppers, shelling: boom boom boom. Strobe lights disorientate us, the smell of smoke and adrenaline thick in the nostrils, hellish screaming all around. Bare-chested men stomp and charge in all directions while women wriggle as if possessed. It’s like a massacre of death in here and the only way out is to mosh to Hell. It’s gloriously diabolical, and the three shamanic men at the centre of this mayhem have the look of hellhounds feeding on good Christian meat. “Invaders Must Die” is the fifth studio album by the electronic act The Prodigy which was released during February and March 2009 on the band's new label "Take Me to the Hospital"... The gig had been set up and choreography/rehearsals had been practiced endlessly for weeks – The Prodigy knew this one is going to be one of the biggest sets they ever have played.
NME caught up with lead vocalist + dancer Keith Flint 4 weeks prior to hear what he had to say on this gig.
“Well Brighton knows how to create an atmosphere, last time we played their, it was insane! This time we hope to double that. Basically we have done this gig for a little Christmas present to all our English fans! We love em! Each gig is an hour of madness, and afterwards I'm absolutely exhausted, shaken to bits. The adrenaline charge and energy needed are shattering. But this time it’s going to be longer, faster and more intense! LETS HAVE IT!”
The Prodigy are undoubtedly in a league with the devil. Their new album, ‘Invaders Must Die’, was an unexpected triumph and sold 200,000 copies within two weeks. Within 4 days of Brighton tickets going on sale it was sold out,
Standing/seated were filled to the brink. Massacre of congestion was on the floor, textbook definition of overcrowded, anyone suffering from a weak heart or claustrophobia would be in their worst nightmare. As the blinding lights beamed down on the stage, the band came out, the shriek of the crowd roared as Keith Flint greeted the crowd by yelling out “Brighton we want to cause some F****** Mayhem!!” They kicked it off with the popular track ‘Omen’ and it’s addictive fury took hold of the crowd, immediate impact, people jumping up and down, hands in the air, with eye blinding lights flashing from all range of colors to the beat of the song. Strobe effects to send anyone into an epileptic fit! Keith Flint meanwhile bounced and zig-zagged across the stage front in what wasn't so much a dance as a visual elemental of what The Prodigy sound like.
The first track encapsulates the whole night – Leaves you in utter awe of drum and bass music! The encore of ‘Invaders Must Die’, then ‘Warriors Dance, then ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, has the crowd jumping out of their skins. They end with the pure rave of ‘Take Me To The Hospital’, which brings the euphoria again. But it’s aggression and violence which defines The Prodigy now, and watching gigs like this, it’s no surprise that The Prodigy are one of the biggest bands at the moment. Keith Flint and the other members of the band stood at the front of the stage, blood red beams shining down on them, Keith gave a blunt speech of “Thank you Brighton, we came, we hope you enjoyed, because we for sure delivered, have a F***** good Christmas!!”
I wanted to include this within my piece as many other magazines do reviews on gigs etc, but I did not have enough time to put it in, and as it's a very long piece I wanted to post it on my blog showing that my magazine would have many of these just on all different bands I listed would have reviews such as "Foals + Hadouken's live tour"
