Prodigy - Omen

[ambient]

The Prodigy are back!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMVTKOoy1uk

[JadeAuto]

Wow, can it be, The Prodigy coming back from their 10-year slump with something.... good?

Awesome. Anyone know the release date of the cd? :)

*wiki edit*
On November 4, 2008, It was announced that the band's fifth studio album would be called Invaders Must Die and will be released on the band's new label, "Take Me to the Hospital" on February 23, 2009.

[Meteo Xavier]

10 years is not a slump, its a tradition.

how I will segue my comment that this would've been great... back in 1998, will be challenging, but I'll find a way.

I didn't know people still listen to music like this. Frankly, the only person who should be making music like this is Zircon.

[OverCoat]

10-year slump

10 year what?

I liked Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned :V It's not nearly as good as Fat of the Land [very little is] but I thought it was great still.

[EvilHorde]

Sounds like they've gone back to their roots a bit. Better than going to the godawful Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned direction. Yuck. Somehow music like this is not doing it to me anymore. Back in the day I was a huge Prodigy fan and I still like some of their songs but in general I'm just not that interested, although this is somewhat a sweet song. Pure fun and energy. At least its awesome compared to anything on Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

[Skummel Maske]

Wow. I secured tickets to a Prodigy show in about a month or so, which I believe is their first show in Norway in 12-ish years. At least I've wanted to see them live for 12 years. My only concern about this show was that I don't really care for their post-TFOTL stuff. Now that's no longer a concern!

[PrototypeRaptor]

I don't know why, but it reminded me more of Pendulum's new album than really a regression to their TFOTL style - the drums in particular.
Maybe I just need to listen to more Prodigy, especially since I bet it's the other way around - Pendulum probably took most of their "inspiration" from them...:razz:

[GeckoYamori]

Sounds like something that would have come out inbetween Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land. I stopped listening to them once they went for the whole punk sound and image with FotL.

[Zombie]

dude that song is sick

[JadeAuto]

Sounds like something that would have come out inbetween Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land. I stopped listening to them once they went for the whole punk sound and image with FotL.

This exactly. Experience was bliss, Jilted Generation was great, FotL had a few good tracks (re: minefields/narayan/climbatize), Always outnumbered... just didn't have what I liked about the Prodigy.

Glad they're going back to an earlier sound. The first track off this album is good too - something new for the mp3 player to have loaded :D

[zircon]

Absolutely great. I'm even more excited about some of the other tracks off this new album, such as "Warrior's Dance" - though I really DIDN'T like "Invaders Must Die."

[The Vagrance]

Sounds alright, but I'm approaching their new album quite skeptically. Invaders Must Die was pretty terrible and this track is treading the thin line between fun cheesy and just bad cheesy. Doesn't help that they've kind of fallen off the relevancy map. I'll give their new one a good listen-through or two but I'd be lying if I said I was expecting something outstanding, that said its definitely a good sign for the future of the Prodigy.

[zircon]

I don't think relevance really matters. Who is "relevant" now, anyway? All the big club hits of the last.. 5 years or so have been totally disposable. "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Busy Child", to name two examples, still hold legendary status. I honestly don't think guys like Deadmau5 will hold the test of time. Pendulum... maybe. But for the last few years, all the popular club music has just been flavor-of-the-month (usually electro house) with very little substance.

Omen might not be a big club hit but the Prodigy really have never been about trying to please everyone.. except with Invaders Must Die (the song) I guess. AONO was a great example of this. I really enjoyed it. "Girls" was sick, as was "The Way It Is" and "Get Up Get Off". I like that they're closer to rock, and focus more on catchy hooks and songwriting rather than mindless production tricks.

[The Vagrance]

I don't think relevance really matters. Who is "relevant" now, anyway? All the big club hits of the last.. 5 years or so have been totally disposable. "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Busy Child", to name two examples, still hold legendary status. I honestly don't think guys like Deadmau5 will hold the test of time. Pendulum... maybe. But for the last few years, all the popular club music has just been flavor-of-the-month (usually electro house) with very little substance.

Omen might not be a big club hit but the Prodigy really have never been about trying to please everyone.. except with Invaders Must Die (the song) I guess. AONO was a great example of this. I really enjoyed it. "Girls" was sick, as was "The Way It Is" and "Get Up Get Off". I like that they're closer to rock, and focus more on catchy hooks and songwriting rather than mindless production tricks.

Relevancy completely matters, as their older stuff pretty much defined the Old-School and Big Beat genres. Granted, relevancy doesn't necessarily lead to great music but part of their legend is how much they defined a time and a sound. I wouldn't call all club hits of the past few years disposable, as there have been quite a few instant classic-type DnB tracks that came out ("Together", "The Distance", "Skyscraper", "Drop it Down", "Still Grey/Spiral/Vault"). I doubt Pendulum will hold relevancy seeing as how they don't anymore in the DnB scene (even those who still like them will admit they're not DnB) however Noisia is poised to stay as is Logistics, London Elektricity (though he's been around for goodness knows how long), and all of the other old legends that still got it (Dieselboy, D Kay, Calyx & Teebee to an extent, Break), not to mention people who are up-and-coming that have potential staying power (Mistabishi, Brookes Brothers, etc.).

That said, all I know about is the DnB scene and electro house is definitely pretty stagnant, though I will admit it is fun to listen to sometimes and I really like what Trentemoller (oh god I love Trentemoller), the Swedish House Mafia, and some of what's coming out of Ed Banger Records (though their shtick is kind of getting stale). I also agree that AONO wasn't a terrible album, I wouldn't call it amazing by any means but "Girls" is such a heavy tune.

To say they're not in it to please though is SO not true though. I mean, they used to have dancers in the group, as in people who didn't do much but play a couple of notes then dance all over the place.

[zircon]

I guess we have different definitions of relevance & popularity. In the late 90s, Prodigy, TCM and the Chems were so big that they were reaching mainstream audiences. They were never as big as pop/rock acts of the time but their names are still known today. My sister (an academic music theory PhD student) knows who Prodigy is. Deadmau5? No way. Daft Punk is the closest group performing today to reach outside the 'electronica crowd'. No matter how good Dieselboy is, and he IS good, he doesn't even come close to that. Pendulum is the closest by far, but even they have little reach in the U.S. (only in the U.K., really, and maybe Australia.)

I think this new material from Prodigy is probably not enough to propel them to that upper level of popularity that they had before, but no electronic group except DP is close to that, currently. Maybe The Chemical Brothers.. maybe.

When I said Prodigy aren't out to please people, I meant more that they are not ones to follow trends, generally speaking. They tend to just do whatever they want, hence the heavy rap/lyrical emphasis which is really unusual for electronica, as well as the highly distorted sounds and unorthodox beats. This new material is not groundbreaking anymore, but more of a refinement of their previous sound, granted. Their live show really isn't like the live shows of other acts either. They have a unique image.

[The Vagrance]

I guess we have different definitions of relevance & popularity. In the late 90s, Prodigy, TCM and the Chems were so big that they were reaching mainstream audiences. They were never as big as pop/rock acts of the time but their names are still known today. My sister (an academic music theory PhD student) knows who Prodigy is. Deadmau5? No way. Daft Punk is the closest group performing today to reach outside the 'electronica crowd'. No matter how good Dieselboy is, and he IS good, he doesn't even come close to that. Pendulum is the closest by far, but even they have little reach in the U.S. (only in the U.K., really, and maybe Australia.)

I think this new material from Prodigy is probably not enough to propel them to that upper level of popularity that they had before, but no electronic group except DP is close to that, currently. Maybe The Chemical Brothers.. maybe.

When I said Prodigy aren't out to please people, I meant more that they are not ones to follow trends, generally speaking. They tend to just do whatever they want, hence the heavy rap/lyrical emphasis which is really unusual for electronica, as well as the highly distorted sounds and unorthodox beats. This new material is not groundbreaking anymore, but more of a refinement of their previous sound, granted. Their live show really isn't like the live shows of other acts either. They have a unique image.

Ah, same page now.

Really I can't see electronic music being anywhere near the mainstream for any time soon; it certainly had a chance recently but I'm pretty sure the hipster scene killed that chance.

[GeckoYamori]

I guess we have different definitions of relevance & popularity. In the late 90s, Prodigy, TCM and the Chems were so big that they were reaching mainstream audiences. They were never as big as pop/rock acts of the time but their names are still known today.

They are mainstream all over Europe, and probably the rest of the "developed" world with music chart markets. America is pretty much the single one out. The big beat acts of the mid-to-late 90's were as close as it could get to reaching out there because it was more akin to rock than typical dance music.


To say they're not in it to please though is SO not true though. I mean, they used to have dancers in the group, as in people who didn't do much but play a couple of notes then dance all over the place.

Pretty sure they've been there almost since day 1. The music is all Liam, but once they hit it big they had to market themselves more as a typical band so the average listener would "get it".

[Hy Bound]

I don't think relevance really matters. Who is "relevant" now, anyway? All the big club hits of the last.. 5 years or so have been totally disposable. "Smack My Bitch Up" and "Busy Child", to name two examples, still hold legendary status. I honestly don't think guys like Deadmau5 will hold the test of time. Pendulum... maybe. But for the last few years, all the popular club music has just been flavor-of-the-month (usually electro house) with very little substance.

It makes me monumentally happy to hear someone say that.

[The Vagrance]

Pretty sure they've been there almost since day 1. The music is all Liam, but once they hit it big they had to market themselves more as a typical band so the average listener would "get it".

They did have dancers since day 1 and have since gotten rid of them, but they were definitely crowd-pleasers more than anything. Maybe not in a strictly "let's make as much money as possible" way were they out to please but they certainly were aiming to please people.

[Beatdrop]

I didn't know people still listen to music like this. Frankly, the only person who should be making music like this is Zircon.

What a terribly stupid thing to say.

[Palpable]

That said, all I know about is the DnB scene and electro house is definitely pretty stagnant, though I will admit it is fun to listen to sometimes and I really like what Trentemoller (oh god I love Trentemoller), the Swedish House Mafia, and some of what's coming out of Ed Banger Records (though their shtick is kind of getting stale).

I've got a Trentemøller-inspired remix that should be posted sometime soon. Not nearly as good as him, naturally, but I do what I can. I love the hell out of him too. One of the most creative electronic producers working today.

[The Vagrance]

I've got a Trentemøller-inspired remix that should be posted sometime soon. Not nearly as good as him, naturally, but I do what I can. I love the hell out of him too. One of the most creative electronic producers working today.

I can't wait to hear it. I love how at the first listen it sounds a little bit typical of the genre but after a little bit of time you start to realize how awesome his stuff is.

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that the song I'm most anticipating from the Prodigy release is "Take me to the Hospital", which sounds absolutely brutal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZPc_yJBu94

That sad Omen is also growing on me, IMD is still shit tho.

[zircon]

Nice... love the organ stabs, that's Jilted style. Audio quality is awful though :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WaG1vV_92M&fmt=18

This one is what I'm REALLY looking forward to. That bass is just gross.

[The Vagrance]

I absolutely love the vocal samples on the track. So far the best tracks from the album I'm hearing are the ones where they realize that MftJG was a better sound for them as opposed to FotL.

I also just realized that Noisia did a remix to Omen, which is kind of ridiculous. The bass is absolutely insane but I kind of miss the breakdown thats in the original track. Both are great tunes in their respective rights though (every time I listen to Omen I like it a little bit more):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKztNydJA64

[The Vagrance]

So the whole album just leaked and I'm listening to it.

Really I'm assuming they released the title track early because its one of the weakest tracks on the album, because so far Omen has been kinda cool as it is, Thunder is insanely cool, Colours is pretty groovy, and though the studio version of Take Me to the Hospital is a bit disappointing, its still hella tight. Really the only other tracks I haven't really liked are Run with the Wolves and Piranha. Omen Reprise is also worth mentioning just because it feels so much like a throwback to their "Weather Experience" days and I kinda wish it wasn't so short, and I wouldn't have immediately guessed that Stand Up was a Prodigy track.

Overall its a pretty good album. Its not Experience, its not Music for the Jilted Generation, and its not Fat of the Land, but its still a good album in its own right and even though it probably won't blow any minds or have nearly as big of an impact as their last two albums, its not a bad release in the slightest.

[JadeAuto]

Started listening to it myself today.

Invaders Must Die - 6/10 - I like it, but it could get old fast.
Omen - 8/10 (I prefer the music video edit, but that's just me)
Thunder - 4.5/10 - Just missing something to me...
Colours - 7/10 - good, but not great
Take me to the Hospital - 8/10 - good stuff
Warrior's Dance - 9/10 - Sofar, my favorite track. good groove.
Run with the Wolves - 3/10 - Ugh. Just don't like this song.
Omen Reprise - 9.5/10 - I wish this one was six times as long and further expanded on. Hot stuff.
World's On Fire - 5/10 - another less than stellar track.
Piranha - 6/10 - Catchy, but not their best effort.
Stand Up - 4.5/10 - An experiment, but not a great one. Catchy tune, but it's not what you'd expect...

Overall: 6/10. It's good, but parts are forgettable. Omen, Take me to the Hospital and Warrior's Dance are the standouts.

[FiremanJoe]

There most certainly are some similarities between this album and recent Pendulum (I'm certain that Liam and Rob influence one another's work). Invaders Must Die in particular, stands out as an example of this. I thought they could have done more with the drums on this track, and the main hook annoyed me a bit but the vocal sample was cool.

Omen had a solid, chunky bassline. Thunder had the weakest vocals of the album.

Definitely enjoyed the throwbacks to old breakbeat hardcore rhythms on tracks such as Warrior's Dance. Lately I've been listening to a bit of oldschool stuff (namely 4hero/Reinforced Records (http://www.discogs.com/label/Reinforced+Records), DJ Crystl/Lucky Spin Recordings (http://www.discogs.com/label/Lucky+Spin+Recordings), etc) and it's nice to see that people are still digging the oldschool vibe. :D

Stand Up seemed a little out of place, but I quite enjoyed it nonetheless.

I've only listened to the album once so far and am feeling a little ambivalent about it as I'm sure you can guess. :tomatoface: Either way, it's good to see The Prodigy back and releasing new music.

As a sort of side-note, the Noisia remix of Omen is sick. Looking forward to hearing more remixes from this album; would love to hear a rougher version of Warrior's Dance in particular.

[CC Ricers]

Damn you Vangrance, you beat me to it on posting the Noisia remix. That remix of The Omen is sick.