UK's godfathers of Grindcore have finished recording Smear Campaign, their highly anticipated follow-up to last year's The Code Is Red'Long Live The Code. A preview on the album fresh from the can be streamed here: http://specials.centurymedia.de/video/napalm_death__studio_preview.rm.

Reporting on the Foel Studios recording sessions, vocalist Barney Greenway said, "We just spent a few weeks again in the studio in Wales where we recorded The Code..., which was obviously such a good experience that we decided to return. Whilst we were not trying to compete with Code..., or make the same album again, it has to be said that Smear Campaign sounds twice as immense. We didn't fuck around getting the songs together but somehow Smear Campaign seems to come across as a more in-depth experience.

"It was very cool that Anneke from The Gathering offered to sing on the album. It's really funny, because we never would have thought about having guest vocals before the The Code... but every vocalist worked well with the song they contributed to. Anneke's style is clearly very different to that of, for example, Jello Biafra but what she does totally enhances the experience. It sounds pretty spooky.

"Lyrics: I guess people know about the album title now but to give a brief explanation the general thread is actually a question asking why exactly we need religion to give us a basis on how to run our lives. Can we not be trusted as human beings to make our own decisions? This applies in my eyes to everything from Christianity to Paganism to Satanism. Surely the world would be more peaceful without religious restrictions and all this false morality!" Some song titles we can already reveal are: "Rabid Wolves (For Christ)", "In Deference", "Atheist Runt", "When All Is Said and Done", "Sink Fast, Let Go", "Shattered Existence", "Fatalist", and "Call That An Option?" Set for release via Century Media Records, NAPALM DEATH's Smear Campaign's European release is slated for September 18 and September 19 in North America. Having completed the new album, NAPALM DEATH will be hitting some European summer festivals, dates here: http://www2.centurymedia.com/index.aspx?page=tour&id_artist=119, delivering a dose of utter violent grindcore intensity onstage!