Invaders Must Die isnвЂ™t a bad album, but in the end it suffers from having a beginning which is, if anything, too good. Closing track Stand Up actually makes an effort to break new ground, attempting to add muscle and bite to The Go! TeamвЂ™s cartoon-dance shtick, but by then itвЂ™s too little, too late. Colours features singing children and what can only be described as rave panpipes вЂ“ both choices are equally questionable.

You run with the wolves while I hunt like a hound.вЂќДЄfter that, thereвЂ™s not much else worth reporting: Take Me to the Hospital is a claustrophobic, nightmarish come-down to begin with, but the effect is slightly diminished by a mid-section which sounds like the poor relation of No Good (Start the Dance). Incidentally, if you donвЂ™t speak fluent Basildon, the above lyrics are actually, вЂњYouвЂ™re a mug, thatвЂ™s why I had to cut you down. Dave Grohl makes a couple of guest appearances too, and the Grohl/Flint effect is at its most potent on Run With the Wolves, where Flint drawls, вЂњYamug, swy-ayadda cutchoo daan, yarun wivda wolves whilea hunlika haand' behind energetic work from everybodyвЂ™s favourite rent-a-drummer. Keith Flint makes a welcome return on vocals, and his beery, leering style lifts the tracks he features on. ThatвЂ™s not to say there arenвЂ™t positive points to take from this album. Crucially, however, they lack the humour of a Charly or Out of Space or the immediacy and pop hooks of a Firestarter or Breathe. The songs вЂ“ Omen and Invaders Must Die excepted вЂ“ could have come from any Prodigy album in the last twenty years theyвЂ™re built around nihilistic drums, aggressive synths and vaguely threatening phrases tossed together in the vain hope they might represent some form of meaningful lyric. The attention to detail is astonishing with the craftsmanship behind every beat, bass squelch and keyboard stab clearly evident, but it hardly matters when you havenвЂ™t got the tunes to back it up. These are the best tracks by some distance and interestingly, theyвЂ™re the only two songs where Howlett shares producing duties вЂ“ his partner in the studio being James Rushent of Reading electro-punks Does It Offend You, Yeah?Д«ar a few inspired bright spots, the rest of the album is faceless Prodigy-by-numbers. Ultimately, it canвЂ™t fulfil its early promise.Д«oth the title track and the current single, Omen, are built on the kind of riffs that are so infectious, it would be difficult to not make fantastic songs out of them. ItвЂ™s the most exhilarating opening track youвЂ™ll hear all year and gives the rest of this album an awful lot to live up to. The music stops, a distorted voice proclaims, вЂњWe are The ProdigyвЂќ, and weвЂ™re off: jackhammer drums, grinding industrial guitars and a behemoth riff that could strip paint. The bass rumbles on, before a riff comes in, then a drum beat, and the whole time the track is building and building, the tension ever-increasing. That may not get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up on paper, but those notes have just the right amount of reverb on them to let you know that this is classic Liam Howlett.

It starts simply enough, itвЂ™s just the same bass note repeated seven times. The title track from Invaders Must Die, The ProdigyвЂ™s fifth studio album, is that song. The Prodigy Invaders Must Die (Take Me to the Hospital / Cooking Vinyl)Д®very now and then, a song comes along that grabs you by the scruff of the neck, pins you against the wall and demands to be played over and over again.

The prodigy invaders must di