Leaders Not Followers: Part 2

Leaders Not Followers: Part 2 is a comprehensive covers album released in 2004, following their 1999 EP of a similar name. While Napalm Death is primarily known for their original contributions to grindcore, this project sees them interpreting tracks from influential hardcore punk, thrash, and death metal bands like Cryptic Slaughter, Discharge, and Sepultura. Recorded at Russ Russell's Parlour Studios, the album maintains a raw, live-in-the-room energy that contrasts with the more polished production of their contemporary studio albums like 'The Code Is Red...'. It serves as a vital piece of metal scholarship, highlighting the cross-pollination between the UK crust scene and global extreme metal. Critics noted that the band managed to make these songs sound like Napalm Death originals while preserving the 'primitive' charm of the source material. It remains a fan favorite for its relentless pace and its role in introducing a new generation of metalheads to the underground pioneers of the 1980s.