So, with How To Steal A Jetfighter upon us. I decided to sit down and look back at the Invaders Must Die era. One of, if not the best era yet.
Man, so many memories. It really feels like this record came out a lifetime ago. I feel kinda sad that this era is coming to an end. So many good times. So, where do I begin?
I think I’ll start off with the news that we got about the then new record Invaders Must Die would be. We were told it was going to be a band album. The lads coming together off of the AONO/Their Law tours and working together as a band for the record. No vocal guests, just Keith and Maxim. That’s exactly what we got, a band album. A party album. A ‘yeah let’s do this, band party album. Celebration type of thing’. This was the best news for all fans and great for the band.
I remember when the boys dropped World’s on Fire and Unstoppable for the first time. Man, killer tracks. Especially Worlds on Fire, when I saw it for the very first time. I knew this was it! I knew this was going to be an awesome album, something special. I remember having goosebumps man, a moment where I was like “Fuck yeah” and so very proud to be a fan of this great band and to see things going to well for them.
I don’t quite remember the order of things. However the Amazon Previews was huge (thanks to 79Beats who reminded me of this on the forum here). They were about 20-30 seconds long and had a preview for every track on Invaders Must Die. This was good and bad. I kinda spoiled the whole thing for myself. As there is nothing better than going to the record store, buying the album. Having the day off work and blasting the record for the first time. Listing to the new sound for the first time. They don’t come by that often and it’s something pretty special. However by listing to the previews, it also got me bumped! I remember actually ripping the previews and listening to them over and over. At home, in the car, anywhere. Man, the Warriors Dance preview.. when it kicks in after the sample and ends. I was like, “I really need this”.
The boys dropped the Invaders Must Die video clip on their website. Which received good and bad vibes from the fans. I personally thought the track is amazing. Listening for the first time, so very fresh and raw. The video on the other hand, I was kinda disappointed because at the time. We didn’t really have many clips from Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned with the boys in them..(Girls, Hotride binned video). With the Invaders Must Die clip, I (we) really wanted them to be in it. It’s still a great video however would have been better if the boys were in it a little longer than three seconds…
So the singles. Omen, Warrior’s Dance and Take Me To The Hospital. From the album, I really do think all the tracks could have been a single release. So many great tracks. Maybe Omen Reprise won’t work however the rest would. It was fun trying to guess what was going to be the next single and so on at the time. Omen is by far the best choice to release as the first single and the video clip was spot on. We needed a clip with the boys and it’s actually at one of their gigs. The video captures what it’s like to be at one of their gigs and it really does a great job at showcasing their work. Warrior’s Dance, another fantastic video. This one always feels like the ‘No Good Part Two’ video clip. The boys coming into the scene and destroying the joint. The video proper and feels big budget. Great direction and ideas. Take Me To The Hospital is in my opinion. The video clip for the fans. We see the boys dancing around n’ all. Really cool. It’s what we wanted. There was at the time rumours about Run With The Wolves coming out as a single. There was also a competition for the video clip. However it never got released. I think it was a good decision not to release it, everything kinda worked out well anyway.
Also just a note on the tracks on Invaders Must Die. On this record the tracks feel a bit more casual as in, they have already been edited for single release if you understand… In the previews albums. tracks will be long, stretched. Then the single releases would be edited. Even tho they were edited here, the album just feels like a collection of single releases if you know what I mean..
B-Sides. This era was kinda terrible with the b-sides. I would have loved more of them on the single releases. Us hardcore fans are going to buy the single no matter what. However I feel like if the boys released b-sides on the single, it might sell more. We did however get the Invaders EP which was neat. It featured Mescaline and we all were pretty happy with that. However I think we all would have preferred Unstoppable.
During this era. The boys became much more social. Liam during the era blogged a lot which was so great! Getting proper little bits of news direct from Liam. We would love more of this now as it’s kinda been quiet from them as of late.
The album artwork is fantastic. It really complements the title as well. The blimp represented something alien, never before seen type of thing back in the day… So yeah. Great artwork, smart.
There’s been a lot of success as well. I feel like the boys gained a lot more younger fans this generation. Which is great, it shows you that the boys are still at their game. However just a little thing about the new fans, some of them don’t do their homework. Buy The Prodigy’s previous records… and the ranting about the new Jetfighter record. It will come. I’d rather wait for something polished than a rushed unfinished album. The album did reach number one in the UK charts. The boys headlined festival after festival after festival! Always the main act. Oh not to mention good old MIXMAG awarding The Prodigy with The Greatest Dance Act of All Time Award.
The setlist. I believe this is by far the best setlist they have right now. A bit of everything. They have really nailed the perfect setlist and I really have no idea how they will fit Jetfighter into it. A lot of the tracks have been edited shorter to make room for more tracks already. However, it somehow works perfectly. The live show has become something magical. If you go see The Prodigy right now, not only will you see them at their best, it’s an experience. Something special you will not get anywhere else.
Not sure if I really missed anything… however it’s been an amazing era with more to come! If you’re not excited, watch all the videos here and come back to me. I promise you, you’ll be pumped as!
For me, it was the best era yet. I had decided to launch Fanboy. For the love of the band. To spread the word about The Prodigy. To give fans a proper fan site. With all the news, all the fan inspired music and remixes. True Prodigy Warrior fan site you know. I really have put so many hours into this site. I spend a little part of my day jumping online and publishing content. However another reason for the site, to get the attention from the band and to one day meet them. That’s exactly what happened. A dream come true. Finally, meeting the band. A moment I’ll never forget. I remember being so nervous and my legs shaking. I really didn’t even know what I was going to say. I thanked the band for their great music and how much it means to me. It was such a weight of my shoulders to finally saying that to them. They mentioned how much they liked the site and how much work goes into it. Man, that really made everything so much worth all the hard work. Really cool lads. Then from their Fanboy finally got an interview with Liam, later Maxim and more. Things have been really great!
The gigs were really special for me to. I travelled around Australia with my very tight budget. I will never forget the Sydney gig. That was truly amazing for me. Man it was magic. So much raw energy. The band, the crowd, the tracks, the feeling, the vibe, the atmosphere. Fans who also attended this gig and the Milton Keynes gig said that this was better than Milton Keynes. Plus another thing about the Sydney gig, the fans who recognised me and offering stuff.. haha. It really was one fan after another. Of course I didn’t take any. Another gig moment. For the Melbourne show. We gave away 10 pairs of tickets on Fanboy. I met the winners there and also again so many fans recognising me. A lot more than Sydney, I felt famous haha. Good times.
So, that’s a wrap. I would like to thank the Fanboy Staff that have made Fanboy so great during this era. I also would like to thank one more person that I cannot mention but he knows who he is. Thank you for everything.
Please share your Invaders Must Die moments in the comments, Facebook, Twitter etc and on the forum here.