The Day Is My Enemy is the sixth studio album by English electronic music group the Prodigy. It was released on 30 March 2015 by the record labels Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Three Six Zero Music/Warner Bros. Records in the United States.
Recorded over four years, the album marks the first time that band members Maxim and Keith Flint were actively involved in the songwriting process. The album title references the Cole Porter song "All Through the Night", specifically its lyrics "the day is my enemy, the night my friend",[4] though it was the Ella Fitzgerald version that first inspired the title track.[5]
Given the band's general lack of interest in making albums and the time required for production, The Day Is My Enemy was speculated to be their last full-length album.[6] However, in September 2017, the band signed a worldwide record publishing deal with BMG Rights Management and subsequently released a follow-up album, No Tourists, in 2018.[7]
Recording
The first known appearance of new material from the Prodigy came in 2011 when the band debuted new tracks during live performances. The first two of these tracks were "A.W.O.L." and "Dogbite", with 2012 bringing a new track titled "Jetfighter".[8]Liam Howlett reiterated that the new album would be "darker" compared to their previous releases.[9] On 3 May 2012, the tentative album title was revealed as How to Steal a Jetfighter.[10] On 2 July 2014, the Prodigy announced that the album would be reintroduced with a brand-new name.[11]
The second working title for the album was Rebel Radio, though it underwent another change. Howlett explained that he struggled to envision it as an album title and instead decided to make it the title of one of the album tracks.[12]
The album was written and recorded largely while on tour, in various hotel rooms around the world, on flights, at the Prodigy's private studio at Tileyard Studios, and was mixed at SARM.[13] Howlett noted that "violent is the word that keeps on coming up" when describing the album. The entire recording process took nearly six years, spanning multiple studios and involving a few restarts to achieve the "angry, energetic sound." Unlike previous projects, The Day Is My Enemy developed as a band album, with Flint and Maxim collaborating closely with Howlett. This led to some friction; however, Flint remarked that "four years ago we sat down and talked about where the next album was gonna go, and we knew we had to bust out the most 'band' album we could create."[14]
Composition
The album's title track was the last to be produced. In an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, Howlett shared that the track idea emerged when his friend Olly Burden presented him with a guitar riff, which would ultimately form the track's foundation. Howlett then requested permission to use the riff during production, and the results were strong enough to make it the album opener. The track also features additional drumming by the Switzerland-based drum corps, Top Secret Drum Corps.[15][13]
The song "Ibiza" (featuring Sleaford Mods) critiques superstar DJ culture. Howlett explained, "we did a gig in Ibiza, and I’m not a great fan of the place, but it isn’t an attack on the island, it’s an attack on these mindless fucking jokers that arrive in their Learjets, pull a USB stick out of their pockets, plug it in and wave their hands in the air to a pre-programmed mix".[14]
Promotion and release
On 26 January 2015, the band released the official audio for the title track, "The Day Is My Enemy", on their official YouTube channel and as a digitally downloadable promotional single.[16] The official music video for the third single, "Wild Frontier", was released on 23 February 2015, directed by Dutch filmmaker Mascha Halberstad[17] and animator Elmer Kaan.[18]
"Wall of Death" was released on 16 March 2015 as a promotional single, accompanied by a lyric video.[19] UK retailer HMV announced during the week leading up to the album's release that they would stock an exclusive EP alongside the album, primarily consisting of remixes of "Nasty" and "Wild Frontier".[20] "Ibiza" was released as the album's third official and fifth overall single on 23 March 2015, while "Rhythm Bomb" was released as a promotional single on 25 March 2015, followed by "Get Your Fight On" as a promotional single on 26 March 2015. The music video for "Ibiza" was uploaded to the Prodigy's YouTube channel on 20 April 2015.
The Day Is My Enemy was released on 30 March 2015[22] by the record labels Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Three Six Zero Music/Warner Bros. Records in the United States.[23]
In contrast to their previous two albums, critical response to The Day Is My Enemy was positive. It currently holds an aggregate score of 67 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews.[25]
Kerrang! awarded the album its highest rating, describing it as "simultaneously galvanized by both a thrilling creative resurgence and the social unrest that comes when people are cocooned by a culture of fear," and called it the most exciting and angrily British album of the year.[33]NME observed that the tracks were primarily written for live performances, but still regarded it as "the strongest and most confident Prodigy album since The Fat of the Land."[29]Consequence of Sound highlighted "Beyond the Deathray" as the album’s standout, stating that it "epitomizes this new band-focused approach, and it's probably the most beautiful track in The Prodigy's discography".[34]
AllMusic found that the band-focused approach benefited several tracks but overall criticized the album’s length, finding that at 14 tracks, it is "built for returning fan club members and not the EP-craving EDM crowd".[26] In a more critical review, Drowned in Sound echoed similar concerns, claiming that the band "embraces their psycho circus shtick to the point of suffocation".[35] Daryl Keating of Exclaim! was critical of the group's attempts at recapturing their old-school breakbeat sound and "awful stylistic combinations," calling the record "an embarrassing display that inevitably ends badly".[36]
The Day Is My Enemy debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, marking the band's sixth consecutive record to reach the top of the chart.[37]
"The Day Is My Enemy" (Liam H Remix featuring Dope D.O.D.)
2:53
2.
"Shut 'em Up" (The Prodigy vs Public Enemy vs Manfred Mann)
4:20
3.
"Get Your Fight On" (live at Alexandra Palace 2015)
3:49
4.
"Roadblox" (live at Sonicmania Japan 2015)
4:16
5.
"Roadblox" (The Jaguar Skills Ninja Terminator Remix)
4:19
6.
"Roadblox" (Reso Remix)
4:32
7.
"Medicine" (South Central Remix)
4:42
8.
"AWOL" (Strike One)
2:59
9.
"Nasty" (Spor Remix)
5:09
10.
"Wild Frontier" (KillSonik Remix)
5:27
11.
"Wild Frontier" (Jesse and the Wolf Remix)
3:40
12.
"Wild Frontier" (Wilkinson Remix)
4:16
13.
"Rebel Radio" (Proxy Remix)
5:15
14.
"Rebel Radio" (René LaVice's Start a Fucking Riot Remix)
5:05
15.
"Ibiza" (instrumental)
2:45
16.
"The Day Is My Enemy" (Chris Avantgarde Remix)
3:52
17.
"The Day Is My Enemy" (Liam H Remix featuring Dope D.O.D.) (instrumental)
2:53
18.
"The Day Is My Enemy" (LH Edit)
3:36
HMV exclusive remix EP
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Wild Frontier" (KillSonik Remix)
5:19
2.
"Wild Frontier" (Jesse and the Wolf Remix)
3:38
3.
"Wild Frontier" (Wilkinson Remix)
4:08
4.
"Wild Frontier" (instrumental)
4:30
5.
"Nasty" (instrumental)
4:07
6.
"Nasty" (Spor Remix)
5:11
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.
Title
Length
15.
"Rebel Radio" (Proxy Remix)
5:16
16.
"Wild Frontier" (KillSonik Remix)
5:17
Tour edition CD2 (Japanese only)
No.
Title
Length
1.
"AWOL" (Strike One)
2:58
2.
"Rebel Radio" (René LaVice's Start a Fucking Riot Remix)
5:08
3.
"Nasty" (Spor Remix)
5:11
4.
"The Day Is My Enemy" (Caspa Remix)
3:30
5.
"Wild Frontier" (Jesse and the Wolf Remix)
3:38
6.
"Wild Frontier" (Shadow Child Remix)
5:43
7.
"Nasty" (Onen Remix)
3:59
8.
"Nasty" (Zinc Remix)
4:13
9.
"Wild Frontier" (Wilkinson Remix)
4:18
Personnel
The Prodigy
Liam Howlett – production, writing, keyboards, synthesizers, sampling, programming, engineering, mixing; additional voices on "Wall of Death"
Keith Flint – vocals on "Nasty", "Rebel Radio", "Ibiza", "Rok-Weiler", "Get Your Fight On", "Invisible Sun", "Wall of Death"; writing on "Nasty", "Rok-Weiler", "Wall of Death"
Maxim – vocals on "The Day Is My Enemy", "Nasty", "Rebel Radio", "Wild Frontier", "Roadblox", "Get Your Fight On", "Medicine", "Wall of Death"; writing on "Roadblox", "Get Your Fight On", "Medicine"
Additional personnel
Neil McLellan – additional writing on "Beyond the Deathray", co-production, engineering, mixing (all)
Mark "YT" Hull – vocals and additional writing on "Medicine"
Cole Porter – writing on "The Day Is My Enemy" (incorporating elements of "All Through the Night")
Olly Burden – additional writing on "The Day Is My Enemy" and "Wall of Death"
Nick Halkes – additional writing on "Nasty", "Wild Frontier", "Get Your Fight On"
Cheri Williams of Jomanda – original vocals and additional writing on "Rhythm Bomb" (sample taken from "Make My Body Rock 1990")
Dwayne Richardson – additional writing on "Rhythm Bomb" (sample taken from "Make My Body Rock 1990")
Jari Salo – additional writing on "Get Your Fight On" (sample taken from "Salami Fever")
Paul Malmström – additional writing on "Get Your Fight On" (sample taken from "Salami Fever")
Babaka & His Ensemble – original sample performer on "Medicine" (sample taken from "Se Makri Sofra / At a Long Table" from the album "Music of the Balkans, Vol. 2")
