The Prodigy Live Review

When The Prodigy released the first taster of their new album- Invaders Must Die- people MTV spoke to said it ripped off Hadouken and Pendulum.

Admittedly its not the most original song Keith, Maxim and producer Liam Howlett have put out- but its bloody hard to compare the band to recent groups when their first three albums were so influential.

The Experience forged a route to the charts for rave and dance music as early as 1991. And both Music For The Jilted Generation and Fat Of The Land introduced an industrial dance sound, put UK rap on million-selling albums and widened indie bands horizons (see: Kasabian, Bloc Party and Does It Offend You Yeah?).

At Brixton Academy on Friday (December 12) the first big moment was second song in- Breathe. As Keith and Maxims only proper duet it shows the frontmen at their best. On stage they are more like sparring rivals than bandmates.

Keith later screams Thats why Im f*cking here! in his great Essex drawl as Firestarter kicks in. Maxim- the engaging and experienced MC of the group- also commands the crowd for Smack My Bitch Up.

Brutal rocker Spitfire is played as well as Voodoo People- which sees Keith (forty next year) show us his famed dance moves. Of the new tracks World Is On Fire and old school rave tune Warriors Dance are the ones that should or rather could announce their return.

The set ends with a sing along to Out Of Space taking it back to the early 90s. The Prodigy proving that they have a solid back catalogue and can still cut it live.

But with an ageing crowd their problem in 2009 is reminding the kids how groundbreaking their music can be and that they came before the above mentioned band!