No Tourists

In July 2015, three months after the release of their previous album, The Day Is My Enemy, songwriter and producer Liam Howlett revealed the group's desire to shift their output from albums to EPs due to the lengthy production process and the need to deliver new material to fans more quickly. In 2017, Howlett began preparing new material for a proposed EP, with "Fight Fire with Fire" being the first track he worked on, co-written with the American hip-hop duo Ho99o9. The song originated as a remix that Howlett had agreed to produce for them, but the two parties decided to include it on No Tourists as it matched the "feel and flow" of the album. Howlett expressed satisfaction with the results, stating, "Once I had finished that, I was on a flow". After six months, he had ideas for six complete songs. In September 2017, the band announced that they had signed a recording deal with BMG Rights Management, granting them the green light to produce a new studio album. Howlett believes that No Tourists displays the same level of aggression as other Prodigy albums, "but in a different way". along with collaborations with Ho99o9 and English singer-songwriter Barns Courtney. ==Recording==

The album was written, produced, and mixed by Howlett over the course of a year at Tileyard Studios in King's Cross, London. He made a conscious effort to write the new material differently than he had for The Day Is My Enemy, going so far as to avoid socializing with friends and sacrificing sleep to obtain different patterns of thought and assess how it affected the creative process. He also refrained from alcohol, having consumed a significant amount during the recording of The Day Is My Enemy. ==Design==

On 19 July 2018, the album's title and front cover were revealed on the group's official Instagram page. Howlett asserted that the title was not a reference to immigration or any political message, explaining that it refers to the album's theme of escapism: "The want and need to be derailed. Don't be a tourist – there is always more danger and excitement to be found if you stray from the set path". The front cover depicts a Routemaster bus on route 7, with its destination being The Four Aces in Dalston, the location of the band's debut gig in 1990. ==Promotion==

On 19 July 2018, the album's lead single, "Need Some1", premiered on Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1. Its music video was released on YouTube following its debut broadcast. Directed by Paco Raterta, the video was filmed in Manila. The second track, "Light Up the Sky", debuted on BBC Radio 6 on 26 September 2018, and was made available later that day. It was used in the trailer for the F1 2019 game in 2019. "Fight Fire with Fire", featuring Ho99o9, was the third single, released on 11 October 2018. On 24 October 2018, a secret listening party was held for invited fans, who experienced the album played in full at a secret location, which turned out to be Egg London, a nightclub next to Tileyard Studios where the album was recorded. The following day, a new track called "We Live Forever" was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show. The Prodigy planned to support No Tourists with a world tour starting in November 2018, which included dates in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. On 4 March 2019, frontman Keith Flint was found dead at his home in Essex, just weeks after performing six live dates in Australia and New Zealand. All future tour dates were canceled on 5 March 2019. ==Release==

No Tourists was released on 2 November 2018, in various formats, including CD, vinyl, and audio cassette. making it their seventh consecutive studio album to reach No. 1. ==Reception==

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Mojo reviewer Ben Thompson also gave the album three stars out of five, pointing out that following an "unconvincing stab at collective irresponsibility" on The Day Is My Enemy, the latest effort from the band "marks a welcome return to unenlightened despotism." He noted that four of the album's ten tracks refer to a type of explosion. While it covers a "familiar sonic landscape", he thought that "it's also a lot of fun", highlighting "Champions of London" and the "Fuck you!" lyric of "Boom Boom Tap" as standout moments. A two out of five-star review was given by Rupert Howe for Q magazine, who thought the trio "seem in need of a new adventure." While he believed "Need Some1" would satisfy the band's hardcore fans, he noted that "much of what follows sounds like he's set his overdriven synths to autopilot," with contributions from Flint and Maxim "reduced to the odd irate interjection." He praised their collaboration with Ho99o9 on "Fight Fire with Fire", but rated "Champions of London" as a "shadow of their past glories" from the 1990s. ==Track listing==

• Liam Howlett • Maxim • Olly Burden • Jiří Schelinger }} • Liam Howlett • Robert Chetcuti • Keith Camilleri • Cedric Miller • Keith Thornton • Trevor Randolph • Maurice Smith }} • Liam Howlett • John Du Prez • Olly Burden }} • Liam Howlett • theOGM • Eaddy }} • Liam Howlett • Edward Chisholm • Christopher Barbosa }} • Liam Howlett • Keith Flint • Maxim }} • Liam Howlett • Andy Milonakis • Olly Burden }} • Liam Howlett • James Rushent }} • Liam Howlett • Barns Courtney • Olly Burden }} }} Samples • "Need Some1" samples "Crash Goes Love" by Loleatta Holloway • "Light Up the Sky" samples "Mam Rád Lidi" by Jiří Schelinger • "We Live Forever" samples "Critical Beatdown" by Ultramagnetic MCs • "No Tourists" contains a sample from the film soundtrack of "Bullseye!" • "Timebomb Zone" interpolates "Time Bomb (Dub Version)" by Alfonso feat. Jimi Tunnell • "Boom Boom Tap" contains a sample of "2 Weeks Sober" by Andy Milonakis • "Resonate" contains samples of "Sound Killer" by Brother Culture ==Personnel==

The Prodigy • Liam Howlett – writing, keyboards, synthesizers, sampling, drum programming • Keith Flint – vocals on "We Live Forever", "Champions of London", and "Give Me a Signal" • Maxim – vocals on "Light Up the Sky", "We Live Forever", "No Tourists", and "Champions of London" Additional personnel • Brother Culture – vocals on "Light Up the Sky" and "Resonate" • Ho99o9 (Jean "theOGM" Lebrun, Lawrence "Eaddy" Eaddy) – vocals on "Fight Fire with Fire" • Barns Courtney – vocals on "Give Me a Signal" • Olly Burden – guitar on "Light Up the Sky", "Fight Fire with Fire", and "Champions of London" • Leo Crabtree – live drums on "Champions of London" Production • Liam Howlett – production, recording, engineering, mixing • James Rushent – production on "Need Some1" and "Resonate" • Olly Burden – co-production on "Light Up the Sky", "Fight Fire with Fire", "Timebomb Zone", "Champions of London", "Boom Boom Tap", and "Give Me a Signal" • Richard Adlam – sample recreation production on "Timebomb Zone" • Hal Ritson – sample recreation production on "Timebomb Zone" • René LaVice – additional production elements on "Champions of London" • Robert Chetcuti and Jim Pavloff – assistance on "Need Some1" • Rob Jevons – assistance on "Champions of London" • Prash "Engine-Earz" Mistry – mastering (including stem mastering on "Fight Fire with Fire", "Boom Boom Tap", and "Give Me a Signal") (at FORWA3DSTUDIOS, London) • Linden Jay – mastering assistant (at FORWA3DSTUDIOS, London) • Luke Insect – artwork and sleeve design • Rahul Singh – photography ==Charts==