Wednesday 14 September 2011

Bloodstock – 14.08.2011 - Part 6 - Napalm Death

            Photos:
            http://www.flickr.com/photos/snap-your-neck/sets/72157627333395585/

Having not seen them before, I didn’t know what to expect from a Napalm Death gig. Their songs are so fast and sometimes over in a matter of seconds, and in the case of You Suffer, only one second. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy fast as fuck songs, but I was concerned that in a live festival environment, the individualism and musicality of their adrenaline fuelled compositions, might get lost in translation and not effectively communicate.

            FUCK! My mouth dropped, I was shocked, amazed and confused. Vocalist Mark Greenway controlled the stage, violently shaking his head in quick succession looking as if he was suffering from a combination of ADHD, and Parkinson’s. Shane Embury, desperately trying to hide his glaringly obvious bald patch, ripped the guts out of his bass guitar, and moved well for a big man. Mitch Harris, with his brutally high pitched screeching backing vocals, shredded to the point of cardio vascular training. And how the fuck is Danny Herrera so fat? That man is a monster on the drums, and he plays so effortlessly, he must drink shit loads of ale to keep that weight up.
           
They opened with the song Strong Arm off the 2009 album, Time Waits for No Slave. And I’m not trying to get all fancy here using metaphors and the like, but when that song started, I felt like I had been punched in the face. It was all so sudden and without warning. I don’t think I inhaled throughout the entirety of that first song; I just stood in shock (I did breathe. I just lied to you).
           
My camera fired like a machine gun, but Greenway wouldn’t keep his fucking head still. He looked like a rabid mongrel dog shaking to rid itself of fleas. I love their image though, and that’s because they don’t have one. They are themselves, they don’t need to paint their fucking faces, and the singer doesn’t even have long hair anymore - anti conformists even to the crowd they play to. I fuckin love it. But that lack of dress code which symbolizes hardcore and grindcore, is almost in itself a dress code; an image. Anyway, enough about the way they look.
           
Napalm Death then dropped a series of bombs on my already battered face. Unchallenged Hate, Continuing War on Stupidity, Next on the List, When All is Said and Done, Lucid Fairytale, Social Sterility, Diktat, Lowlife, On the Brink of Extinction, Scum, Control, M.A.D, You Suffer, Nazi Punks Can Fuck Off, Suffer the Children, and Instinct of Survival. As you can see they played a varied set, choosing songs which span most of the bands career, pleasing fans that have been loyally following them since their incarnation.
           
The Cryptic Slaughter cover Low Life, which appears on Napalm’s second cover record Leaders Not Followers part 2, was a joy to hear. Lowlife has been taken form the 1986 Cryptic Slaughter album Convicted, and is a must for any fan of hardcore/grindcore/crossover. If you’ve not heard it yet, don’t tell anyone, and buy it quick, you won’t regret it.

            The Dead Kennedy’s cover Nazi Punks Can Fuck Off, seemed to be sung even more passionately than the rest of the set. Greenway lived the songs anti fascist incentives and beliefs with each word that came out of his mouth. You’d think that after playing these songs so many times the band would get bored of the same old routine, but Napalm Death quite clearly embrace their work, because they played Bloodstock with the same childlike enthusiasm as a band playing their first gig.
           
Suffer the Children was the only song from the entire decade of the 1990’s to make it into the set list. This wasn’t much of shock though considering how Napalm Death were treated during that era. The 1990’s and it’s ever changing fashions and dictated popular opinions did not agree with Napalm’s style of music, and didn’t agree with most heavy music for that matter. The bands that survived that decade deserve a badge of honor for continuing to play the music they love.

Many songs were included from recent albums, which evidently suggested that forward thinking and progress were high on the agenda. The box for audience satisfaction had also been ticked, heard through a handful of songs taken from their first two records.

            I watched in awe knowing they couldn’t be topped, but desperately hoped Exodus somehow would. While Pure Negative were the best band of Saturday, Napalm Death were the best band of the festival. Their sincere attitude and no bullshit approach has also made a lasting impression on me, only further cementing my positive opinion of them. They shit on every other band that played Bloodstock (even Exodus), and I knew they had even before the festival was over.

Their noise attack as Greenway puts it, is something very special and not to be missed if you’re a fan of heavy music. Their lyrics cover all types of ground; some political, some social and some controversial, but they are mostly influenced from seeing the world through un-spoilt, open eyes. They have their own opinions on things and always will do. Theirs will not be changed, and you cannot encourage, persuade, or influence them in any other direction. Napalm Death are true to themselves and ask their audience to take a look at what they see, and how they see it.

The highlights of their set were:

Strong Arm
When All Is Said and Done
 Lowlife
Scum
Instinct of Survival



Napalm Death:

10/10





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