Napalm Death @ Paradise: April 16, 2016

Saturday night brought Napalm Death, one of the founders of grindcore metal, to the Paradise Rock Club. It was a performance that brought back memories of hardcore shows from high school where all you needed was cheap instruments and a whole lot of teen anger to entertain yourself and your friends. However, here, this particular band bought a level of skill pretty much never seen at a high school hardcore show. Napalm Death might still perform like high school punks in a garage but their musical ability is evidence of years or touring and writing some of the seminal extreme metal songs to grace the earth.

Having been around for almost 35 years Napalm Death has long set the standard for extreme British metal bands. Many of their former members have splintered off to create amazing bands like Carcass, Godflesh, Cathedral, and others. You would be hard pressed to find a band in today's metal scene that doesn't owe some debt to them. The current members have been together pretty consistently since the late 80s/early 90s. Drummer Danny Herrera was a wonder to behold. His arms were a blur as he pummeled his way through the set. I found it disturbing to discover that we are the same age. There is no way in hell I'd be able to keep up that pace. He was a beast. Guitarist Mitch Harris and bassist Shane Embury were also great to watch with Embury matching Herrera's bottom end and providing a nice heavy counterpoint to Harris' oftentimes chaotic guitar work.

And vocalist Mark Greenway held it all together. He was the focal point with his erratic, gangly body frenetically hurling itself back and forth across the stage. He was the manifestation of the bands aggressive, sociopolitical lyrics. Much of the new album, "Apex Predator - Easy Meat" rails against capitalism, and Greenway unapologetically carried this attitude, with quick sharp thrusts of music ("Metaphorically Screw You" from the new album runs a scant two minutes long) that hit you in the face.

Napalm Death may be pushing it in terms of years on the road but they still have the ability to give you a quintessential grind-core experience. It was also nice to hear a little homage to the Dead Kennedy's with "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" a song that seems more relevant than ever. Greenway even took a moment to rail against Donald Trump as he lead into the song. Overall, the band has lost none of its power and actually comes across as more powerful and timely. This is an aggressive band for an aggressive time. My only complaint is that I wished they were at a bigger venue. It is almost impossible to get a good pit going at the Paradise. Maybe next time.