The last time we saw Napalm Death in Paris intra muros, the venerable grindcore collective was in a diminished state. Bassist Shane Embury had called in sick, and vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway performed from a chair due to injury. They still managed to fuck shit up, because that is what Napalm Death does. Across decades, countless lineup changes, dozens of albums, illness, loss and thousands of gigs around the world, one constant remains, their commitment to musical destruction. If Napalm Death are on the bill, you know you are going to get your ass kicked, your head bashed, and you will be asking for more.
This appearance at the Mondial du Tatouage was no exception. Following a crushing onslaught from East European stoner doom outfit Dopelord, English D beat legends Varukers and U.S. thrash veterans Whiplash, the Birmingham quartet proceeded to level the venue with an intense, pummeling and relentlessly extreme set that drew as much from death metal as from crust punk. Shane Embury was once again missing in action, with no clear explanation... Hopefully he is doing well. Filling in for him was frequent collaborator Adam Clarkson, whose growling low end locked in perfectly with Danny Herrera’s inhuman blast beats and John Cooke’s crushing riffs.
If Napalm Death have taught us anything over the years, it is that individual names matter far less than collective purpose. What counts is absolute fidelity to the original vision. This lineup delivers the catalogue, old and new alike, with the necessary manic urgency, treating every song as if it were being played for the last time.
Love comes in spurts, as Richard Hell once sang, and the same could be said of rage. Napalm Death’s songs, and by extension their live sets, arrive in short, fast and messy bursts of bludgeoning fury. There is little time for speeches or demagogic stage banter. The music does most of the shouting and ranting on its own. Whether you are ideologically aligned with their message hardly matters. The lyrics are rarely easy to decipher anyway.
But even if you are only here for the moshing, the circle pits, the stage dives and the physical punishment, for hardcore punk pushed to its absolute limits, a few principles remain non negotiable. One is that fascism should be opposed whenever and wherever it appears. The other is simpler, louder and harder to argue with.
Napalm Death still fucking rule.
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