Although the name Napalm Death has existed since 1981, as the band’s
first line-up plundered the post- and anarcho-punk scenes for
inspiration, it was 1987’s seminal Scum album that would ensure
their place in the grand pantheon of heaviness. A visceral dismantling
of conventions, it effectively kick-started the entire Grindcore
scene, gaining Napalm Death something approaching household name
status for their insane speeds, animalistic screams and uncompromising
political stance. From that moment, the band became synonymous with
both proudly-held ethical principles and the relentless pursuit of new
ways to terrorise people with riffs and noise. By the early ‘90s,
Napalm Death had coalesced around a steady line-up of vocalist Barney
Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, drummer Danny Herrera and guitarists
Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado. Renowned for both unrelenting tour
schedules and a steady stream of consistently well-received albums,
they have powered forward ever since, weathering transient trends,
media indifference and industry skulduggery along the way. Despite the
sad passing of Pintado in 2006, the 21st century has seen Napalm Death
continue to refine and redefine their still epoch-wrecking sound, with
instant classic albums like Smear Campaign (2006) and Utilitarian
(2012) adding further flesh to the bones of this ongoing legend. While
many veteran bands are content to repeat themselves or to wallow in
nostalgia, these noise-hungry stalwarts seem to have gained fresh
impetus and momentum in recent times, as showcased on 2015’s
Apex Predator – Easy Meat, and its universally acclaimed and truly
mind-bending Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism (2020). The
creation of the latter masterpiece clearly ranks as one of the most
fertile periods in Napalm Death history, as the band are now to
unleash a brand new 30-minute mini-album, Resentment is Always
Seismic - a final throw of Throes. Boasting some of the band’s most
experimental material yet, alongside the expected bursts of
bone-shattering extremity, the new release continues Napalm Death’s
devotion to a defiantly underground punk rock ethos. “It was all
recorded during the sessions for the last album, but as you know, we
always record a shitload of stuff!” says Barney Greenway. “We
purposely said, right, we’re going to put a mini-album out for a
change! Being from the school of hoary old punk rockers, we like to do
these stripped down releases. We recorded enough that we still had a
lot of bonus tracks for the original album release, and we had all
this extra stuff left over!” Continuing the fearless exploration of
their legendary sound’s outer limits, Resentment is Always
Seismic… is full of jaw-dropping moments where heaviness and
insanity collide. From the crushing, ultra-distorted groovesof opener
Narcissus and the sluggish, Swans-saluting oppression of Resentment
Always Simmers, to the visceral rage attack of By Proxy and blistering
covers of Bad Brains’ Don’t Need It and industrial noise rock
icons SLAB!’s pummelling People Pie, Napalm Death’s music has
never sounded more vital or unique. Nowhere is that more evident than
on the new mini-album’s closing title track, wherein bassist Shane
Embury morphs into his Dark Sky Burial alter-ego for a
synapse-torching remix for the ages. “These songs are pretty much an
extension of the last album, but there’s a lot of crazy stuff on
there and we really went for it,” Barney concludes. “With the
title track, Shane punted the idea of doing a remix, and I thought
yeah, why not? We’ve always shared a love of things like Coil, and
all that dark, soundscape stuff, so I was quite happy for him to do
that. Him and Russ [Russell, producer] built the track, with all kinds
of inanimate objects being thrown around in very unsavoury ways!
[Laughs] It turned out really fucking good. The Melvins are one of
modern music’s most influential bands. Having formed in 1983
Montesano, Washington, the group - founded by vocalist/guitarist Buzz
Osborne, with drummer Dale Crover joining a year later - has been
credited with merging the worlds of punk rock and heavy music, forming
a new subgenre all their own. Over their 40-plus-year career,
they’ve released more than 30 original albums, numerous live
records, and far too many to count singles and rarities. Recent
releases include 2024’s Tarantula Heart, a really good collection of
what the Melvins do, what they can do and what they want to do, and
Five Legged Dog (2021), an ambitious 36-track acoustic collection that
reimagines their heaviest songs alongside covers of their favorite
artists. Throughout their discography, the Melvins have collaborated
with Jello Biafra, Mudhoney, and Fantômas for individual releases and
toured the world many times over. Remarkably, they had the misfortune
to be in both Christchurch and Tokyo for their 2011 earthquakes. In
2012, the Melvins completed the “51 States in 51 Days” (50 states
+DC) tour, which was chronicled in the film “Across The USA in 51
Days.” The current incarnation of the band is Osborne, Crover, and
Steven McDonald (Redd Kross). Previous line-ups included a pairing of
Osborne and Crover with Jared Warren and Coady Willis of Big Business,
a four-piece featuring the current trio plus Butthole Surfers’ Jeff
Pinkus, as well as Melvins Lite, which partners Osborne and Crover
with Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn. Sometimes, if you’re extra lucky,
one version of the Melvins will open for the Melvins.
music
54
Views
10/07/2025 Last update