Napalm Death have made history by performing a set for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. This marks the first time grindcore has appeared on the series, which has previously made space for artists from the worlds of rock, hip-hop, soul, folk, jazz, and more.
In true grindcore fashion, Napalm Death blasted through eight songs in under 20 minutes in punky lo-fi fashion. The guitars and bass were clipped with an ultra-dry tone while singer Barney Greenway howled like a rabid dog. Where many bands opt for polish when appearing on the Tiny Desk Concert series, Napalm Death went raw and real in a way fitting for a group steeped in the traditions of hardcore. Greenway made sure to acknowledge the unambiguous political position of the act, speaking in open support of public broadcasting. Napalm Death also ended the set with “You Suffer,” their iconic 1.32-second song that is recognized by Guinness World Records as the shortest commercially released song of all time.
The performance even led to some moshing in the NPR office, as the audience gave the UK band a warm welcome.
Greenway stated, “I’ve dipped in and out of Democracy Now! via NPR Radio for decades now to get my unvarnished yet thoughtful North American news. So when the NPR Tiny Desk thing came up, it kind of blew my tiny mind a little bit. We realised that we were going to reach far more people than usual with the TD performance, but as you might expect from Napalm Death, we were never going to temper the performance to any degree. We hope everybody at least gets something from it, even if it’s just an understanding of musical abrasion being pushed to the nth degree. Please always support public access broadcasting in view of the ongoing relentless attacks upon it.”
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Long-time defender of heavy music and NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich added, “The first grindcore band at the Tiny Desk had to be the founding fathers. I turned down or said ‘maybe later’ to so many others — that’s how important it was to me to get this right. There is only one NAPALM DEATH, not only exemplary of extreme music but also what it takes to be human in what feels like an inhumane time.”
Napalm Death recently released Savage Imperial Death March, their collaborative album with Melvins, which came out on April 10th.
Watch the full tiny desk concert and check the setlist below.
Setlist:
Instinct of Survival
Strong-Arm
Everyday Pox
Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
Amoral
Dead
Scum
You Suffer