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The Music Box welcomes Napalm Death and The Melvins
Grindcore and grunge greats teamed up for "Imperial Death March"
Flashback: I was dubbed a “daft cunt” by Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury at Spanky’s café in the early '90s. Earache Records had signed several grindcore bands and sent them on tour. This particular event included Nocturnus and the band I was most excited to see, Godflesh. I don’t have enough experience with Embury to know if he was just in a shit mood that day or if his personality lends itself to crankiness. To be fair, the man was playing in a café that still had tables on the floor, the backstage area was a kitchen, and a groupie had shit on the band's bus, rendering their mobile lodgings a Bog of Eternal Stench. And as it turned out, singer Mark “Barney” Greenway’s voice was shot. Bassist Embury informed me of Greenway's troubles, and I asked if they were playing that night. Embury repeated, “Barney can’t sing.” I told him I knew that from listening to the band's records, but I still wanted to know if they were playing. He wasn't amused. Hence the dubbing. Not everyone can claim to have been insulted by one of the most influential and uncompromising bands in history.
Upcoming Event
Napalm Death and The Melvins
- Friday, April 4, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
- Music Box, 1337 India Street, San Diego
- Age Limit: 21+
(The title of their latest batch of new music, 2022’s Resentment is Always Seismic-A Final Throw of Throes, probably has nothing to do with smartass journalists. And while Greenway doesn’t deliver vocal acrobatics, his voice is the archetype of grindcore’s confrontational borderline atonal style. Fuck, for all I know he spends his off time singing opera somewhere.)
That fond memory shared, let us return to the present day, wherein Napalm Death’s influence is still felt in San Diego outfits like The Locust and Deaf Club, whose frontman Justin Pearson remains a fan. “I think not only did they pave the way to great hardcore, but it was meaningful and politically conscious, which a lot of bands lack,” he says — though opening for them didn’t go as great as expected. “I love the band, and specifically Shane and Barney, who both were on my podcast [Cult and Culture] a while back. They are such a ripping band. But it was a drag when the opening act at the show the day of the podcast, Deaf Club — which is my band — was told that Napalm would not strike any of their gear and we had to set up in front of their entire back line. It was pretty lame. I literally had no stage to stand on as the kick drum was at the front.” (No hard feelings, though.)
The Melvins have managed to remain fairly underground despite being part of the so called “grunge scene.” People who know music know the band, even if their sales never approached the “big four” of the Seattle exports–Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam. So what? Sales are no guarantee of musical quality, and the Melvins are a prime example of that. They play sludgy melodies made for maximum volume. I’ve always dug them, and their musical tastes are impeccable. Huge KISS fans, they once covered “Goin’ Blind” from that band’s Hotter Than Hell album — a precursor to grunge from 1974.
What's more, they may have inspired KISS to do the song at an industry convention. And when they decided to cover the original shock rocker, Alice Cooper, they skipped the predictable and banal path of “School’s Out” and “Eighteen,” instead interpreting “The Ballad of Dwight Frye” — perhaps the greatest song bearing the name of a classic horror character actor. Their '70s predilections have spilled over into their work ethic: the band has created 27 full-length offerings over a 42-year career.
The Melvins/Napalm Death show coming to the Music Box on Friday, April 4 is a double-down concert in many ways. The Melvins will feature dual drummers Dale Crover and Coady Willis for the first time in close to a decade. And while their latest album Thunderball won’t be released until April 18, the band and Napalm Death recently released “Imperial Death March,” a collaboration between the two camps that resulted from previous tours together. For fans, the possibility of hearing songs like “Tossing Coins Into the Fountain of Fuck” and “God Ripper” performed live is thrilling. Sludge Metal stalwarts Weedeater opens the show, preceded by Dark Sky Burial, featuring Napalm Death’s Shane Embury — who will probably be too busy to christen me a daft cunt again. But there’s always hope.
Here's something you might be interested in.
The Music Box welcomes Napalm Death and The Melvins
Grindcore and grunge greats teamed up for "Imperial Death March"
The Music Box welcomes Napalm Death and The Melvins
Grindcore and grunge greats teamed up for "Imperial Death March"
Flashback: I was dubbed a “daft cunt” by Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury at Spanky’s café in the early '90s. Earache Records had signed several grindcore bands and sent them on tour. This particular event included Nocturnus and the band I was most excited to see, Godflesh. I don’t have enough experience with Embury to know if he was just in a shit mood that day or if his personality lends itself to crankiness. To be fair, the man was playing in a café that still had tables on the floor, the backstage area was a kitchen, and a groupie had shit on the band's bus, rendering their mobile lodgings a Bog of Eternal Stench. And as it turned out, singer Mark “Barney” Greenway’s voice was shot. Bassist Embury informed me of Greenway's troubles, and I asked if they were playing that night. Embury repeated, “Barney can’t sing.” I told him I knew that from listening to the band's records, but I still wanted to know if they were playing. He wasn't amused. Hence the dubbing. Not everyone can claim to have been insulted by one of the most influential and uncompromising bands in history.
Upcoming Event
Napalm Death and The Melvins
- Friday, April 4, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
- Music Box, 1337 India Street, San Diego
- Age Limit: 21+
(The title of their latest batch of new music, 2022’s Resentment is Always Seismic-A Final Throw of Throes, probably has nothing to do with smartass journalists. And while Greenway doesn’t deliver vocal acrobatics, his voice is the archetype of grindcore’s confrontational borderline atonal style. Fuck, for all I know he spends his off time singing opera somewhere.)
That fond memory shared, let us return to the present day, wherein Napalm Death’s influence is still felt in San Diego outfits like The Locust and Deaf Club, whose frontman Justin Pearson remains a fan. “I think not only did they pave the way to great hardcore, but it was meaningful and politically conscious, which a lot of bands lack,” he says — though opening for them didn’t go as great as expected. “I love the band, and specifically Shane and Barney, who both were on my podcast [Cult and Culture] a while back. They are such a ripping band. But it was a drag when the opening act at the show the day of the podcast, Deaf Club — which is my band — was told that Napalm would not strike any of their gear and we had to set up in front of their entire back line. It was pretty lame. I literally had no stage to stand on as the kick drum was at the front.” (No hard feelings, though.)
The Melvins have managed to remain fairly underground despite being part of the so called “grunge scene.” People who know music know the band, even if their sales never approached the “big four” of the Seattle exports–Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam. So what? Sales are no guarantee of musical quality, and the Melvins are a prime example of that. They play sludgy melodies made for maximum volume. I’ve always dug them, and their musical tastes are impeccable. Huge KISS fans, they once covered “Goin’ Blind” from that band’s Hotter Than Hell album — a precursor to grunge from 1974.
What's more, they may have inspired KISS to do the song at an industry convention. And when they decided to cover the original shock rocker, Alice Cooper, they skipped the predictable and banal path of “School’s Out” and “Eighteen,” instead interpreting “The Ballad of Dwight Frye” — perhaps the greatest song bearing the name of a classic horror character actor. Their '70s predilections have spilled over into their work ethic: the band has created 27 full-length offerings over a 42-year career.
The Melvins/Napalm Death show coming to the Music Box on Friday, April 4 is a double-down concert in many ways. The Melvins will feature dual drummers Dale Crover and Coady Willis for the first time in close to a decade. And while their latest album Thunderball won’t be released until April 18, the band and Napalm Death recently released “Imperial Death March,” a collaboration between the two camps that resulted from previous tours together. For fans, the possibility of hearing songs like “Tossing Coins Into the Fountain of Fuck” and “God Ripper” performed live is thrilling. Sludge Metal stalwarts Weedeater opens the show, preceded by Dark Sky Burial, featuring Napalm Death’s Shane Embury — who will probably be too busy to christen me a daft cunt again. But there’s always hope.
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