And so concludes the trifecta of metal shows this week as I go one-on-one with Grindcore godfathers Napalm Death for the first time, making up for missing the March 24th show last year with DevilDriver, and the return of a couple old bands and seeing new ones. But as is usually the case with shows that perform at the Blender Theater at Gramercy, the crowd was pretty tame and not as volatile as the Kreator/Exodus show to nights before. Whether it's because of the theater's limited space, a lack of marquee band names, or just metalheads' antipathy towards Grindcore's ultra-explosive sonic power in favor of the more mainstream melodic-death sound, there wasn't enough energy or excitement from the crowd to really elevate this concert into anything more than a stop-gap show to whet our appetites for the upcoming Lamb of God show on May 8th. The following entries will explain exactly where my attention was at each set, and for once, I actually missed the crowd surfers and body-crashers.
TRAP THEM - Not bad, not good either? Set Rating: C
COLISEUM - Replacing Abigail Williams from this tour, this threesome from Kentucky did the best they could while putting up with hecklers and other distractions. The frontman talked a little too much, but the band was decent. Set Rating: C
TOXIC HOLOCAUST - Seen them three times already. Same shit, same gay-ass hairdo from Joel Grind, the one-man metal band. Set Rating: C+
KATAKLYSM - Finally we get some meat here! A strong quartet with a great presence and a mission statement which resounds ever so clearly into the dead brain cells of the few metalheads in attendance: WE ARE HERE TO KICK YOUR ASS! And for the most part, they did! Finally, after three lackluster sets, there is a band that moves the people into their pits and the occasional surfing over our heads. I'm still not sold on the idea of these guys ever truly commanding their own shows and may be forever the second-billing on any given tour, but at least they're the first band of the evening to make a sizable ripple this evening. I don't know their music, but at least I wasn't bored. Set Rating: B
NAPALM DEATH - After waiting a full year and less than a month for them to return, the UK-based Grindcore legends have made their way back to New York. Simply put, they were great. They played the right amount of songs in a short amount of time (which seems to be a big problem at Blender... remember the Soulfly show last year?) and made a big show out of a pretty dull night. From Barney's profound speeches of using your mind (a difficult task for any metalhead with the exception of yours truly), fuck religion, and live your life as you see fit, to many explosive, classic gems from 1987's Scum to this year's Time Waits for No Slave, the band spared no time in getting it started. Amped up on such blinding fury as "Silence Is Deafening," "Scum," "Siege of Power," "Suffer the Children," "Time Waits for No Slave," "It's a M.A.N.S. World," and the favorite closer and Dead Kennedys cover "Nazi Punks Fuck off," the raging children of metal slammed, banged, and thrashed their way into each other, hair whipping furiously as Mark "Barney" Greenway growls hungrily like a lion to unsuspecting prey.
As a band that's been doing this for well over 25 years, the other members - bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Williams, and drummer Danny Herrera - stand and/or sit comfortably in their designated spots, occasionally bobbing their heads and screaming into nearby mics, but the attention is obviously on Greenway, who shakes and trembles like a spastic child having a near-fatal seizure, which is all endearing and freightening at the same time. Watching a legendary band do what they do best is always a thrill, and the legendary Napalm Death was no different. Set Rating: A-
AFTER THE SHOW
Surprisingly, no one stayed after to meet any of the band members from any of the five bands, which was fine by me as I got to chat with all four members of Napalm Death and even performed a good deed for once. No stupid questions were asked, though looking back I really shsould have asked some. Instead, I was complimentary and polite to each member and in return they were also cordial and friendly. I found Shane to be a bit cold and detached, saying only a few words of "yes" and "thanks." Truthfully, the man is uglier in person than in pictures, making Ron Jeremy look like a male supermodel. But to his credit, he did accept a CD I gave him from unsigned Grindcore band Buckshot Facelift, who I had seen perform at Europa months ago, and promised to take a listen to it. I didn't think I'd get that far, but the dude actually took it. Mitch was friendly and good to chat with, though visibly drunk and tired from the show. We spoke here on MySpace quite often and we caught up on a few things. He asked about my acting, which is of course going well, and I found out that he teaches in game designing and had another child. Danny was friendly but struck me as being a bit shy and maybe the quiet one in the band, even moreso than Shane. And while I didn't ask him, I wonder how someone so fat as Danny can drum as fast as he can. And Mark, Barney, whatever... was actually a pretty level-headed and sweet lad. He is definitely a commanding frontman and very underrated, in my opinion. A good group of lads indeed!
Show Rating: B
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment