NAPALM DEATH / CARCASS
CAPITOL THEATRE, PERTH
April 16th 2015
Metal tour of the year? It's only April but Australia has been lucky enough to get both Napalm Death and Carcass on the same bill, two legends in the extreme metal world which undoubtedly is a dream come true for any real metal fan and an extra bonus for Perth who get to experience it first on the tour. And with the added bonus of local punk thrashers Extortion opening the show, it was bound to be a great night.
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It's always great to see a local support who not only surprise you by being actually damn good but be absolutely perfect in the supporting slot. What really caught my attention however was the crystal clear sound the band had which is no easy feat considering the venue, Capitol, can sound a bit muddy at times. Despite a small crowd early in their set, the fans poured in one by one as the band showcased their brand of thrashy punk which even Mark "Barney" Greenway himself showing his appreciation for the band by jumping on stage with them and singing on one of their songs. A definite highlight of the night already!
Carcass came on stage not long after and even though it has literally only been less than a year since they were here last, it was still fantastic to see the band again. Jeff Walker and co went straight into a shorter set this time around. No major changes in the set really with tracks off their latest album "Surgical Steel" a slight minor focus this time and older material like "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" and "Heartwork" making their rounds as expected. The show wasn't as impactful as last year but that may be because last year's show was more of a triumphant return along with a brand new album. This time around it was business as usual but that's not to take anything away from the power of Carcass and their blend of melody and progressive heaviness.
It is amazing how influential Carcass really is, so much so that Jeff did make a comment midway through the show about a journalist making some comment about their sound being similar to a lot of the European metal bands but people forget, Carcass pioneered that sound first. A testament to the band's drive to do things that are not expected and when seeing them perform tonight going through their back catalogue, it's mindblowing how diverse their music is.
The British grindcore legends that is Napalm Death finished the night off with a bang. Yet another band who has made some truly influential and pioneering music over the years, they came on stage after 5 years since the last time they hit the country to pulverise the now packed crowd. However this time without guitarist Mitch Harris who has had to step out of the band for a while due to a family illness. On tour as headliners in support of their latest album "Apex Predator - Easy Meat", the new material sounded just as chaotic and heavy as any of their old material. Some would say that as reliable as AC/DC is in the hard rock world, the same could be said with Napalm Death in the extreme metal world but the difference being, Napalm has a bit more diversity in their otherwise solid trademark sound. "Smash A Single Digit" has to be one of the finer tracks off the new album and the band do play quite a few new songs but this doesn't seem to matter to a lot of the crowd who from the get-go are smashing their way in the moshpit for every song. And yeah a Napalm Death moshpit really is something to see as a spectacle as fans go extra wild in there. Nevermind your Slayer or Cannibal Corpse pits, this is on another level.
As far as the setlist goes, their huge back catalogue means a lot of tracks get kicked off the set as the years go on but compensating that is the shortness in length of a lot of them. From "Scum" to "Cesspits" and even a great cover of Dead Kennedy's "Nazi Punks Fuck Off", the list of songs is tremendous and a real historical account of the grindcore genre and the band as well. The band finished the set with the new album's closer "Adversarial/Copulating Snakes" and that capped off a truly great night of pure extreme metal. One quick note to round it off, it was really nice to see "Barney" taking the time after the show to individually shake the hand of every fan who came up to the front to meet the great frontman himself. A true class act!
Catch the rest of the tour at these dates:
April 17th - Melbourne, Prince Bandroom, 18+
April 18th - Sydney, The Factory Theatre, 18+
April 19th - Brisbane, The Hifi, 18+
April 21st - Valhalla, Wellington, 18+ SOLD OUT!
April 22nd - Valhalla, Wellington, 18+ (No Extortion)
April 23rd - The Kings Arms, Auckland, 18+ (No Extortion)
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Review by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
Photos by Tammie Molotov - Molotov Enterprises And Photography