LIVE REVIEW: Napalm Death @ Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow

Grindcore veterans NAPALM DEATH have returned to yet another sold out Glasgow live show, this time at Queen Margaret Union. Accompanying them are the live rare experience PIG DESTROYER, the unfathomably heavy doomsters PRIMITIVE MAN and Singaporean grind heroes WORMROT. Such a stacked lineup translates to a queue that snakes down the street. As WORMROT hit the stage a scant 20 minutes after the doors open and the line slithers down at a snail’s pace, this reviewer and so many others entirely miss WORMROT’s set. Frustrating. 

The night moves quickly. American sludge doomsters PRIMITIVE MAN commence their show just ten minutes after WORMROT’s end. The trio begins with the eight-minute-long Menacing from their most recent full-length, Immersion. Frontman ELM and bassist JPC shadow each end of the stage and lead the headbanging with an austere presence. They sketch violently nihilistic soundscapes, wielding a suffocating atmosphere. My Will, Victim and Consumption compose the rest of their setlist. Their doom heaviness can shatter diamond mountains, but its deliberately crawling tempos certainly stick out among the other speedy acts tonight. The audience appears to merely tolerate the performance, offering polite applause after each song. There’s definitely an unspoken desire for breakneck moshing anthems. ELM’s black/death/grindcore act VERMIN WOMB would have suited the bill better, but PRIMITIVE MAN played a solidly engaging show. 

Rating: 8/10 

The venue’s hall turns into a sweatbox before American grindcore soldiers PIG DESTROYER are up. For a band of their pedigree, they rarely play the UK, although they made the 2022 Damnation Festival lineup. It’s safe to say that most of the crowd haven’t witnessed them live, and they are probably a bigger draw than the headliners. The opening notes of Grave Dancer transform the vast majority of the punters into a vortex of flailing human bodies. The pit occupies around two-thirds of the floor; not only is it massive, but it’s also extraordinarily violent and frenetic. Vocalist J.R. Hayes deploys a signature hardcore-inspired shout-growl backed by complex yet savage guitar riffs from Scott Hull. Unlike their genre peers, PIG DESTROYER’s guitar tone isn’t always heavy, leaning closer towards thrash metal at times, and their use of electronics from Alex Cha adds to the disorientation. There’s a solid concentration on groove and alternating tempos, all contributing to the semi-permanent moshpit and tide of crowd surfers. 

With song clocking in around a couple of minutes, these grindsters fire out aural shot after shot, which, coupled with the omnipresent pit, feels like getting struck by a semi-automatic firearm. Unsurprisingly, the band draws predominantly from highly lauded albums Prowler In The Yard and Terrifyer. The likes of Cripped Horses, Thumbsucker, The Torture Fields, Deathtripper, Cheerleader Corpses (preceded by the creepy and bizarre Jenifer intro), Scatology Homework, Trojan Whore and many more are ammunition for the record-breaking moshpit. The fans are so hyped to see the band that they could probably play anything and summon a similar response. The band looks entirely energised on stage and genuinely excited to perform, not typical for a band that started in the 90s. All in all, this was a wildly dynamic show of chaos that even NAPALM DEATH would struggle to surpass. 

Rating: 9/10 

Back again in Glasgow for the second time in as many years, Birmingham’s NAPALM DEATH explode on stage with the bruising From Enslavement To Obliteration. This classic slab of grindcore has heads banging and fists pumping. Surprisingly, the audience appears reluctant to form a mosh pit, which takes some encouragement. When it does spawn, it’s significantly smaller and less violent than PIG DESTROYER’s swarm, but the band members are just as enthralling as the previous act. Vocalist Barney Greenway possesses more energy than a hyperactive, sugar-addled toddler, constantly working the stage with an authentic, frustrated wilderness about him. The legends of grind pummel the venue with song after song of aural devastation, brief but ultra-punishing. Chunky riffs and thunderous power chords from live guitarist John Cooke are served with feral abandon, underscored by Danny Herrera’s apocalyptic drummings. 

With so many albums to their name, the band wisely sticks to their genre-defining earlier tracks and fresher cuts, peppered with the odd mid-discography banger. The likes of If The Truth Be Known, Suffer The Children, You Suffer and Dead proudly represent the old material. Contagion, Backlash Just Because, Amoral and Resentment Always Simmers showcase NAPALM DEATH in their modern incarnation, adeptly weaving death metal and grindcore into tapestries that don’t shy away from criticising our corrupt moral world. Moshers and crowd surfers try their hardest to move attention away from the headliners and onto themselves. One of the craziest parts of the set is when someone clambers up the vertiginous amp stacks to the right of Shane Embury. The man then launches himself into the pit. Hopefully, he avoids any injuries. 

Greenway is known for his political stage chatter, although he keeps it quick tonight: “Refugees welcome,” earning hearty acclaim from the crowd. Another message cements the band’s support for human rights, including women’s rights, gay rights, and trans rights, with the applause for the latter being enormous. Is it really a NAPALM DEATH show without a cover of DEAD KENNEDYS’ Nazi Punks Fuck Off? Of course, that makes the set. As the years pass, these grind icons defy age limitations by providing an impassioned, dynamic live experience. There’s a reason they sell out so many shows so often. 

Rating: 9/10 

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Glasgow from Duncan McCall here: 

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