NAPALM DEATH, MELVINS with MELT-BANANA at the Opera House, Tuesday, April 19. Rating NNNN
The thing about Napalm Death is that that they’re so fast and quick and heavy and angry and loud and death metal-y that it can be easy to forget they’re not an American band. But then singer Barney Greenway goes, “‘ere we are again! ‘ere to make a FOOOOOKIN’ RACKET. Napalm Death, from Birmin’gim, England!”
The pioneering grindcore outfit – like death metal, but faster, harder, punkier and gutted of melody – sure made a racket at a sold-out Opera House, headlining one of the faster, furiouser, noisier and out-and-out loudest shows to roll through Toronto in 2016. Some members of the crowd were already hyping it as the “show of the year” before openers Melt-Banana had even taken the stage.
The Savage Imperial Death March tour is an axis of caterwauling, comprised of bands that appeal to anyone with aggressive musical tendencies. If you’re not into loud played at the appropriate volume, it’s maybe a bit hard to fathom the gravity of a Melt-Banana/Melvins/Napalm Death bill. By pop standards, it’s the equivalent of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and an ice cold can of Coca-Cola Classic touring together. Since the mid-80s (or early 90s in the case of Japan’s Melt-Banana), the bands have been steadily releasing riffy, headbanging music, entirely unflapped by vacillations in public taste.
Speaking of taste: it may be a matter of my own personal biases and predisposition, but I’d take a Melvins set over pretty much anything else. Their sheer volume of work and ever-changing lineup – core duo Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover were joined by Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald – always make for an unpredictable show.
And the band was in top, recent-period, grunge-jam-band mode as they tore through a set of newer stuff, covers (with McDonald high-kicking his way through KISS’s Deuce) and stone-cold classics.
Near the end of their short set, they did a speedy take of Revolve from 1994’s Stoner Witch. The song boasts more riffs than most bands have in their catalogue and was played with a whirlwind fury that proved how tight a band like Melvins can be 20 or 25 or 33 years into it, and how totally unafraid they are of making a foooooookin’ racket.
music@nowtoronto.com | @johnsemley3000
