Napalm Death – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 12th October @ Max Watt’s, Brisbane QLD
Napalm Death
Max Watts, Brisbane QLD
October 12th, 2017
Support: Brujeria, Lockup and Black Rheno
As of writing this, news has just broken Max Watts Brisbane will be closing the doors within the coming weeks. Whether on purpose or through a sheer act of fate, it’s fitting the headlining act tonight are known for their not so subtle digs at our corporate overlords. Often considered the fathers of grindcore. You’re about to witness none other than a Napalm Death gig.
Sydney act Black Rheno are the first band tonight and thankfully don’t disappoint. Frontman Milla jumps and dances around the stage like a possessed loon, all while the other members of this three piece craft a wave of sludge influenced devastation around him causing everyone who bares witness to lose themselves within their stirring and psychotic performance.
Subsequently, Lock Up are more an old school death and grind band which pummel
their audience into submission through the sheer brutality they exude on the stage. Frontman Kevin Sharp stalks the stage, screaming into the microphone as his bare feet expose themselves to the world. Not that anyone notices as the punters are all so busy jumping around and throwing themselves into the mosh, as bassist *insert name* thunders along with his thick intoxicating bass lines.
Following this up are Brujeria, heralding from Mexico. Their performance is nothing short of showstopping; the crowd eating from the palm of their hand. The venue becomes a maelstrom of bodies and broken Spanish as they yell various things at the band. The two singers, wearing face masks command the room throughout – the two men leading this adoring crowd in a “fuck Trump” chant which has everyone screaming alongside them. Their set ends with an eye raising and rather effective Spanish take on the ‘Macarena‘ where the members proceed to light a few joints onstage before disappearing in a cloud of weed smoke, leaving the crowd smiling from the sheer brutality and fun of their performance.
The next band need no introduction.
Returning from the bowels of Birmingham England and arming themselves with a slew of anti-establishment songs along the way. Napalm Death have become synonymous with grindcore and firmly cemented themselves as an act still putting out great material after all these years.
Opening the show tonight with ‘Apex Predator – Easy Meat‘ is fitting then as the ensuing introduction gives the crowd a few seconds to catch their collective breath before the band proceeds to pummel them into oblivion. Frontman Mark Greenway manages to make his performance feel uniquely British, whether it’s from his accent or his antics onstage, it’s a riveting statement as he extols his anti-establishment messages between songs and puts forth the value of humans feeling well… human.
The set tonight features well-known songs from their classic debut Scum alongside deeper cuts from all their subsequent albums. The set should be pleasing to both new fans and old, as each new song in the set, illustrates the various musical styles the band have leapfrogged from throughout their long and illustrious career. This only further ramps up the crowd who turn the front of the stage into a giant pit of limbs and sweating bodies, feeding off the energy vibrating into their bones.
The set reaches a climax with a stirring cover of The Dead Kennedys‘ ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off‘ before launching into their final song, the brutal ‘Adversarial/Copulating Snakes‘ before disappear into the night and most likely off for a spot of English tea.
Photo Gallery courtesy of Gethin Hill (Gethin Hill Photography)
Please credit Wall of Sound and Gethin Hill if you repost.
Black Rheno
Lock Up
Brujeria
Napalm Death
