Napalm Death
Live @ Baltimore Soundstage | 1/31/15
Voivod co-headlined the night with Napalm Death. The Canadian quartet are known for their brand of progressive, thrash and in some ways psychedelic metal. This tour is in support of their 2013 release Target Earth. The performance overall left a lot to be desired. While the crowd was very amped up, headbanging and moshing, especially after a very stellar set by Iron Reagan, Voivod's set could have given a lot more. While the songs were clean, crisp and clear the set lacked some of the aggression that was obviously lost after Jason Newsted left the band after the Infini record. While no one can deny the impact Voivod has made on the metal world and their legacy is worth checking out live this was an off night for them.
But the stars of the night were undoubtedly Napalm Death. A staple of grindcore since 1981 and with sixteen records to their name with the release of their latest Apex Predator - Easy Meat, Napalm Death blew the doors off Soundstage. While no members of the original band are left singer Mark "Barney" Greenway has been the voice for over twenty years and shows no signs of slowing down. Napalm Death's songs tend to be very political in nature but always with positive messages like standing up for yourself and living your life. Even though their songs tend to be pretty short Napalm delivers them with a thrash and aggression that leaves you panting and moshed out but completely satisfied. Napalm Death were everything that's advertised giving everything and more. Don't pass them up.