Napalm Death-Live-Tokyo 23 August 2012 (1/2)

Part 1 of 2 Bassist Shane Embury was unfortunately unable to perform due to poor health*, but with a stand-in bassist, vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera took the stage and performed as one would expect of a band thats celebrating its 31st year of existence. Formed in Birmingham in 1981, Napalm Death shaped the genre known as Grind. I had never seen them play in person, and was grateful for the opportunity to do so. Some bands leave an impression and Napalm Death is one of the few bands that stuck to it's guns and stayed true to it's fans since the 80s. The lyrics always have been about personal choice and thinking for yourself, and while their music alters slightly from album to album (shifting slightly left and right towards hardcore punk or metal influences), they never lost their intensity and sincerity. It's never a concern when buying the new album that the music will be mainstream. If anything, some of the more recent albums have been equally if not more brutal than past offerings.. 43 year old Greenway has no signs of slowing down. They are currently touring to promote their newest album "Utilitarian", which is their 13th studio album to date if you don't count their other 26 assorted compilation, live, EP or session recordings. Mark Greenway says it's their 15th album during the concert, but that's including live LPs as well, so it depends how you count them. Suffice to say, they have created a lot of music in their history. Napalm Death should also be publicly awarded for their social consciousness and attention toward fundrasing and benefitting the community - this time they announced they will be playing benefit concerts up North to raise funds for the thousands of forgotten families still living in emergency shelters after losing their entire towns last March 11th in the tsunami that killed over 30,000. Truly a band of the people, for the people. They also released a Tsunami Benefit Split CD with The Haunted and Heaven Shall Burn in 2005. I wish them 31 more years of success and I will continue to support them in any way I can. This video is uploaded in the spirit of promotion. If any of you can, please help support one of the few bands that thinks about the welfare of the people they play to. If you have never heard them, please take the time to get to know their music. It can be misinterpreted as a wall of offensive noise at first, but with a little persistence, you will soon see beyond to volume and aggression into the socially aware and socially active entity that is..... Napalm Death. I managed to record their entire set, minus about 30 seconds of a track near the end of part 2, where I had to fumble around in the dark and replace a depleted battery pack. Aside from that, this is the entire event that was Napalm Death, live in Tokyo 2012. And a small shout out to Dave and Yoko, some other regular supporters of extreme music I keep bumping into at these gigs :) And heres a tip for the sound engineer - ideally, a well mixed drumkit isn't 90% bassdrum, 10% cymbals. There's things like snare and toms that play an important role in music. Learn how to mix or resign and stop ruining my "once in a lifetime opportunity" gigs. I've heard better mixes on amatuer night at the RSA. *From the basic information provided, Shane went to hospital for poor health (didn't say specifics). However vocalist Mark did state during the gig that Shane was OK, and was out of hospital and back at home resting. I wish Shane all the best and hope he's feeling better soon, back on his feet and back on stage, bass in hand.