Interview with Naplam Death singer Mark “Barney” Greenway 6/2/13

Napalm Death are a grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, England, in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band’s career.

Napalm Death are credited with defining the grindcore genre by incorporating elements of hardcore punk and death metal, using a noise-filled sound that uses heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdrive bass, high speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of incomprehensible growls, or high-pitched shrieks, extremely short songs, fast tempos, deep guttural vocals and sociopolitical lyrics. The band’s debut album Scum, released in 1987 by Earache Records, proved substantially influential throughout the global metal community. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, their song “You Suffer” is the shortest song in the world, as its length is only at 1.316 seconds long.

Napalm Death have released fifteen studio albums and are listed by Nielsen SoundScan as the seventh best-selling death metal band in the United States.