One single, ‘Tossing Coins Into The Fountain of F**k’ was released on Wednesday alongside the announcement of the album. The track starts with a punked-up riff and harsh, barked vocals before a lead guitar line reintroduces the bluesy tones Melvins have always been known to create, owing more to ‘70s rock than any extreme metal. 

The album will not include all members across the two bands, but will comprise Melvins’ singer and guitarist Buzz Osbourne on vocals alongside drummer Dale Crover. Napalm’s contribution includes vocalist Barney Greenway, who has been in the band since 1990’s Harmony Corruption, bassist Shane Embury and guitarist John Cooke. 

Napalm Death have long been known for their respect of different styles of heaviness beyond merely metal, as Embury said in this interview for the TV show Metal Evolution. Speaking of this new collaboration, Embury said that the project was “an honour and a whole lot of fun, which surely is the whole point! Let’s do another one soon.”

Osbourne returned the compliment, declaring that “Napalm Death are one of my favorite bands ever. It was an absolute pleasure and a dream come true to do this collaboration with them”. Osbourne’s rough vocal delivery and frizzy locks have made him an icon of the heavy underground. 

Melvins and Napalm are from different corners of the extreme music world. Following their formation as a Crass-esque anarcho-punk band in Birmingham in 1981, they practically reinvented heavy music in their own image with their 1987 debut, Scum, birthing grindcore and spawning countless imitators. In later years, they explored far beyond grindcore’s minute-song boundaries, venturing into death metal, thrash, alternative rock and hardcore punk. 

Melvins, by contrast, walked a brutal path through the altrock explosion of the late 1980s in their native Seattle, drawing on influences from punk to metal and beyond, being instrumental in the birth of sludge metal. Hugely influential, their 1993 album Houdini was co-produced by one of their disciples, Kurt Cobain, and is namechecked as one of the ten most significant sludge albums of all time.

In early 2025, the two bands performed together on a tour bearing the same name as this new album, sharing the stage with North Carolina sludge troopers Weedeater. That acted as the root from which this new record has come. Since then, Melvins have toured with RRed Kross, a Californian altrock entity whose sound has embraced both hardcore and pop punk, while Napalm Death have embarked on ‘The Campaign for Musical Destruction Tour’ alongside ‘80s thrashers Whiplash, D-beat punks Varukers and Polish doom-meisters Dopelord, which returns to the UK in two weeks time. 

Perhaps the most exciting of the new additions to the line-up this year is English punk rock outfit Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes, who will be appearing on the Second Stage on June 10^th. The band are replacing The Distillers, who have announced that they are postponing all of their forthcoming European festival appearances, stating on social media: “It is with great regret that The Distillers have been forced to postpone their upcoming European festival appearances and headline tour this June…The band express their sincere apologies to all of the fans and hope to return to Europe to play the headline shows as soon as they can, so please hold onto your tickets.”

Other Second Stage headliners include Airbourne, Megadeth, Mastodon, Steel Panther and The Darkness, and other acts who have recently been announced for the forthcoming festival include Birmingham grindcore pioneers Napalm Death, rock ‘n’ rollers Kris Barras Band, hip-hop group Pengshui and alt-rockers Aniilmalia.

This will mark the second year in a row that Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes will play at a Download event, having made an appearance at the experimental 2021 “Download Pilot”, which spearheaded the gradual return of camping festivals in the UK following the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought all live music in the UK to a standstill.

Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn recently told NME: “It’s just over 50 days until we open the gates to the campsite, and there are many, many people counting down every single one of those days…Also, it’s been nearly 1,100 days between Tool closing in 2019 and Heriot opening in 2022. That’s definitely too long without this festival.”

In other news regarding the festival, Download recently announced some new site improvements that will take effect this year which will tackle issues regarding inclusivity, accessibility and environmental related problems. “The Village” camping will be moved closer to the Arena, granting easier access to disabled fans, and a number of environmentally friendly camping schemes have been introduced.

Regarding the changes, Benn told NME: “The Download community embraces fans with disabilities probably more than any other festival, I would say…We’ve been listening to fans, and formerly the accessible campsite was a distance away from the campsite village and almost impassable during a wet year, so we’ve redesigned the campsite overall…The two are now much closer together and it’s nearer to the heart of the camping world…The walk from the campsites to the arena is now much shorter than it was before. It was a trek, but it’s much better now.”

You can read more about Download’s site improvements here.

Echoing its namesake, this hellish, slow burning tune is most definitely a dirge, defined by moments of crushing, metallic heaviness, punctuated by spine-chilling silences that feel like an icy wind rushing up from a great vacuous pit. Vocalist Barney Greenway howls over the grinding instrumental: “Wield your resentment, resentment always simmers.”

Greenway said of the mini-album, according to a press release: “You can certainly consider “Resentment Is Always…” as an extension of – or partner recording to – the “Throes…” album. We had long since wanted to put a mini-album out – in the spirit of the old days – and found we had enough quality tracks even after all the “Throes…” bonus tracks to do that. Hopefully this mini holds some nice twists in its own right for people, and certainly covering “People Pie” by Slab! made us really stretch ourselves, which feels great artistically. In the end, resentment is certainly seismic – it can trigger the complete erosion of humanity in many situations. That was the point that I really wanted to hammer home overall.”

Resentment Is Always Seismic will be available on 12” vinyl and can be purchased here. The vinyl version will be issued in the following variations:
Black LP – unlimited

Transp. Red LP – 1500x copies via CM Distro & Webshop Europe & all US outlets

Clear LP – 300x copies Nuclear Blast

Silver LP – 300x copies via EMP

Transp. Green LP – 500x copies via Napalm Death
The mini-album clocks in at just under thirty minutes, and features two covers. The full track list can be viewed down below.

Narcissus
Resentment Always Simmers
By Proxy
People Pie [SLAB! cover]
Man Bites Dogged
Slaver Through a Repeat Performance
Don’t Need It [Bad Brains cover]
Resentment is Always Seismic (Dark Sky Burial Dirge)

In addition to this new album, the band have added some new dates to their upcoming worldwide tour, including some UK dates. You can purchase tickets here, and you can view the full list of UK dates for 2022 below.

04/03/2022- Boom Leeds- Leeds
05/03- Boom Leeds- Leeds (SOLD OUT)
11/03- Academy 2- Oxford
12/03- The Tivoli- Buckley
18/03- The Underworld- London
19/03- Academy 2- Liverpool
25/03- The Foundry- Torquay
26/03- The Craufurd Arms- Wolverton

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Napalm Death has been a staple of Heavy metal and alternative rock since its formation in 1986. The group have undergone several line-up changes throughout their career, the band currently consists of bassist Shane Embury, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark Greenway. Throughout their long and storied history, the group have released 16 studio albums and has been named the 7th bestselling death metal band within the US.

The band’s new single is available to stream and download on various platforms including Century Media Records’ YouTube channel. The single’s press release provides the following description by Napalm frontman Greenway, “Narcissus” just seemed to fit the bill as one of those rampaging tracks that we always seem to gravitate towards as an album opener. The low-slung concrete mixer bassline at the start really ushers it in nicely. It was written at a time when the ‘alt-right’ was parading itself around, so lyrically I like to think it exposes the vanity and personality cult of that whole thing.”

The band’s seventeenth studio album serves as a sister release to the group’s recent album Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism. The album was released on 18th September 2020 and was named by Metal Hammer as the second-best metal album of 2020. For their 2020 release, the band teamed up with fellow British metal musician and producer Russ Russell. Russell is best known for his work within Rock and Heavy Metal and has collaborated with some of the genre’s most popular bands including The Wildhearts, Sikith and many more.

Greenway has provided the following statement concerning the connection between the albums and what fans can expect from their new mini-album, “You can certainly consider “Resentment Is Always…” as an extension of – or partner recording to – the “Throes…” album. We had long since wanted to put a mini-album out – in the spirit of the old days – and found we had enough quality tracks even after all the “Throes…” bonus tracks to do that. Hopefully this mini holds some nice twists in its own right for people, and certainly covering “People Pie” by Slab! made us really stretch ourselves, which feels great artistically. In the end, resentment is certainly seismic – it can trigger the complete erosion of humanity in many situations. That was the point that I really wanted to hammer home overall,”

The 8 track mini-album is available to pre-order on various formats and platforms and will be accessible on wax in five different variations. A standard Black LP will be of unlimited availability and four special editions will be of limited printing. These special editions include 1,500 copies of a transparent Red LP, 300 copies of a Clear and Silver LP and 500 copies of a transparent Green edition which will be available via Napalm Death.

Click here to pre-order Resentment Is Always Seismic- A Final Throw of Throes.

He adds: “We advocate for an end to borders of all description. Complementing that, the sweaty live footage was shot brilliantly by Ljuba Generalova in NAPALM DEATH’s virtual second home of Berlin and the music, you might say, just motors along like a train.”. 

Watch the bands video, directed by Marc Nickel & Ljuba Generalova, here

Released originally in 2020, Throes of Joy In The Mouth Of Defeatism is the bands 16th full-length LP and was reasonably well-received by fans, and more positively accepted by critics. Metal magazine Decibel ranked the album as their favourite of the year. Shane Embury, the band’s bassist, wrote the majority of the music and lyrics for the album. when talking about “Contagion” he said, “Musically, ‘Contagion’ is geared towards manic intense live mosh pit action but with an added 4AD noise quirk homage chorus! Also, having so many friends in the Latin community, through a couple of them I learned and read about the perilous journeys that families embark on for the chance at a better life. As a parent, I think of my children’s future all the time – the things we take for granted I wanted to reflect lyrically!”. 

While the band are currently touring North America with fellow grindcore act Gwar, and labelmates Eyehategod on the 30th-anniversary tour for Gwar’s 1990 effort Scumdogs, Napalm Death have announced the dates for their “Campaign For Musical Destruction” tour beginning in February 2022. The tour will feature support from Doom, Siberian Meatgrinder, and Show Me The Body.

Embury has also been working on solo material. Set to be released in December, Omnis Cum In Tenebris Praesertim Vita Laboret will be released under the pseudonym Dark Sky Burial.

@darkskyburial pre order the new album “Omnis Cum In Tenebris….
here at https://t.co/DQHsjCvyp4 @Bandcamp pic.twitter.com/S1siNx2Ma3

— Napalm Death (@officialND) November 9, 2021

See the full European tour dates below.

Of the most popular songs this year, a significant number are collaborations, which has brought new sounds to the limelight. Some have been from breakthrough acts, and all are reflections of the various events of 2020. Here are our top ten songs of 2020.

10. Contagion – Napalm Death
Arguably the highest peak in Napalm Death’s sixteenth record Thores of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (Century Media, 2020), ‘Contagion’ is the ruthless manifestation of Napalm Death’s forty-year long crusade against ignorance and social injustice. In a milestone album with influences ranging from signature grindcore to old-school industrial, the track is a straightforward brutal tirade against greed and corruption.

With music and lyrics by bassist Shane Embury and produced by Russ Russell (At The Gates, Dimmu Burgir, Exploited), ‘Contagion’ captures the rage and defiance of the whole record. The song is a fast and precise blend of grind and death metal, with doom feel and hardcore attitude. It is moody and angry, but above all, it is pure Napalm Death and one to remember 2020 with.

- Viktor Balchikliev

9. Strange Girl – Laura Marling
Strange Girl was written by Laura Marling and comes from her seventh studio album ‘Song for Our Daughter’ which was released in April of 2020. ‘Song for Our Daughter’ was co-produced by Laura Marling and long-time collaborator Ethan Johns. The album is a collection of messages Laura wants to convey to her future daughter.

The song addresses this fictional daughter as someone quite like Marling and has given up financial stability to pursue her art. The song is the perfect dance around the kitchen song, it follows the classic folk song style of and undeniable beat with a beautiful message, told through passionate lyrics. ‘Song For Our Daughter’ was shortlisted for the 2020 Mercury Awards and was also nominated for Best Folk Album in the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

- Susan Owens

8. Heat Waves – Glass Animals
Written by Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley and produced by Paul Epworth (Adele, Rihanna, Florence and the Machine), has been pivotal in the band’s career – and this year for fans, gaining over 64 million streams. ‘Heat Waves’ is blends genres in the way that Glass Animals so often do; despite featuring hip-hop beats and influences from trap music, there is ultimately an electro-pop sound running throughout.

This was one of many singles to be shared from the band’s latest album ‘Dreamland’, premiering in June, with the album following in August. Lyrically, the song focuses on combatting the judgement of other people and staying true to one’s own path. Bayley wrote on Instagram, “It’s about realising you can’t make everyone happy. And realising it’s ok to be defeated by something,” going on to say, “being vulnerable should be a positive thing.”

7. Head &Heart – Joel Corry ft. MNEK
Head & Heart by Joel Corry, featuring the widely popular MNEK on vocals, was the UK’s favourite dance-track of the summer after its massive release in July. The single had the added benefit of being mixed by the acclaimed Kevin Grainger who has worked on iconic dance records, including with the late Avicii. Head & Heart was the fun and optimistic club-banger that was sorely needed in a time of isolation and therefore rocketed to the top of the charts in its first week.

Corry is a relatively new artist, only breaking onto the London DJ scene in 2019, so his success with this track has been unprecedented as it sat at the number 1 spot on the UK Single Charts for 6 weeks straight. Corry has come a long way from his reality television days on Geordie Shore as Head & Heart has made him one of London’s most successful DJ’s and producers of the year. It would be fitting to say that Head & Heart makes 2020’s heart go ‘boom boom bah doom!’

- Shana Briddock

6. Ain’t It Different – Headie One ft. Stormzy and AJ Tracey
‘Ain’t It Different’ was written by 13 writers (including AJ Tracey) and produced by Fred (Ed Sheehan, Rita Ora, Major Lazer, Ellie Goulding) and Toddla T (Major Lazer, Sean Paul). The song sees the three rappers trade straight-talking bars about how different their lives are now.

It’s an important message depicting how different their lives have changed since their younger days, which uses samples from M-Dubs’ Bump and Grind and Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ Pretty Little Dirty. Sitting at over 60 million streams and peaking at number 2 in the UK charts, these rap and R’n’B legends have hit out with a powerful and immersive song.

- Rory Aitken

5. Obey – Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud
‘Obey’ is a collaboration between two pop-punk giants; Yungblud and Bring Me The Horizon. Full of battering guitars, hard-hitting drum beats and electric vocals, the song pulls from multiple genres nu metal, electronic dance music and rave music.

Throughout, the song carries a riotous energy, focusing on the oppression and suffering many face due to government control; “Obey, We’re gonna show you how to behave, Obey It’s nicer when you can’t see the chains.”  The track has received universal acclaim from fans and critics alike, being voted Annie Mac’s Hottest Record of the Year for 2020.

- Lily Blakeney-Edwards

4. Rain – Aitch, AJ Tracey and Tay Keith
Two of the biggest names in UK rap, Aitch and AJ Tracey, released their track ‘Rain’ this year on the 5^th of May 2020. The track was produced by Tay Keith, who also featured on the hit single which was premiered on BBC Radio 1 and 1XTRA as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World and DJ Target’s ‘Targo Embargo’.

The LA Filmed video was produced by Arrad. NME says it “sees Aitch and AJ making it rain – both literally and metaphorically – as they hold onto stacks of dollar bills and rock various pieces of iced- out jewellery.” The 3 rap artists roll out their lyrics effortlessly over a heavy piano beat produced by Tay Keith. The highly anticipated track was a brilliant collaboration and it’s therefore no surprise it was a huge hit this year.

- Ashleigh K

3. All I Need – Jacob Collier ft. Mahalia and Ty Dolla $ign
Penned by our very own Jacob Collier, the ‘Clarity’ artist offers a soulful, R&B infused standout single. A creative collision between Jacobs, American rapper Ty Dolla $ign and singer- songwriter Mahalia (formally known as Mahalia Burkmar), All I Need draws upon the three artists’ eclectic and equally strong vocal prowesses.

‘All I Need’ is taken from Collier’s fourth studio album, ‘Djesse Vol. 3′. Released back in August, ‘All I Need’ is a genre-blending, foot-tapping bop, filled to the brim with sounds of both neo-soul and synth pop. Lyrically, the track hones in on the all too relatable feeling of infatuation. Collier sings: “I love the way that I feel when you put your arms over me/(There must be something I could say to make you stay baby)”. He said of the track’s meaning: “In the gorgeous, naive space that exists when one falls in love with somebody, it can really feel like they are exactly everything you need in that moment.”

- Sadie Willis-Falkiner

2. Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
Released as a single ahead of her successful ‘Future Nostalgia,’ album late last year, Dua Lipa’s ‘Don’t Start Now,’ made a splash which has led to it to becoming one of the biggest hits of 2020. The tune charted at number 2 on the official charts, only narrowly behind her two biggest hits, the UK number ones ‘New Rules,’ and ‘One Kiss,’ and it remained on the charts for a whopping 52 weeks.

Like the rest of ‘Future Nostalgia,’ don’t start now has a retro 80s disco vibe with a great bassline and neat guitar work, the lyrics are in some ways typical of Dua Lipa’s songwriting, dealing with everyday themes like relationships and heartbreak with simple, yet effective delivery. As we head into 2021 ‘Don’t Start Now,’ is still one of the hottest tracks in a hear of British music which has undoubtably been owned by Dua Lipa.

- Felix Leif

1. Black Dog – Arlo Parks
2020 was a breakthrough year for Arlo Parks, and in ‘Black Dog’ the Londoner produced a timely and powerful reflection on mental health which captured the frustrated, longing mood of a nation in lockdown. Parks’ lyrics fuse the mundanity of everyday life stuck indoors (“Let’s go to the corner store and buy some fruit/ I would do anything to get you out your room”) with a dark sensuality, particularly that superb opening line, “I’d like the grief right off your lips/ You do your eyes like Robert Smith”.

It’s a curious and winning combination which has gained over 10 million streams. Sonically, ‘Black Dog’ is sweetly melodic and quietly intense: an indie ballad which blends in folk and R&B influences to stirring effect.

2021 looks set to be another big year for Parks – her debut LP ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’ is due for release next month – and you wouldn’t bet against this prodigious young talent scaling new heights in the very near future.

- Daniel Parker

Napalm Death are going all the way back to the 80s and 90s with a very destinctive doom influence behind their new song. Maintaining the industrial feel of recent release ‘Amoral‘, further amplified by the powerful music video, the UK grindcore/death metal veterans go even slower for the monotonous and almost hypnotic ‘Bellyfull of Salt and Spleen‘. Composition-wise, the track is the furthest Napalm Death have recently ventured outside of their well-know aggresive grindcore territories, whilst still hitting just as hard with the lyrical content and extremely low-tuned guitars.

The masterminds behind the short film are Sam Edwards and Khaled Lowe, with additional credits going to Robin Fuller for animations, Stuart White for cinematography, and Bonnie Baker for Illustrations. The video is a clever mixture of a grotesque animated story centered around refugees fleeing in a boat, alongside shots of frontman Barney Greenway’s intense singing and live footage of meat grinders and other machinery. Stylistically, the music clip also follows the monochrome finish of recent Napalm Death’s video for ‘Amoral’.

The production company behind the video of ‘Bellyfull of Salt and Spleen‘ is A-Side Films. The organisation has previously worked on iconic videos such as Don Broco’s ‘Half Man Half God‘, Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Diamonds Aren’t Forever‘, Akercocke’s ‘One Chapter Ends for Another to Begin‘  and many other projects. Check out the showreel of their best works for 2019 below.

Lyrically, the contents perfectly fill in the atmosphere set by the gloomy sound and disturbing imagery. With simple repeating chants, Greenway recreates a menacing and macabre world of “eviscerating stares” and “iniquitous smut”. The frontman discusses the themes of the track and his singing style for Blabbermouth, stating that “the scope and gravity and density just demanded a vocal that was as baritone and anguished as I could push out of myself“.

Meanwhile, the band announced that their vinyl release of their upcoming album was delayed with one month due to manufacturing issues. At this point the official CD and digital release for Throes of Joy in Jaws of Defeatism remains set in two weeks time. The record is available to pre-order on Napalm Death’s official online store, alongside various merchandise.

We received the very frustrating news that the manufacturing plant we use for our vinyl releases experienced a malfunction while they were pressing the album. The vinyl release date for Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism has moved to Oct. 16. pic.twitter.com/CkSC4S1xa7 — Napalm Death (@officialND) September 3, 2020

‘Amoral‘ marks a slight shift back to Napalm Death’s earlier post-punk material with moderately experimental industrial vibe, more reminiscent of Killing Joke and Ministry than debut single ‘Backclash Just Because‘ which came earlier in July. Less brutal and considerably slower but maintaining the band’s signature intensity and energy, the track suceeds in sounding fresh and unique in line with the widespread creative surge across the metal scene.

The minimalistic monochrome video was directed by Danish film-maker Michael Panduro and resembles the pencil sketch style of his previous work for Napalm Death’s ‘Smash a Single Digit’. As highlighed in Panduro’s official website, his style is “defined by a love for fleshy grotesqueries” – an apparent feature of both videos and a fitting visualization to the band’s distinctive sound.

Producer Russ Russel returns again as the main force behind Thores of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism‘s production, engineering, mixing and mastering, after working with Napalm Death for over twenty years since first joining forces for Enemy of the Music Business from 2000. The artwork for Thores of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism was created by another familiar name – Frode Sylthe of Friktion.com. The Danish designer is also creddited for creating the album covers for Napalm Death’s last two records Apex Predator – Easy Meat (2015) and Utilitarian (2012).

In an interview for Blabbermount, lead singer Mark Greenway descriped their upcoming album as a response to the “rapidly growing fear and paranoia being generated about everybody, from migrating people to people with fluid sexuality” and stated the main lyrical theme behind the tracks is “the other.” New album is available to pre-order along with limited edition mediabooks, posters and vinyl. Last week Napalm Death also launched a brand new online store with loads of exclusive merch available for international delivery.

Napalm Death are formed in 1981 in Meriden, UK and are creditted as the pioneers of the grindcore genre. With fifteenth albums in their discography ranging from crust punk to death metal, they have established themselves as one of the most influential extreme bands from the UK. Napalm Death are Mark Greenway (vocals), Shane Embury (bass), Danny Herrera (drums) and Mitch Harris (guitars) with current lineup playing together since the early 1990s.

Thores of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism’s track listing:

01. Fuck The Factoid
02. Backlash Just Because
03. That Curse Of Being In Thrall
04. Contagion
05. Joie De Ne Pas Vivre
06. Invigorating Clutch
07. Zero Gravitas Chamber
08. Fluxing Of The Muscle
09. Amoral
10. Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism
11. Acting In Gouged Faith
12. A Bellyful Of Salt And Spleen

The attack had left him with hypoxic brain damage, leading to dystonia, an extremely rare condition that causes chronic pain and a drastic loss of motor skills. Mary Wren, a member of Cardiacs’ label Alphabet Business Concern said: “We are comforted by the fact that he left us quietly, albeit suddenly”. It is not unreasonable to assume that his death was related to this condition.

In an interview with The Quietus a decade after his heart attack, Smith likened living with the condition to “wearing a skintight bodysuit made of fishnet all around you with electrical pulses going all the time”. “This is what my body feels like unless I fall asleep”, he told Sean Kitching, “this I have called my digital pain, and bashing my head or something what hurts loads or any sort of normal pain, like toothache, I call analogue. Also, I can’t write or hold a pen or use a computer”.

Originally forming as ‘Cardiac Arrest’ in 1977 with his brother Jim, Smith helped curate the band’s unreplicable sound by fusing together rock’s most famous ideological nemeses prog and punk, with results that were aggressively technical as often as they were playfully childlike (in a feature for The Guardian, lifelong admirer Peter Cashmore once called them “lovely one moment and unlistenable the next”). 

Shifts in their early lineup pushed Smith from guitarist to being the face of the group (now renamed ‘Cardiacs’) taking control of lead vocal duties in 1981. Over the course of the decade, the closest the group came to commercial success was their 1988 (sort of) hit “Is This the Life?”, but their adventurous (if at times uncompromising) sound earnt them a devout following that included Napalm Death, Radiohead, Faith No More and Blur. Damon Albarn once told Louder Than War: “Cardiacs were an early inspiration for all of us in Blur. I remember one of their gigs at ULU. It was amazing, one of the most magical live performances I’ve ever seen”.

Smith married saxophonist Sarah Cutts in 1983, who remained a member of the band until the two amicably separated in 1990. The two remained firm friends, even releasing new music together with fellow Cardiacs member William Drake as The Sea Nymphs. As strong as their 80s output is, it was their 1996 album Sing to God which has become regarded as their masterpiece, and has gained an underground status as a cult classic. Watch music journalist and video essayist Oliver Kemp dissect the album below:

The first single from the album is titled “Birth Womb” and if it is anything to go by, it sounds to be yet another interesting project from Embury. It is a very crushing song that mixes genres such as Black Metal and Hardcore. Says the band:“This song talks about sacrifice, betrayal of emotion and the process of feeling temporary defeat. But in experiencing these feelings, you realize that you can be a stronger person for the experience, the knowledge that maybe you are not unique and we are all dealing with our personal trials on a day-to-day basis.”

Watch the video below:

Embury has been the bassist for Napalm Death since 1987. The band does not contain any original members but he is the longest serving since he joined for the tour of their first album “Scum” replacing previous bassist Jim Whitely. He had been around the band before joining, being a frequenter of their concerts at The Mermaid pub in Birmingham and being friends with the then-members such as former drummer Mick Harris. He was asked to join to record the B-side of “Scum” but at the time did not feel confident enough to accept, which is something he has always regretted.

Before joining Napalm Death, he played in  several other bands who were on the same scene such as Warhammer, Unseen Terror and Azagoth. Ever since he joined Napalm, he has always been involved in side projects. As far back as the early 90’s he worked on projects such as Blood from the Soul, Meathook Seed and Malformed Earthborn. In addition, he has several other bands that he has been a part of for years such as Venomous Concept and Lock Up and was also at one time a member of Brujeria.

Prior to joining Megadeth Dirk Verbeuren was the drummer in Swedish metal band Soilwork. In addition to this he has recorded with other artists such as Devin Townshend, Messhugah, Satyricon, Jeff Loomis, Warrell Dane and Aborted. When not recording or performing he teaches drums. He and Embury also previously had a project called Bent Sea.

Russ Russell is a producer who has produced most of Napalm Death’s albums since the early 2000’s as well as several of Embury’s aforementioned side projects. He has also produced bands such as Dimmu Borgir, At the Gates, The Wildhearts, The Exploited, Evile, The Haunted, The Berzerker and The Rotted.