Napalm Death is a band that has often flirted with controversy, and the consensus about them in the overall grindcore scene is quite divided to say the least.
On one hand, they are praised - alongside Repulsion, Terrorizer and Helgrind - as one of the pioneers of grindcore, one of the bands that bridged the gap between hardcore punk and metal. But on the other, their music output has often been criticised for being "one step removed from nu metal", and essentially turning the entire grindcore genre into a big joke, courtesy of stupid lyrics, and rap/rock (nu metal) arrangements.
The fact that they routinely engage in well publicised feuds with other "rival" bands is also something many extreme metal fans find "petty", at best, a Mark Greenway's histrionics about being persecuted for his political involvement is often seen as an attempt to deflect criticism from the band's mediocre output.
In one particularly infamous incident, the bands of Napalm Death demanded that the organisers of a live concert in Norway cancel their show (called Blastfest) because of the presence of Peste Noire, and some other bands Napalm Death didn't like.
"We don't recognise these modern grindcore band..."
In a recent interview, published in its entirety in the book "Slaves to the Grind: A History of Grindcore Music" (pages 353 to 360), bassist Shane Embury and frontman Mark "Barney" Greenway sit down and go over the history of the genre, as well as Napalm Death's more recent controversies involved public feuds with bands deemed "too NS" such as Marduk, Peste Noire, Darkthrone and - ironically? - Cannibal Corpse.
"We don't like homophobic and racist death metal bands..."
When first asked about the evolution of grindcore, and how more and more bands from different extreme metal genres - death metal, goregrind, deathgrind, crust punk, powerviolence, war metal, cybergrind - began to be called "grindcore" as a catch-all, the members of Napalm Death respond categorically.
Mark "Barney" Greenway: I do find it quite funny sometimes though when people argue over small details of what is Grindcore and what is not. We can all see that the genre has gone in a million different directions and that is at it should be. Even though I have my own personal tastes and don't like everything that's out there, it’s not for me to say where the genre should or shouldn't go.Shane Embury: We don't like homophobic and racist death metal bands.
This was likely a reference to the increasing number of goregrind / cybergrind bands with extremely violent lyrics, modeled after Cannibal Corpse, which have emerged in recent years.
The two men were also asked if the extreme imagery of many grindcore acts served as a "magnet" to attract these individuals (ie, bands like Cannibal Corpse that write about violence against women and minorities). Once again, Embury and Greenway deny the problem is with the genre itself... and instead encourages his fans to "take action" against "those that would keep people down".
Shane Embury: Extreme music is just as capable as anything else, and it's just as lacking. These scenes, regardless of the music, are just a microcosm of the world. It's up to human beings to make things inclusive, to make people feel welcome. However you self identify, or whoever you are visibly or in any kind of way really, we are all human beings.Mark "Barney" Greenway: I understand that people feel hopeless, but you know what man, if you don't tackle this stuff head on, I don't mean physically necessarily but in a human way, you just give more rope to those that would keep people down, would make things unequal, would grab all the power for themselves.
This last comment didn't age very well, particularly if you look at the recent events in which members of black metal bands (Gorgoroth, Drudkh, Beherit, etc...) have been assaulted for politically motivated reasons. Overall the idea that the scenes themselves are just "a microcosm of the world" is indeed important.
"There's no need for borders... it's all bollocks!"
Of course, the discussion wouldn't have been complete if a few of Napalm Death's controversies hadn't been addressed. Two, in particular, stand out. The first one is the fact that Napalm Death's members have often accused other bands of being "secretly nazi" or "NS sympathisers" with very little proof to back it up. Shane Embury himself, in a Kerrang! interview, had called Alissa White-Gluz, the vocalist of death metal band Arch Enemy, a "transphobe" for making comments that were seen as offensive to the LGBTQIA+ communities.
Greenway addresses the issue in his own way, and says that life is about power. And powerful people will impose borders arbitrarily to protect their assets, so his position as an "internationalist" fighting the fascist bands is justified.
Mark "Barney" Greenway: Life's a great big f[-]cking power grab. There are people in power that hold the resources who want to keep it that way. That's all land borders are. They were drawn on the interest of a few people who could protect their assets, and then lead us to believe that these are sovereign borders. It's all bollocks. There's no need for this stuff.Shane Embury: It's really important, and I'm happy and proud of these achievements. The issues of trans-rights and things like that at the moment, to me everyone is cool and it's common sense to be loving and compassionate. I come from a really small village where things could be intense when I was growing up, and I'm happy that Napalm [Death] promotes free thought, love, understanding, tolerance, and Barney talks about these things rather well.
More recently, the issue of the cancelled "Blastfest" concert in Norway resurfaced. Can one claim to be in favour of free speech, all while wielding the power to censor - or attempt to censor - rival bands (such as the sulfurous Peste Noire) at will? Once again, the answer is more complicated than it might seem.
Shane Embury: We are internationalist. We are against borders and all that nazi [----]. Napalm Death stands for racial equality.Mark "Barney" Greenway: This singer [Famine, of Peste Noire]. I don't know if he's a fascist. I don't know. All I know is that when you look at the audience [of these black metal bands], even if the band itself isn't fascist, but the audience... we know there are always people at the limit of militias, the "brown shirts" you know. We don't want these types of peoples in events where we play, that's why we had to cancel the event.
Lastly, Napalm Death were known to be outspoken against Marduk, a Swedish black metal band, as both groups shared the same record label (Century Media) for a few years. Some speculate that Century Media "cut ties" with Marduk - one of their best selling artists - due to political pressure (there was a rumour that Morgan and Legion, of Marduk, collect WWII memorabilia as a hobby).
Greenway makes a comment seemingly defending Napalm Death, saying they have nothing to do with Marduk's departure from the label, and it wasn't due to them being "fascist".
Mark "Barney" Greenway: They [Marduk] have always said they are not fascist, and that they use that imagery in the same way a goregrind band might. I know there was something that happened where one of them was found on some white power mailing list [...]. If their intention is a fascist ideology, then f[-]ck them all.
Overall, it's a pretty good read. Barney Greenway appears much more calm, and less "knee-jerk", in these interviews, although he does evade a few points and refuse to answer some troubling questions. Nonetheless, if you're interested in either grindcore or Napalm Death's history, I highly recommend you read the interview in full (see once again "Slaves to the Grind: A History of Grindcore Music").
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