“If you just came in here, and wondered what the fuck all the noise was about, we are Napalm Death from Birmingham”
- Mark 'Barney' Greenway (vocals)

Need more be said? Personally, I think Greenway hit the nail on the head on that one.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, we sadly missed the warm up band What Worms Inherit, but on the other hand, there was no doubt as to whom the crowd had come to see; loud cheers rose from the masses as the curtains were pulled aside and the band entered.
Oh, and I do mean masses; it has been a long time since I saw this amount of people crammed into The Rock, and on a Tuesday night no less! Even with, or maybe especially with Napalm Death coming back here every so often (every five minutes according to Greenway), I was truly astounded at the support from the Danish fans.

Not only had people shown up for the show, but they were certainly ready to party as well.
Already from the first notes of Downbeat Clique, the first song of the night, a small but seriously wild moshpit gathered on the middle of the floor, and it only grew in both size and intensity as the night wore on. Even a famous face from the Danish scene bobbed by once in a while; I’m talking about Frederik Thaae from A Kid Hereafter In The Grinding Light (a Danish grindcore band which supported Napalm Death in 20009 here at The Rock).
Thaae was not the only musician stopping by this evening though; a thank you was sent from the stage up to the VIP floor, or more precisely from Greenway to Michael Poulsen of Volbeat, for letting him sing on their latest record. He finished the thanks with a crooked smile, and the comment;

”There goes your fucking record sales right there”

as he was indicating a downward arc with his hand, thumb pointing to the floor.
On a whole, Greenway and mates seemed very enthusiastic this night, and the aggressive singer proved to be both fun and polite while speaking between the bone-crushing, flesh-ripping songs being played. To the audience he sent his love and appreciation, and to the light technician he said, again with a smile on his face;

”Loose the fucking smoke, we don’t need it. We’re not a smoke kind of band, but thanks all the same.”

During the songs, it felt as though the stage was not large enough to hold the band; both guitarist Mitch Harris and bassist Shane Embury were headbanging like crazy, and Greenway was all over the place with his signature headshake and manic stomping about…

So were there no problems then?
Well, yes. At the beginning of the show, during the first few lines of Downbeat Clique, the microphone didn’t work, so we lost some of Greenway’s perceptive thoughts about life and the world around us, but this was made up for by the very large amount of songs on the setlist, where we got to hear him speak out against such atrocious acts as warfare, pollution and organized religion among other things.
Apart from the little mic-hiccup however, I can’t think of anything not going as planned…

I was really glad for this opportunity to see Napalm Death again in a small, intimate setting. The last several times have been on big festival stages, which have been all well and good, but when it comes to this band, nothing beats the direct in-your-face experience these guys can deliver.
That the bandmembers themselves were well pleased with the whole affair as well was easily seen at the long time they spent on shaking hands with everyone after the concert.

Setlist:

Downbeat Clique
Hung
Continuing War On Stupidity
Next On The List
When All Is Said And Done
If The Truth Be Known
Lucid Fairytale
Social Sterility
On The Brink Of Extinction
Mentally Murdered
The World Keeps Turning
Pride Assassin
Conform (Siege cover)
Politicians (Raw Power cover)
Greed Killing
Scum
Control
M.A.D.
You Suffer
Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Dead Kennedys cover)
Suffer The Children
Instinct Of Survival