With a powerhouse line-up featuring Crowbar, Full of Hell, and Brat, Napalm Death bring their ‘Campaign for Musical Destruction Tour’ to a crushing finale at Birmingham’s O2 Institute, marking a triumphant homecoming for the grindcore legends.
The night kicks off with an onslaught of raw intensity, courtesy of New Orleans band Brat, led by Barbie’s evil twin—Liz Selfish. A feral blend of death, and self described “bimboviolence”, their set is a chaotic whirlwind punctuated by jarring bursts of sugary pop samples. I’m left perplexed, until Full of Hell slap it out of me. Unleashing a fusion of grindcore, noise, and doom, they construct an artistic wall of contemporary powerviolence that is both brutal and hypnotic. The crowd is left reeling, exhilarated, and craving more.
The unity of extreme subgenres reaches its peak—at least for now—with sludge metal icons Crowbar. Though laid-back veteran frontman, Kirk Windstein, and his band of heavy hitters specialise in the slower, doomy side of metal, they are welcomed just as emphatically by those eager to witness what’s yet to come. “In case you don’t know, we’re Crowbar from New Orleans” Windstein declares. “We’re gonna kick your ass! Let’s do this shit!” With that, they launch into ‘To Build a Mountain’, and a sludge-drenched tidal wave rolls over us for the next fifty minutes.
Windstein’s gravel-throated roar and massive guitar tone define Crowbar’s sound as they plow through mammoth riffs with punishing precision. Slow, neck-snapping chugs make headbanging feel more of a necessity than a choice, with ‘Chemical Godz’, ‘The Cemetery Angels’, and ‘Planets Collide’ delivering heavy, groove-laden earworms. Crowbar Shane hands over to Napalm Shane for ‘High Rate Extinction’, with the Brummie crowd, and swirling pit, throwing themselves well into it. Finishing up with ‘Like Broken Glass’, and ‘All I Had (I Gave)’, Crowbar complete not just their performance—but the experience.
Napalm Death have been a constant in my musical journey—from the shock and awe of ‘Scum’ to first witnessing their fury at The Hummingbird in 1989, and more lately at Bloodstock and Download, I’ve always had a soft spot for grindcore’s unstoppable force. Now, returning to their home city on this year’s ‘Campaign for Musical Destruction Tour’ this has been a show to anticipate—especially after ‘Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism’ (2020), and ‘Resentment is Always Seismic – A Final Throw of Throes’ (2022).
A huge roar welcomes Napalm Death to the stage. There’s no slow build—just an immediate detonation as ‘Multinational Corporations Part II’ kicks in, and the crowd wastes no time erupting into a frenzy. Barney Greenway throws himself across stage like a kid having a sugar rush, fists swinging, mic flailing, occasionally clutching his head in theatrical anguish. After ‘Lowpoint’, with the pit swelling, he pauses for a sip of water. “Welcome home, boys!” someone shouts. He grins, then with perfect timing: “We are Napalm Death… from guess fucking where?” It’s a homecoming in every sense.
The setlist is a relentless, career-spanning assault. Early gems like ‘Vision Conquest’ and ‘Retreat to Nowhere’ collide with latter-day cuts such as ‘Resentment Always Simmers’ and ‘Backlash Just Because’. The Killing Joke-esque ‘Amoral’ offers a rare groove-driven reprieve, though Barney assures us: “It’s still noisy as fuck in all the right places.” The break is short-lived—soon, we’re plunged back into grindcore chaos, raging against oppression, inequality, capitalism, and war. ‘Social Sterility’ is a staple, giving Barney a chance to denounce religion as “entirely pointless” and “always the problem, never the cure.”
As the night barrels toward its climax, we’re yanked into the past with a blistering trio from ‘Scum’—the title track, ‘Prison Without Walls’, and the infamous ‘You Suffer’, over in a blink. The obligatory cover of Dead Kennedy’s ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ lands just before the end with the same fire and defiance as ever.
Closing with ‘Unchallenged Hate’, the band deliver one final, crushing blow, with Barney, drenched in sweat, offering a simple send-off: “Take care of yourselves.”
For a band forged in the depths of Birmingham’s underground, the sheer devotion and size of tonight’s crowd speaks volumes. Decades in, Napalm Death remain as relentless, relevant, and utterly uncompromising as ever. A tour finale, a homecoming, and a celebration of their legacy— or, as Barney puts it: “Napalm Death always do what Napalm Death want to do!” And long may they continue.
Review & Photography: Steve Johnston
