NAPALM DEATH, SCHIZTOME AND NOHUMANSNO
Lovely as this city is, Plymouth is hardly known for its ‘hotspot’ status as far as big metal gigs are concerned; okay, Terror and Dry Kill Logic may have recently graced our shingled shores, but we’re still way behind in enticing international acts. We know that nights like this one happen once in a blue moon, so the White Rabbit fills with what seems like every music fan in the city to experience one of Britain’s greatest metal institutions in the flesh. I say ‘every music fan’ because, among the hoary metal veterans, Goths and ageing rockers, one or two befringed emo types even scuttle through the throng - quite a diverse gathering here tonight, folks!
Unfortunately, I totally miss the first band to play, but I do hear very mixed reviews of Scimitar from various attendees ranging from very good to not so good. I arrive just in time to catch Nohumansno; having been bored stiff by their chaotic noise the first time I saw them I try not to resign myself to guessing that they’ll be pretty awful, so I’m pleasantly surprised to quite enjoy tonight’s rowdy set. The sheer amount of highly excited fans in here tonight lends the atmosphere a party-like feel and these guys definitely feed off the response, their sludgy, raucous grind n’roll creating a pretty fitting soundtrack.
“The day Schiztome split is the day the world ends!” thunders vocalist Craig Baker halfway through their set. For months rumours have spread that the 5-piece are on the brink of disbanding, but tonight’s display shows that they’re stronger than ever with a performance that roars like a firestorm through the tiny venue. They’re clearly chuffed as fuck to be supporting a band as massively influential as Napalm; love them or hate them, you can’t deny that the 5-piece make an impressive return to form with their crushing new material. Minus points for not ending with ‘Return To The Pit’ though, lads!
Whether you’re a seasoned metal connoisseur or a mere neophyte, Birmingham’s Napalm Death should need no introduction. They certainly don’t in the White Rabbit, as the crowd are delirious the minute they take the stage. They may be older, wiser and greyer, but Hell will freeze long before they even think of easing up; the sight of Barney Greenway charging about like a sugared-up toddler and barking venom into his mic clear evidence of this. They tear through a set that spans their lengthy career from the ‘Scum’-era two-second spewings to the honed, focused fury of new addition ‘Smear Campaign‘, and then I’m possessed, racing fists-first into the melee. I’m suddenly atop the huge speaker beside the stage. Sweet Jesus, I’m flying! My inner lemming has chucked me off the speaker and into the pit…which folds like a house of cards as I land on my back. Diving Rule 1: ALWAYS be sure the crowd knows you’re coming, or they’ll part like the Red Sea. So I limp back to a safe distance for a searing ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ and rabidly chant for an encore when the bitter end comes, sweating, racked with pain and virtually orgasmic.
This year Napalm Death celebrate the 20th anniversary of ‘Scum’, the album that started it all, and the grindcore goliaths have proved with tonight’s devastating performance that they’re nowhere near retiring yet. Now I need a little sit-down…
Dani Hawkins
WHITE RABBIT, PLYMOUTH 20/07/07