Pros: Tight as hell music, great camera work, and flawless sound quality.
Cons: Quite honestly, none to speak of.
The Bottom Line: This DVD showcases Napalm Death at their current and absolute peak in terms of talent and creativity. The next best thing to being there.
tangento's Full Review: Napalm Death - Punishment in Capitals
First off - as I stated in my previous ND CD review, this is Napalm Death, folks. The squeamish and the milquetoast need not apply. This band, (sometimes referred to as the 'Godfathers of Grind') have helped to completely re-define the term 'extreme music'. They have brought the genre to entirely new levels of brutality and are certainly not for all tastes. That said, their lyrics have thankfully always been definable as 'socially aware' rather than 'satanic schmaltz'. (infact, this very show was a benefit concert for S.H.A.C. - the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty campaign* ) Likewise, the music itself takes many chances and shatters the boundaries of standard 4/4 rock trappings - all the while incorporating complex polyrhythms and provocative melodic experimentation.
On to the show:
As the proceedings begin, five figures bathed in dark blue light assume their stagebound positions.
Mitch straps on his infamous white V. Bassist Shane gives us the obligatory 'thumbs up', and both in turn tease us with a single thundering note. Barney then mumbles the first of the night's many 'somethings unintelligible yet probably very important' in his thick Birmingham (?) inflection. That bit of formality out of the way, the boys commence to unleash the double-dyed, triple-thick Wrath of the legendary ND Grindage Machine.
From the opening notes of the very early and somewhat musically simplistic ND track Lucid Fairytale, we are instantly rendered wide-eyed and now must accept whatever uncaged mayhem comes our way - or sheepishly flee the scene whimpering, tail between legs. But is isn't until the unfathomably extortionate onslaught of the second, much more recent selection - Taste the Poison that we begin to actually realize the level of insane precision and atonal yet oddly satisfying quasi-melodic realms this barrage of brutality will actually attain. (the latter track was once descibed to me by a close friend as 'Napalm meets Hackett' - and he was 100% correct) The noticeable dichotomy between these two opening 'serenades of scorch' serves well to perfectly bookend the different phases of the ND sound over the years. We are then treated to a mercilessly energetic 75 minute set of everything in between and then some; and my friends, this is just about as extreme as music can possibly get. You've got your punk, your hardcore your PROG and your thrash - but this is where it all comes together for us, the aesthetes of the immoderate.
For the most part, the song selection is all over the place in terms of eras and albums, as it should be. My only beef here is the fact that but for one song, (Cleanse Impure) they completely overlooked one of my favorite albums of all time - 1998's Words From the Exit Wound. (see my review of same) No real worries, though, since there are plenty of equally intricate cuts from the mega-heinous aggro-technical 2001 follow up, Enemy of the Music Business. Before viewing this DVD, I had not seen Napalm live in some 10 years, and I am absolutely blown away by how well they pull off these newer, more complex songs in the live setting. Just incredibly well-executed thrashing mayhem. The rhythmic battery of Bassist Shane Embury and Drummer Danny Hererra is a well-oiled and unstoppable machine. American-bred Guitarists Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado are simply dripping with talent and throat terrorizer Mark 'Barney' Greenway's antics are a welcome treat - as always.
A few highlights of this almost completely faultless show are Volume of Neglect, Narcoleptic, Mass Appeal Madness, and Next on the List with its stunningly abstract, polyrhythmic breaks. We are also treated to a few nice cover tunes, which are drawn from ND's first CD tribute to their influences, (Leaders Not Followers Pt. 1) while the *really* early stuff like Scum, Unchallenged Hate and From Enslavement to Obliteration are a real 'hoot'. Also included is an especially rousing rendition of ND's perennial show-closer, a cover of the Dead Kennedy's 'Nazi Punks F**k Off. All in all, an outstanding setlist.
To step aside for a moment and ponder the documentary section of the DVD, we find that among of the most striking characteristics of this band are their affable, unassuming off-stage personalities - especially when gauged against their aggressive and uncompromising lyrical approach. There are many comparatively personality-challenged bands who might be considered among ND's peers - and who can often be found attempting to substitute their inane satanic fantasies and pitiful dark-minded lyrical content for what really matters; blistering, focused, unbridled musical energy and pure unadulterated rage at the state of things in the REAL world. Sack your pathetic nihilism & drama you bozos, and actually DO something about what you see! (other than mindlessly incinerating thousand-year-old churches)
THIS, among other things, is the calling card of the Mighty Napalm Death Behemoth.
Napalm Death's Punishment in Capitals is an absolutely and unequivocally BRUTAL experience. A bone-jarring 75 minute set, all one show. I defy any band even 10 years younger to expend this kind of sustained energy & hyperspeed precision and live to tell about it.
VERY HIGHLY recommended.
Bonus material:
There are several nice but lesser-quality additional live tracks from '96 and '97, and the above-mentioned documentary. The only "Easter egg" I know of for this DVD is a bonus live video:
From the Main Menu select the 'Extras' option. Highlight the 'Song List' and press LEFT. The 'eyes' of the doll will flash, select them to reveal an extra live performance of "If Truth Be Known".
www.tangento.net
* the S.H.A.C. website is: www.shac.net
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
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