Can I be real with you guys for a second here?
The truth is that while I am a fan of certain metal bands, I actually know sweet fuck all about grindcore. Thanks to the film Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey , I am aware that grindcore is, like, a thing in metal. But I can’t tell you much more than that. Yes, I AM CLOAKED IN FAILURE.
So when people started getting excited about the upcoming appearance of seminal grindcore band Napalm Death at the Seahorse tonight, I didn’t really know what they were talking about. Moreover, I felt supremely ill-equipped to write/report on it in any meaningful way. So I asked Mike Parks – guitarist and resident shrieker for the Halifax grindcore band Burnt Church – to answer some of my stupid questions about grindcore and explain why the band is important to him. He kindly obliged. Thanks Mike!
PS _ Burnt Church open for Napalm Death along with Pith and Hellacaust on Wednesday, October 12. Tickets are pretty much sold out, although there may be a few stray ones kicking around if you ask nicely.
1. “Grindcore” is one of those metal sub-genres that make me feel vaguely anxious because I don’t know much about it. Can you explain what characterizes grindcore – sonically and ideologically?
Grindcore has more or less become of a vague blanket term, much in the same way punk has. There’s so many different subgenres that cater to people’s specific tastes. There’s subgenres like porno-grind that are sonically way more metal and as you can gather from the genre name, the lyrics are generally pretty trashy and/or intentionally offensive.
The way I always describe grind is that it is a mixture of hardcore punk and death metal, with lyrics that focus on mostly socio-political topics. I feel that would best describe the style that both Burnt Church and Napalm Death plays.
2. Where do Napalm Death fall on this grindcore continuum? What makes them notable?
Napalm Death are really the first band that was called grindcore. The name was derived from the buzzsaw grinding type sound that was made by their guitars. They’ve been together over 20 years, put out a slew of amazing albums and have never really sucked. Whether or not you like some of their mid 90’s output depends on your individual taste, but I think it all rules. You can’t say that about a lot of bands these days.
3. When did you first hear Napalm Death?
The first time I heard Napalm Death was on much music of all places back on the Power 30. The minute the music started I was floored. That would have been 1992 or 1993 and until then Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer were the staples of my musical diet, I hadn’t really discovered punk yet. They had this speed and aggression that not even Slayer really matched.
4. How have they influenced your songwriting?
I would certainly say they’ve influenced both me personally as a songwriter and Burnt Church collectively. Their last album Time Waits for No Slave is one of my all time favourite records and has definitely influenced my playing a bit. One of our newer songs that Gerald wrote was temporarily titled Napalm Death until I wrote lyrics and gave it a title.
5. Tell me your favorite Napalm Death song and why you like it.
My favourite ND song is probably “Suffer the Children” from Harmony Corruption. I hope they pull that one out on Wednesday. I want to mosh to that breakdown.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.