In music, artists and trends come and go meaning very few withstand the test of time, especially in extreme metal – but 21 years on English outfit Napalm Death continue to wear the grindcore crown and tear up venues worldwide. However, it is an achievement that Napalm guitarist and Framus endorser Mitch Harris never anticipated when he initially joined the band.
It feels as though we’re still 14 and doing it even though we’re pushing 40 but the energy is still there and the crowd gives it back. There are a few generations that hold it close saying: ‘I remember when I’d listen to you and I had no commitments and living at home with no problems’. But now people have debts but they come to our shows and they’re really letting go [of their problems] to our music. People have a memory attached with those times of their youth. But you’ll always have people who’ll say ‘yeah I still prefer this album’ or ‘the snare isn’t as tight’ or ‘the guitar tone isn’t as good’. We still keep it extreme and we’re happy breaking new ground with it.”
Napalm show no signs of slowing down either as their current ‘Campaign for Musical Destruction’ tour sees them playing to 4 - 500 people per night, having tactically scheduled their shows so people can fully appreciate the full Napalm experience without exhausting familiar areas.
MH: “You know we’ll go to France and play five shows then come back home then do 10 dates in Russia so we keep it fresh. It’s not like before when we would tour the world for six months and then do an album each year. There are thousands of flyers out there with different shows and if you’ve already played the same place twice in Germany or wherever then people will be like ‘oh, yeah we already caught them at the festival so I think I’ll give that a miss’. We try and hit different territories and keep ourselves busy. I’d like to go deeper into Russia, China, then places we’ve never been to before like Macedonia, Albania and Singapore where not that many shows happen so it’s still exciting [for us]. We’re not afraid of trying new things and holding onto our ground, no matter what the market or economy is like.”
Mitch and Co have stayed true to their word despite taking a few cutbacks for tour expenses to keep the Napalm ball rolling.
MH: “We keep it really basic you know. There’s us, a sound guy and a t-shirt guy. And our backline is really simple too so we can play some of the biggest stages in the world to small little shithole clubs… we can fit in just about anywhere. You’ll have American bands who can only do something like five dates because of expenses with tour buses and things like that so they have to move on. We’re at an advantage because we can go in and out of the UK and we can do 17 dates or weekend dates and just enjoy it.”
After their ‘Campaign for Destruction’ tour the band plan on hitting the studio next year to create their latest slice of grind action with a few extras for fans.
MH: “We’re in the studio in May next year for an October release, which is a three year gap since we were last in the studio and that’s the longest gap we’ve ever had. We used to write an album every year. I want to put a video to it as well because I’ve been teaching media at a place in Birmingham, keeping busy doing things and enjoying life.”
But for Mitch the buck doesn’t stop there as the American revealed a number of tasty side-projects he’s been working on which may come to fruition soon.
MH: “I’ve got other projects in the line like computer-based music that not many people will be into but I’ve also been writing other music that didn’t fit the Napalm Death style that I haven’t released in three years. I’ve also got a couple of people lined up who I’m going to work with but I’m not going to mention any names because otherwise it’s all talk until somebody says they’ve paid for their flights and they’re coming over.”
Not content to stop for anyone, the Napalm Death juggernaut blazes a trail that far younger bands would struggle to match.
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