Interview

Napalm Death Recorded "Apex Predator-Easy Meat" In Segments For Variation

Shane Embury (bass), Mitch Harris (guitars), Danny Herrera (drums) and Mark “Barney” Greenway have led the field of grindcore for over two decades. Now that we’re approaching the midway point through the teens of the 2000s, the band is showing no signs of slowing down. In early 2015, the group will release its follow up to “Utilitarian.”

Napalm Death was in Austin, Texas for the Housecore Horror Film Festival. They headlined the outdoor stage at Midway. Before the fathers of grind took the stage, front man Barney Greenway talked to us about this new recording. While some of the details such as the title of their album has been released to the public—they’re calling the album “Apex Predator-Easy Meat,” there are other details about the direction of their songs and Greenway delves deeper into the topic of the album.

Rex_84: How do you feel about playing this festival?

Barney Greenway: It’s different. It’s not the sort of thing we usually do. This is something I would probably go to, not necessarily a horror fest but like an independent film fest. Yeah, it’s quirky, different.

Rex_84: How about the musical acts. Are you going to check out any of the bands?

Greenway: I know most of them. I’ve seen all of them about a thousand times. I just went down to the stage and to be honest, it’s pretty brutal down there with the heat. I probably won’t spend too much time down there because I need to reserve my energy for the gig tonight.

Rex_84: Speaking of reserving energy, do you have a ritual that you do to help you get started?

Greenway: No, I just take my time getting dress, to be honest. I just sit there and look at my socks and stuff, my stage socks, and I go “I’ll put them on in a minute.”

Rex_84: What does your set list look like?

Greenway: It’s a mixture of everything. And we’re doing two brand new songs as well from our album that is coming out next year. One is called “Oh So Pseudo” and the other is called “Smash the Single Digit.”

Rex_84: These aren’t any of the four songs you released to the public.

Greenway: No, we’re just kind of picking them at random.

Rex_84: Do you have most of the album done?

Greenway: It’s done. It’s finished. We just have a few things to iron out like the title and some other bits and pieces. (The group titled the album “Apex Predator-Easy Meat.”)

Rex_84: Some of the song titles you released include "Copulating Snakes", "Dear Slum Landlord,” "What is Past Is Prologue," "Stunt Your Growth". Tell us a little about these tracks.

Greenway: Without singling them out, there is no stoppage. It’s Napalm, you can tell. The main thrust of it is not going to throw people a curve ball. There is a lot of fringe stuff in there that is really kooky and weird. More developed in the way of Swans, Joy Division, Killing Joke, SLAB!, Throbbing Gristle. That side of Napalm has come out a bit more. There is some pretty weird shit on there, actually (laughs).

Rex_84: In the release regarding the new material you said you were going “to try and achieve varying types of sonic assault.” Are you referring to this variation?

Greenway: What that refers to is we recorded the album in different sessions. It wasn’t in one thing. So when people read the album credits, it will say something like “Recorded throughout 2014.” It didn’t take all year to record. We did it in sections. We got a different sound every time. When you start a process at a certain time you get a particular sound. When you go back to the recording room, you get a different sound. That’s the science. So yeah, we did it in different parts. We were trying to get some variation.

Rex_84: You state there are a “few stylistic quirks on the album (that are sometimes happy accidents). Did you create some songs out of accident?

Greenway. Yeah, we always do. When you’re at the beginning stages you mink think it’s good. It’s a little ordinary but it’s ok. But when it’s recorded, it takes on a life of its own. It makes a bigger impression on you. At the start there were songs I thought were alright but maybe not one of the focus points. Then, later on, when it’s recorded it makes sense.

Rex_84: Russ Russell is produced the album at Parlour Studios. What’s it like working with him?

Greenway: Anybody that knows about Napalm knows that we’ve worked with him now for five or six albums. He knows what’s going on. He knows what we require, sound wise, which is a more organic approach than some bands. He interprets everything we do and seems to understand without too much explanation.

Rex_84: You’re known for having an organic approach, but with recording the album over a year, are people getting the wrong idea that maybe you’re not going to be organic?

Greenway: No, it didn’t take a year to make. It’s a year because it was done in separate segments. There was a whole period of time where we didn’t do anything.

Rex_84: This album is a follow up to your 2012 effort “Utilitarian.” Do you feel it’s a logical next step from that album?

Greenway: Yeah, I don’t know how people will judge it, but I think it’s a continuation. It doesn’t turn back on anything we’ve done in the last few years. I’m always curious about how people will receive it. That’s always the test.

Rex_84: Will we hear more tales of greed and corruption on this album? What are some of the topics you tackle on this record?

Greenway: This album was actually inspired by a single event, which a lot of people probably won’t be aware of. It’s quite a significant situation. There was a building that came down in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza. It was last year. The significance of it was within that plaza was a sweatshop, textiles manufacturing place for several major brands of cheap clothing. All Western brands. In the end, I can’t remember what the death toll was but it was really high. I think something like several hundred people died. What happened was a bunch of structural defects became apparent within days leading up to the collapse, but nobody did anything about. Sure, they noticed it and were like “what’s going on,” but still made people go back to work. What had happened was they built too high. They built extra levels without checking first to make sure it was safe to do so. That extra weight made the whole thing come down. That was what sparked my motivation. Then it kind of spread to how we, certain parts of the world, knowingly or unknowingly treat other parts of the world like we’re dumping trash. These people’s lives and conditions don’t matter as long as we get our stuff—our cheap clothes, our cheap gadgets, our cheap this and that so much that they live to serve us. Even though people don’t want to admit that, that’s the way they look at the situation. In a sense, they kind of perpetuate it by this constant need for more cheap stuff.

Rex_84: Wal-Mart.

Greenway: Yes, case in point. So that’s the general idea of the album. A couple of songs are about the caste system, which if you know anything about that it’s societies set up on castes. You’re born into a caste and you are treated like whatever caste you’re born into. If you’re towards the bottom, you shovel shit. That’s what you do. You can never get out of that unless you are very lucky. You’re almost condemned to do that the rest of your life. In this day and age, fuck.

Rex_84: It’s very different over here. If you play your cards right, you can get ahead.

Greenway: People say that, but slavery exists in many forms. It’s actually became more sophisticated like fruit pickers, for example. Fruit pickers in California use immigrant labor that is completely exploited. And that’s happening in a really, really so-called advanced country. It’s happening now it’s just more sophisticated.

Rex_84: Out of sight, out of mind. People don’t care. As long as you get your cheap shit, who gives a crap.

Greenway: So that’s the general thrust of the album.

Rex_84: After this show you head to Europe and then you play a few shows in Japan with Brutal Truth. What do you have planned after the Japan tour?

Greenway: We come back early next year and then the album comes out, so yeah. We’re coming to the States first, actually. I don’t have any concrete details, but we’re coming to the States first of all because the States were so good for us last time. Usually, we do a European tour first and then come to the States, but we said no, fuck it, that’s go to the States first.

Rex_84: Napalm Death has since announced a U.S. tour with Voivod, Exhumed, Iron Reagan and Black Crown Initiate and special guests (on select dates) Ringworm, Dayglo Abortions, Theories and Phobia.