Napalm Death Etch Their Name in Grindcore Lore with Landmark NPR Tiny Desk Set

Napalm Death have made history as the first grindcore act ever to appear on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. Watch the performance below.

The pioneering UK grindcore outfit recently took part in NPR’s acclaimed live session format, delivering a packed eight-song set that stood in stark contrast to the typically subdued performances associated with the series.

Over the years, the Tiny Desk platform has hosted major names such as Adele, Tyler, The Creator, Weezer, Turnstile, Taylor Swift, Anderson .Paak, Pulp and many others. While most artists lean toward stripped-back, refined arrangements, Napalm Death opted for the opposite approach, producing a blistering and unforgettable display.

In just under 20 minutes, frontman Barney Greenway and the band tore through live versions of “Instinct Of Survival,” “Strong-Arm,” “Everyday Pox” and more, while also voicing their backing for public broadcasting.

They closed with “You Suffer” — the track that earned them a Guinness World Record as the shortest commercially released song ever, clocking in at under two seconds.

“I’ve dipped in and out of Democracy Now! via NPR Radio for decades now to get my unvarnished yet thoughtful North American news. So when the NPR Tiny Desk thing came up, it kind of blew my tiny mind a little bit,” the singer remarked.

“We realised that we were going to reach far more people than usual with the TD performance, but as you might expect from Napalm Death, we were never going to temper the performance to any degree.”

Greenway added: “We hope everybody at least gets something from it, even if it’s just an understanding of musical abrasion being pushed to the nth degree. Please always support public access broadcasting in view of the ongoing relentless attacks upon it.”

The session was curated by NPR Music producer and writer Lars Gotrich, who explained the rationale for bringing the grindcore legends to the series.

“The first grindcore band at the Tiny Desk had to be the founding fathers,” Gotrich said. “I turned down or said ‘maybe later’ to so many others — that’s how important it was to me to get this right.

“There is only one Napalm Death, not only exemplary of extreme music but also what it takes to be human in what feels like an inhumane time.”

Napalm Death are hardly the first artists to generate buzz with a memorable Tiny Desk appearance. Last September, Turnstile surprised viewers with the show’s first stage dive, while more recently Amaia drew attention by performing with a flute that resembled a folding chair.

In other band news, it was confirmed last year that Napalm Death collaborated with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore on a Ramones cover, and shortly before that, Yard Act joined bassist Shane Embury for a live rendition of Motörhead’s “Ace Of Spades.”

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