Whether you worship at the altar of noise or if the power of the riff compels thee. Tonight is the night. Contrary to the tour title ‘Campaign of Musical Destruction’, tonight has four different flavours, each come in one weight: heavy! Before even getting in I get a view of the range of people this show brings in, from old crusties with dreadlocks that existed before I did and then young’uns wearing clothes I hadn’t thought were ‘in’ since the early 2000s that were young enough to be my own kids.
New Orleans’ own self-proclaimed ‘bimboviolence’ band Brat set the expectation high as they kick things off with Darude’s “Sandstorm” as their intro music. This quickly devolves into some of the heaviest music out there with tinges of hardcore, grind and death. If you’ve seen their social media presence, you’ll know Liz Selfish’s onstage antics are a mix of cheerleading and dancing you’d expect at a sorority party.
Another recognisable song comes over the PA between songs, this time it’s Britney Spears and Liz gets the crowd two stepping along to this next song. You wouldn’t have known it from the performance so far, but the guitarist, Brenner, goes on to reveal that Liz has had bronchitis and was even hospitalised, but she’s still determined to give us as much as she can. They even bring out the boss himself, Mr Kirk Windstein to help with their most recent release, a ridiculously heavy cover of Heart’s “Barracuda”!
And yet another banger comes over the PA, this time it is Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch”. I’m feeling more and more that this band was made for me. There is also another surprise with Barney coming to help on vocals this time! Closing the set they have brought their merch guy on to play guitar to get Brenner onto full vocal duties with “Toxic” by Britney Spears leading into “Chain Pain”. Brat were on earlier than I had expected and this is a tough time of day to have a set, but the crowd that is there is in their hands and active.
Full of Hell are a wall of noise and anger. “Where we come from is riddled with fentanyl and micro plastics are in everything you drink.” You can see where this anger comes from, with a view of the hopelessness of the world. I have to say though, they did mention that our drinking water is great, which anyone in Scotland will attest to and probably the most surprising part of their set was the acknowledgement of this.
Despite this rage they are incredibly polite and can rattle off the names of venues in Glasgow they’ve played in the past. They have nothing but praise for the audience and for the city, even managing to squeeze in the word ‘wee’ somewhere. They have brought a new level of energy to this now far busier room including the first crowd surfers (that I noticed).
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
If you came into this show blind, the next band would be a surprise as it slows things down considerably with some of the slowest but heaviest grooves that are so encapsulating of the 90s metal era. It’s easy to forget just how big Crowbar were in those days, with the help of MTV, Phil Anselmo and even Beavis and Butthead, they were iconic. Kirk has a presence like any rock n’ roll legend should have. There is even mention from Kirk himself that it might just be too early to tell, but Glasgow might be the audience of the tour so far. But it’s always hard to shake the feeling that compliment is thrown about! Anyone from other shows able to comment on that?
There are further collaborations to happen this night, Brat kicked it off with some guest vocals, now we have the legendary man of grind, Shane Embury, on bass for Crowbar! Today’s show is certainly filled with events that you might never get to see again. “High Rate Extinction” kicks in and there isn’t a head in the building not nodding along.
Kirk tell us “don’t fall asleep yet motherfuckers” and he has a remedy for this which is, I’m sure, the fastest song of the set, “The Cemetery Angels”. He tells us to channel our inner Mikkey Dee, and in this live version with double kicks driving it forward, it seems appropriate, which even spurred on some more crowdsurfers. Next comes the moment where “Planets Collide” starts up and the urge to have a pint in my hand soars to levels unknown to man. This is a song to have mates and beers to sing along with!
Kirk then goes on to reveal that everyone has been sick on this tour, which Brat confirmed the most extreme case and a few horrible gargles and spits up on the stage throughout the evening now all make a bit more sense.
Now onto the godfathers of grind, Napalm Death, from the ‘utopia of Birmingham”. They are one of these bands that transcend the genre, or even the sphere of heavy music, as their name is even recognised by people from the outside. Barney has even appeared in Nevermind the Buzzcocks!
Straight off the line, they have crowd surfers up in record time. If you’ve ever seen Napalm Death before, you will know the unrivalled energy of Barney as he flies around the stage in a fit of punk driven energy. They have a few things to say about our current problems and with good reason, telling us ‘those at the top live very nicely and everyone underneath eat shit, as a human being you should reject this fucking bullshit’, and asking for ‘a dignified world for everybody not just for yourself’.
Another surprise guest comes in the shape of underground metal icon Dan Lilker (having played in Anthrax, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth to name a few!) to play “Scum”. We are also reminded that the Campaign of Musical Destruction is the brainchild of Napalm Death and they want to give us something with it, this includes the mix of bands and their varying styles, but also includes the fact they have varied up the setlist.
There is also mention that this is to show that they’re ‘not lazy fucking bastards’. As the set comes to a close Barney wants to make sure we know that Napalm Death are always anti-fascist which really sets us up for the final songs, a Dead Kennedys cover, “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”, and finally “Unchallenged Hate”.
What can I say, this was a night that was curated and I can’t wait for the next Campaign of Musical Destruction!
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Photos by Alan Swan Photography
