NAPALM DEATH's BARNEY GREENWAY Was 'Blown Away' By Response To Band's Appearance On 'Tiny Desk' Concert Series

In a new interview with Amped! TV, vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of legendary U.K. grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH spoke about the band's recent appearance on NPR Music's celebrated "Tiny Desk" concert series. The performance marked the first time a grindcore act had appeared on the series, which has previously made hosted artists from the worlds of rock, hip-hop, soul, folk, jazz and more.

Greenway said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "For me, it was important because, as I talked about it during the performance, actually, is that I think public access broadcasting is under such attack from private media tycoons and big media companies. And I was happy to at least do our bit to try and [bring some more attention to it]."

Barney continued: "It took a while to get it organized because we were actually meant to do it the tour before, and we just couldn't make it for whatever reason, so it was good to finally be able to do it."

Regarding the response to NAPALM DEATH's appearance on "Tiny Desk", Greenway said: "I was blown away, how well it sort of was received by people. I thought we'd do it and it'd be sort of a bit of a novelty for people, but people just went absolutely mad about it. They say, 'Oh, it was amazing. Well, how did you [do it]?' I was, like, 'All I did, I went up there and do what I usually do, which is shout.'"

When the "Tiny Desk" episode featuring NAPALM DEATH was first released in July, Greenway said in a statement: "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. We realized that we were going to reach far more people than usual with the 'Tiny Desk' performance, but as you might expect from NAPALM DEATH, we were never going to temper the performance to any degree. 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 performance was curated by NPR Music producer and writer Lars Gotrich, whose long-standing appreciation for heavy music helped make the appearance possible and further underscores the growing recognition of extreme music within the broader cultural landscape.

Gotrich commented: "The first grindcore band at the 'Tiny Desk' had to be the founding fathers. 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."

Watch NAPALM DEATH's "Tiny Desk" performance below.

NAPALM DEATH was formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of NAPALM DEATH's original members remain in the group, Greenway and bassist Shane Embury have been the core of NAPALM DEATH for most of the band's career so far.

Embury is currently taking a break from touring with NAPALM DEATH in order to address various health issues, including a battle with pancreatitis. He is being temporarily replaced on the road by Adam Clarkson, who has been filling in for Shane, on and off, since 2023.

Having joined NAPALM DEATH in 1987, Embury is the longest-serving member, appearing on 15 of the band's 16 albums.NAPALM DEATH's current touring lineup is rounded out by longtime drummer Danny Herrera and guitarist John Cooke.

Despite initial bemusement from the media, NAPALM DEATH enjoyed global success, propelled by the support of John Peel. They are credited with the invention of grindcore, an extreme metal sub-genre characterized by ultra-fast songs.

In 2017, NAPALM DEATH became the first extreme metal act to play Glastonbury. They have also won Kerrang! and Metal Hammer awards.