This tour was not for the sane. This tour proved that you can have a full LSD experience without touching the drug.
If there was one band that would make you question everything you knew about experimental music, it’s Melt-Banana. Singer Yakuso Onuki came out and playfully controlled guitarist Ichirou Agata with her handheld device and in return, Ichirou assaulted the crowd with guitar effects that would spin the heads of Herman Li, Tom Morello, and Prog fans alike. Yakuso’s chirpy vocals with Ichirou’s guitar wizardry was one of the best examples of experimental metal today. After 20 years of touring is no doubt that they have a proven formula to the chaos they create.
It seemed most people in the crowd were there for Melvins. With a crushing heavy bass, lo-fi guitar, and one hell of a groovy drummer, it was no surprise why. Buzz’s vocals were the greatest enigma. I loved them, they confused the shit out of me, but I couldn’t help but be impressed. Dale managed to turn every song from a tight groove to the most fucked break and fill and back to groove with precision. If Buzz and Dale were meat and bread, then Steve was the plate that served the works. Only amplified by my ear protection it was quite obvious that the band was carried on Steve’s strings, which could be described as the sober driver trying to get your two shittered friends into the back of the car.
As the bands switched the black shirts, the patch jackets, and long hair made its way to the front. Eerily like an army of White Walkers. Napalm Death are one of the most influential Grindcore bands ever. Frontman Barney Greenway aggressively made the stage his own, making sure throughout the night that if his vocals were not blasting your ears, his persona was blasting your senses. How could you not agree when you look at his shirt and read Napalm Death’s lyrics? Relentlessly fast and heavy, angry, loud, but so precise, it’s no doubt that Napalm Death will continue to grow no matter which path they take.
The Savage Imperial Death March tour is the culmination of something so much bigger than each band. The noise they create together in an evening proves what metal’s sub-genres are capable of. All three bands are ones that should be on your list to see at least once.
Melt Banana
Melvins
Napalm Death
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