Barney Greenway

Last updated

Barney Greenway
Napalm Death - 2017215223704 2017-08-03 Wacken - Sven - 1D X MK II - 1508 - AK8I9174 (cropped).jpg
Greenway performing with Napalm Death at Wacken Open Air 2018
Background information
Birth nameMark Andrew Greenway
Born (1969-07-13) 13 July 1969 (age 54)
Great Barr, Birmingham, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1987–present
Member of Napalm Death
Formerly of Extreme Noise Terror, Benediction

Mark Andrew "Barney" Greenway (born 13 July 1969) is a British extreme metal vocalist who is the current lead singer and primary lyricist of Napalm Death [1] and a former member of Extreme Noise Terror [2] and Benediction. [3]

Contents

Greenway has stated his nickname "Barney" came from a time when he used to drink alcohol. He stated he would get so drunk that when he went anywhere, he would bump into everything. From this behaviour, his friend Stick (drummer of Doom) would call him "Rubble", which changed to "Barney Rubble" and then just "Barney". [4] [5]

Career

Greenway performing with Napalm Death at Tampere, Finland, 2009 Barney at Klubi Tampere 2009-02-18.jpg
Greenway performing with Napalm Death at Tampere, Finland, 2009

Greenway was initially the vocalist of death metal band Benediction from 1989 until he joined Napalm Death the following year, replacing the band's previous vocalist Lee Dorrian, who later founded doom metal band Cathedral. Prior to joining Napalm Death, Greenway had worked as an engineer within the motor industry in Birmingham. [6]

Greenway's first album with Napalm Death, Harmony Corruption , represented a shift in the band's musical style, incorporating a more death metal-oriented sound. The albums that followed this, including Utopia Banished , Fear, Emptiness, Despair and Diatribes , saw the band delve further into the aforementioned style whilst also incorporating elements of groove metal.

Greenway and Napalm Death parted ways in 1996, with bassist Shane Embury referring to the long unrest that had been present between Greenway and the remainder of the band. [7] Greenway later joined Extreme Noise Terror to record vocals on their album Damage 381, with Extreme Noise Terror's vocalist Phil Vane joining Napalm Death to record vocals on their album Inside the Torn Apart . Vane and Napalm Death, however, were incompatible according to Embury, and after discussions between Greenway and the band, Greenway returned to record the vocals for the above album. [7]

Greenway has remained with Napalm Death since 1997 and have since released a number of critically acclaimed albums.

Personal life

Greenway is a progressive metal fan. He joined Dream Theater on stage at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and performed vocals on Metallica's "Damage, Inc." live. [8] He has reviewed progressive metal bands and albums for the British rock magazine Kerrang! though he no longer does so. [9] He has also stated his admiration for bands such as Motörhead and Throbbing Gristle, stating that the former's album, Ace of Spades , is his all-time favourite album. [10] Greenway is also a voracious reader. [10]

Greenway is a supporter of Aston Villa F.C. [11] He is a supporter of many animal rights organisations including PETA; he has been a vegetarian since he was 14, and vegan since 2012. [12] [13] Greenway is recognisable for his strong Birmingham accent and for his distinctive gruff vocal style which many feel has become synonymous with Napalm Death. Greenway is an atheist. [14]

Discography

Greenway performing in 2015 Napalm-Death-Poland-2015-IMG 1651 (cropped).jpg
Greenway performing in 2015

With Napalm Death

With Benediction

With Extreme Noise Terror

Other appearances

Related Research Articles

Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napalm Death</span> English grindcore band

Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris as replacements for guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.

<i>Greed Killing</i> 1995 EP by Napalm Death

Greed Killing is an EP by the British band Napalm Death.

<i>Diatribes</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Napalm Death

Diatribes is the sixth studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, originally released on 22 January 1996 on Earache Records. It was released as double 10" vinyl, regular CD, special digipak CD with space for the Greed Killing EP and MC. In 2010, Earache issued a re-release of Diatribes in a box set that also included the Greed Killing EP and the live album Bootlegged in Japan.

Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Ingram</span> Musical artist

David Richard Bjerregaard Ingram is a death metal vocalist from Birmingham, England. He began his career replacing Mark "Barney" Greenway in UK death metal band Benediction when Greenway decided to focus solely on Napalm Death. Ingram stayed with Benediction until March 1998, when he joined Bolt Thrower, officially replacing Martin van Drunen after having handled vocals temporarily for the band during a show on 4 July 1997 in Zwickau Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Embury</span> British bassist

Shane Thomas Embury is a British musician, who is widely known as bassist and primary songwriter of the grindcore and death metal band Napalm Death since 1987—the longest-serving member of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Dorrian</span> British singer (born 1968)

Lee Robert Dorrian is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later frontman of doom metal band Cathedral.

<i>The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code</i> 2005 studio album by Napalm Death

The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code is Napalm Death's eleventh studio album and was recorded at Foel Studio, Llanfair Caerinion with producer Russ Russell. It was released on 25 April 2005. A music video for "Silence Is Deafening", directed by Roger Johansson, was released later that year.

<i>Noise for Musics Sake</i> 2003 compilation album by Napalm Death

Noise for Music's Sake is a double-disc compilation by British band Napalm Death. It was released on 8 July 2003 on Earache Records. This album is a retrospective of the band's entire career. The first disc is a best-of compilation; the second disc contains rarities. The booklet includes 20 pages with interviews of band members Shane Embury and Mark "Barney" Greenway. It also includes a guide to all the songs from the second disc, and a complete "Family Tree" detailing every person who was ever in the band.

<i>Fear, Emptiness, Despair</i> 1994 studio album by Napalm Death

Fear, Emptiness, Despair is the fifth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 9 May 1994. Napalm Death's inclusion on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack brought significant exposure to the band and this album, alongside the fact that the band's label Earache had formed a partnership with Columbia Records which allowed the album to disseminate to a wider audience. RAW magazine listed Fear, Emptiness, Despair as one of the essential album of the 1990s.

<i>Inside the Torn Apart</i> 1997 studio album by Napalm Death

Inside the Torn Apart is the seventh studio album by British extreme metal band Napalm Death. It was released by Earache in June 1997 on double vinyl, regular CD, digipak CD and MC.

<i>Bootlegged in Japan</i> 1998 live album by Napalm Death

Bootlegged in Japan is a live album from British extreme metal band Napalm Death, released in June 1998 through Earache.

<i>Words from the Exit Wound</i> 1998 studio album by Napalm Death

Words from the Exit Wound is the eighth studio album by British extreme metal band Napalm Death, released in 1998 by Earache. It was issued only on CD. It is considered the final album of the band's "experimental" period, while simultaneously foreshadowing the band's return to a more traditional death metal and grindcore sound.

<i>Time Waits for No Slave</i> 2009 studio album by Napalm Death

Time Waits for No Slave is the thirteenth studio album by the British grindcore band Napalm Death. It was released through Century Media on 23 January 2009.

Meathook Seed was an industrial metal music project formed in 1992 by the Napalm Death guitarist, Mitch Harris. Two Meathook Seed albums were released.

<i>Utilitarian</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Napalm Death

Utilitarian is the fourteenth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death. It was released in the UK on 27 February 2012 and globally on 28 February 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alissa White-Gluz</span> Canadian singer

Alissa White-Gluz is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and former lead vocalist and founding member of the Canadian metalcore band the Agonist. Her vocal style includes both growling and clean vocals (singing). Although primarily associated with melodic death metal and metalcore, she has appeared as a guest vocalist for power metal, symphonic metal and deathcore bands, notably Kamelot, Delain, Carnifex and Powerwolf, and has performed live with Nightwish and Tarja Turunen.

<i>Apex Predator – Easy Meat</i> 2015 studio album by Napalm Death

Apex Predator – Easy Meat is the fifteenth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 23 January 2015 through Century Media. Since the band recorded the album in segments, recording took almost a year. In advance of the release, Napalm Death issued details of the then upcoming album such as artwork and track listing as well as two new songs. The first video clip taken from Apex Predator coincided with the release. Reviews of Apex Predator were overwhelmingly positive, while it also entered a number of American and European charts.

<i>Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism</i> 2020 studio album by Napalm Death

Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is the sixteenth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death. It was released on 18 September 2020 through Century Media.

References

  1. Strong, M J (1998). The great rock discography. Giunti. p. 564. ISBN   88-09-21522-2.
  2. "Metal". CMJ New Music Monthly. November 1997. ISSN   1074-6978.
  3. "Napalm Death". MTV.com.
  4. Martinelli, Roberto (December 2002). "Interview with Napalm Death" (11). Maelstrom magazine. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. "NAPALM DEATH's 'Barney' Greenway Talks Drunken Origin Stories, 'Shitty Undercurrent' of Life and Pays Tribute to Power Trip's Riley Gale". 11 September 2020.
  6. "The Quietus - Features - A Quietus Interview - At The Extremities: Barney Greenway Of Napalm Death Interviewed". The Quietus.
  7. 1 2 "Rank and Defile: Shane Embury Orders Napalm Death's Albums from Worst to Best". Decibel Magazine. 13 December 2017.
  8. "CD review of Dream Theater". NewsAndEntertainment.com.
  9. Löfquist, Daniel (30 December 2008). "NAPALM DEATH – Barney Greenway tells it like it is". Critical Mass. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. 1 2 Khazine TV. "INTERVIEWS TOP TEN - NAPALM DEATH ( Mark "Barney" Greenway)". Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 via YouTube.
  11. "Top Five celebrity fans". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 4 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
  12. "Heroes: Napalm Death". PETA. 21 July 2011.
  13. Callwood, Brett (20 April 2016). "Napalm Death Loves Watercourse: Barney Greenway on Veganism and Politics". Westword.
  14. "Mark Greenway - Napalm Death". MetalCovenant.com (published 22 April 2009). 13 April 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2016.