by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Napalm Death will definitely go down in the rock ’n’ roll history books as the band that introduced blast beats that pushed BPMs into the stratosphere, nailgun guitars, indecipherable grunts and songs that clocked in at under a minute. Of course, this applies directly to their 1987 debut, Scum, but it was this record that inspired grindcore and has been heralded as one of the most influential extreme-music albums of all time.

The band may have eased up on the gas pedal since ’87, but punches are hardly being pulled. Despite the absence of any original members and endless line-up changes—singer Mark “Barney” Greenway even fudges during our interview and calls the band, a quartet the last couple of years, a five piece—Napalm Death continues to persevere, without having to rely on their former need for speed.

After some noise/dirge experiments in the mid-’90s and their latest record, The Code is Red… Long Live the Code, occasionally breaking off into ballast-laden doom, Napalm Death sound as inspired as ever. “I think the main thing with us is that the songs just have to be good,” says Greenway. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be commercial or have a mainstream hook. People can play as fast as they like, but if you haven’t got that little bit extra in there, it just isn’t going to connect with people.”

One could place Napalm Death right up there with Slayer as one of extreme metal’s biggest influences, and there’s no sign of their being put out to pasture yet. “I think what really keeps us going is the fact that you are only as good as your last record. I know a lot of bands that have listened to their own hype and let things like getting the pat on the back get in the way of their music. It’s nice to have helped influence all of these bands, or done our part for extreme music or whatever you want to call it, but I think our desire to still create challenging music is what really keeps our spark alive.”

With Kreator, A Perfect Murder and Undying at le Medley on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m., $25, all ages

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