Thursday, September 18, 2008

Napalm Death & Scott Burns

Question: I was reading choosing death and it told how close scott burns was to pulling the plug on napalm in florida, I was wondering how close was he to actually doing it? being as the book only really tells micks side of the story. also what would have happened if he had would the whole album have been aborted or would you have tried another producer in florida?
also why did earache never sign benediction so all the birmingham bands of that time they seemed to be the one of the ones that earache would have picked up however its very bizzare that you didnt. From:

Answer: I was with Napalm Death when they recorded 1990's Harmony Corruption album with Scott in Morrisound studios- at that time,he was the up and coming producer of the moment and ND wanted a more Death Metal sound so they decamped from Birmingham to Tampa for a few weeks.It might be the only time Napalm have recorded outside UK, thinking about it.Mick and Scott explain how that particular session was pretty fraught in the excellent book choosing death.As you say, SCott nearly threw in the towel because of the tension, but ever the professional, his suggestion for mick to leave for a few days and chill out was the best.
You have to understand the pressure was on the band to make the best album of their career, they had to try to top the 2 previous albums, both of which became legendary grindcore albums, all with a new line up, including 2 brand new American guitarists and a new vocalist who had barely recorded before- yes, it was make or break time, and Mick is a highly strung person at the best of times, so he snapped under the tension.USA producers generally prefer a cleaner sound than British ones- in hindsight, the grit and intensity and vibe was missing from that album, which was obvious as they were recording it, and Mick felt bad about it, as he had persuaded me that flying to Morrisoundand recording with Scott was the best idea. heres a clip of the band listening to a mix in Scott's truck:


and Mick discussing Drum sounds during the 1990 recording itself:


As for Benediction, at the time i considered them distinctly second-rate,apart from singer Barney - who quickly moved up the ranks and joined Napalm Death.A bit like fellow Brummies Cerebral Fix, they had members who joined Napalm for a while, LIke Frank Healey, but both acts lacked the intensity of the bands we already had, so Earache took no interest in them.Nuclear Blast still do Benediction albums to this day.

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