NAPALM DEATH frontman Mark “Barney” Greenway spoke to Ghost Cult Magazine about how he has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic and its continuing economic effects. The singer, who lives in Lancing, west of the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England, said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “To be honest with you, I kind of made my peace with it quite early on. I could see it was gonna develop into a pretty serious situation so I kind of stepped back and I assessed my own life in front of me and for the immediate future. And I just had to make some major adjustments. Once I’d done that and it was firmly implanted in my mind, I got through it pretty okay. I kept myself physically active and I just kind of put my head down and went through it. It helped not having any dependents. I live alone, for the time being, so for me it was not so bad. But I do understand, obviously, the people with dependents, they have families around them and stuff like that, I do understand it was not an easy time.”
Back in January, Greenway talked to Australia’s Riff Crew about how the pandemic has affected him personally. “This virus thing [isn’t] messing around. Luckily, I haven’t had any direct family members that have died or been seriously ill from it thus far, but I know people that have, and it’s very real,” he said. “All these people that say it’s a hoax, they need to open their eyes a little bit, because this is just simply not the case.”
In September 2020, the NAPALM DEATH singer told the “Lambgoat Vanflip” podcast that wearing a mask during a pandemic showed “respect for your fellow human beings. “The whole idea of wearing the mask is to, of course, protect anybody if you’re carrying the virus,” he said. “But you still have to socially distance; otherwise, you’re defeating the object of the exercise.
“I’m very pro mask, I must be honest. I just think it’s a human thing. If you can’t be bothered to even partially protect people around you, then I don’t know what that says for people.
“Just because you’re asked to wear a mask, is that really like a pair of handcuffs on a person?” Barney asked rhetorically. “I don’t get that mindset. I just don’t get the logic of it… And I think it shows respect for your fellow human beings to wear a mask, actually. ‘Cause it says, ‘You know what? It might not be the endgame, but at least I value your safety, as a fellow human being.”
NAPALM DEATH is currently on the road in North America with GWAR and EYEHATEGOD for the “Scumdogs 30th Anniversary Tour”. The band also recently announced the next edition of its “Campaign For Musical Destruction” tour in Europe this February and March 2022. This run will feature support from DOOM, SIBERIAN MEATGRINDER and SHOW ME THE BODY.
NAPALM DEATH is continuing to promote its latest album, “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism”, which came out in September 2020 via Century Media Records. The band’s 16th studio LP was recorded with longtime producer Russ Russell and features artwork by Frode Sylthe.
