Savage Imperial Death March Part II: Melvins & Napalm Death Live @ The Masquerade
A sequel can be good. Sometimes, it is even better than the original. In 2016, there was a blockbuster six-week tour that trekked across the United States entitled the Savage Imperial Death March Tour featuring both (the) Melvins and Napalm Death. That was a fun night in April at the original site of The Masquerade in Heaven with (the) Melvins, Napalm Death, and as opening support, the Japanese noise rock band Melt Banana. Fast forward to November 19, 2024, (the) Melvins announced via their social media channels that they would once again team up with Napalm Death on the Savage Imperial Death March Part II Tour with some heavy hitters including Weedeater (April 4-May 5), Titan To Tachyons featuring Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn (May 7-20), The Hard-Ons with Jerry A (May 22-June 2), and Napalm Death’s very own Shane Embury’s Dark Sky Burial, who will be opening support at all dates in this massive seven-week tour. The Atlanta date falls on April 27th, which means our good pals Weedeater would be performing the opening duties for (the) Melvins and Napalm Death at The Masquerade.
As mentioned, Dark Sky Burial is the side project of Napalm Death’s longtime member Shane Embury. Dark Sky Burial is an experimental/electronic/dark ambient/drone/industrial noise project that has released four (4) LPs, one (1) compilation, and two (2) singles since forming in the early days of the pandemic. I thought this quote from Dark Sky Burial’s Facebook page sums it up quite nicely, “The Soundtrack to Shane’s Life!” Unfortunately. Dark Sky Burial could not perform, so Atlanta’s own Void Manes (abstract electronica) stepped in to save the day. You can still stream all of Dark Sky Burial’s music through their Bandcamp page today.
This would be my second time getting to see Void Manes live, and I was eager to hear his music performed again in a live setting. Void Manes is no stranger to (the) Melvins; in fact, the two have collaborated three times in the past. Most notably, Void Manes is featured on the new (the) Melvins album Thunderball (released by Ipecac Records). For the brief time that Void Manes performed, he commanded the crowd’s total attention until his final note played. Void Manes would also be noted as the opening support at the Tuesday, April 29th tour date at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia.
You can stream all Void Manes’ music through their Bandcamp page today.
Wilmington, N.C. natives Weedeater is a stoner/sludge metal band that was founded in 1998. Weedeater has released five (5) LPs and has been signed to the French record label Season of Mist since November 2013. Weedeater consists of founding members Dave “Dixie” Collins (bass/vocals), Dave “Shep” Shepherd (bass), and Ramzi Ateyeh (drums), who joined the band in 2019 after the tragic death of their drummer Carlos Denogean. Ateyeh grew up with both Daves and was a former bandmate of Dixie in the band Buzzov*en during the recording of the album At a Loss and the tour that followed. “Dixie” Dave Collins has also been a member of some influential bands in the stoner/sludge metal genre such as Buzzov*en, Bongzilla, Sourvein, Barstul, and Hail. As many of our readers know, Weedeater is no stranger to the Concerthopper family, and the band has been featured many times in the past.
Once the band walked out on stage, Dixie had his ceremonial cup of beer ready for consumption before the first note was played. Weedeater started their set off with a heavy hitter from their catalog, “Hammerhandle,” taken from their fourth (4) studio album, Jason… The Dragon (2011). The next four-song block was for the fans: “Mancoon” > “Turkey Warlock” > “God Luck and Good Speed” > “Wizard Fight”. This four-song block featured songs from my favorite two albums from Weedeater: God Luck and Good Speed (2007) and Jason… The Dragon (2011). It’s always great seeing the dudes in Weedeater destroy any venue’s stage with their brand of slow, sludgy metal that pairs well with any metal tour.
Check out Weedeater’s setlist from this evening’s performance at The Masquerade:
· “Hammerhandle”
· “Mancoon”
· “Turkey Warlock”
· “God Luck and Good Speed”
· “Wizard Fight”
· “Jason… The Dragon”
· “$20 Peanut / Time Served”
· “Weed Monkey”
(the) Melvins are a sludge/alternative/doom metal/experimental rock band from Montesano, Washington, that formed as a band in 1983. (the) Melvins have released twenty-eight (28) LPs, six (6) EPs, seven (7) live albums, forty-seven (47) singles, and eight (8) collaboration albums in their historic and trailblazing career. As mentioned earlier, Thunderball (released April 18, 2025) is the third installment under the “Melvins 1983 series”, featuring two of the band’s original members: Buzz Osborne and Mike Dillard. The band currently consists of Buzz Osborne (vocals/guitar), Steven Shane McDonald (bass/backing vocals), Dale Crover (drums/percussion/backing vocals), and, for this tour, honorary (the) Melvins member Coady Willis (drums/backing vocals) as an additional drummer. You may know Coady from the band Big Business and, most recently joining the mighty High on Fire, not to mention filling in for Dale on drums when he was not able to tour with the Melvins.
(the) Melvins opened with a fan-favorite song,” Working the Ditch,” taken from their twenty-seventh (27) studio album Tarantula Heart. (the) Melvins have been known to put on a wild show from start to finish, and each time that I have seen them perform over the years, they get better and better with age. Tonight was no exception. (the) Melvins have always radiated a high-velocity energy that demands your full attention while they perform. This has been the case since day one, and I do not see these dudes bringing down that energy anytime soon. (the) Melvins decision to also bring Coady on the Savage Imperial Death March Part II Tour to play drums alongside Dale was a fantastic idea and a marvel to witness as it happened live on stage. (the) Melvins managed to squeeze in twelve definitive songs from their massive discography, and I was overjoyed to hear “It’s Shoved” and “Your Blessened” from their third (3) studio album, Bullhead, released on January 28, 1991. Not to mention, “Honey Bucket” and “Night Goat” made the cut from their fifth (5) studio album, Houdini, released on September 21, 1993.
Listed below is (the) Melvins setlist from this evening at The Masquerade in Atlanta:
· “Working the Ditch”
· “The Bloated Pipe” (Melvins & Lustmord cover)
· “Never Say You’re Sorry”
· “Evil New War God”
· “It’s Shoved”
· “Billy Fish”
· “A History of Bad Men”
· “Blood Witch”
· “Honey Bucket”
· “Revolve”
· “Your Blessened”
· “Night Goat”
Napalm Death is a grindcore/death metal/anarcho-punk band from Meriden, West Midlands, England that formed in 1981. Napalm Death consists of Shane Embury (bass/backing vocals), Mark “Barney” Greenway (lead vocals), Mitch Harris (guitar/backing and occasional lead vocals), John Cooke (guitars), and Danny Herrera (drums). In their storied career, Napalm Death has released sixteen (17) LPs, fourteen (14) EPs, four (4) live albums, three (3) compilations, eight (8) singles, three (3) video albums, and two (2) cover albums. I had not seen Napalm Death since the last Savage Imperial Death March Tour in 2016, so I was ready to hear some of the new material from the new collaborative album with (the) Melvins aptly titled Savage Imperial Death March (2025) and their new studio album Resentment is Always Seismic – A Final Throw of Throes (2024).
Since Dark Sky Burial was not able to perform, this also meant that Shane Embury would not perform his normal duties on bass for Napalm Death. Filling in on bass was a close friend of the bands named Max. Napalm Death began their merciless set with “Multinational Corporations, Part II” and this was just the beginning. The beginning of Mark “Barney” Greenway constantly running and moving around the stage as he belts out some of the most well-known ferocious vocals in the metal genre. It had been a few years since I last got to see Napalm Death perform live on stage (seven years to be exact), so I was very excited to catch back up with the band. One thing about Napalm Death that I have always respected is their ability to stand up for what’s right. Tonight, Napalm Death performed a classic Dead Kennedys cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” and the pit went into a frenzy as concertgoers released some built up energy while Barney screamed out “You still think swastikas look cool / The real Nazis run your schools / They’re coaches, businessmen, and cops / In a real fourth Reich, you’ll be the first to go”. Napalm Death even treated the fans to some songs from their 1987 groundbreaking, debut album Scum including the self-titled track “Scum” and closing the evening out with “Siege of Power”.
You can check out Napalm Death’s setlist below from this evening in Atlanta:
· “Multinational Corporations, Part II”
· “Silence Is Deafening”
· “Lowpoint”
· “Smash a Single Digit”
· “Contagion”
· “Twist the Knife (Slowly)”
· “Narcoleptic”
· “Amoral”
· “The World Keeps Turning”
· “Retreat to Nowhere”
· “Social Sterility”
· “Dead”
· “Suffer the Children”
· “On the Brink of Extinction”
· “Backlash Just Because”
· “Fuck the Factoid”
· “Cold Forgiveness”
· “Scum”
· “Control”
· “You Suffer”
· “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” (Dead Kennedy’s cover)
· “Siege of Power”
There are still plenty of dates left on the Savage Imperial Death March Part II Tour as it travels across the United States. Check below and see if they are coming near you:
May 02 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
May 03 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27
May 04 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
May 05 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
May 07 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
May 08 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
May 09 - Harrisburg, PA @ Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center
May 10 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small's
May 11 - Cleveland, OH @ TBA
May 12 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew's Hall
May 13 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
May 15 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
May 16 - Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
May 17 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
May 18 - St. Louis, MO @ Red Flag
May 19 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
May 20 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II
May 22 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue – Main room
May 23 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
May 24 - Kansas City, MO @ Madrid Theatre
May 25 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
May 27 - Denver, CO @ Summit
May 29 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
May 31 - Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
June 01 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Spokane
June 02 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
June 03 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
June 04 - Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
June 06 - Reno, NV @ Virginia Street Brewhouse
June 07 - Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone Berkeley
You can check out previous reviews exclusively at Concerthopper.com featuring Napalm, Death, (the) Melvins, and Weedeater: Twins of Evil Tour: Boris & (the) Melvins @ Variety Playhouse (2023), The Industrial Strength Tour: Ministry w/ Corrosion of Conformity & (the) Melvins live at The Tabernacle! (2022), Weedeater w/ Telekinetic Yeti, Restless Spirit, & Possum Rot Live at Grantski Records! (2024), Bringing the Heat at the Inaugural Snowblind Festival! (2022), Weedeater/ASG/Toke/Beitthemeans: Live at The Masquerade (2019), and The Final Tour: Slayer / Lamb of God / Anthrax / Testament / Napalm Death (2018).
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