When Napalm Death announced a few weeks ago that they were going to play a set in London’s historic Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the metal community said “what the fu… Okay, I can do that.” However, “it is with regret that we [the organisers] have taken the decision to cancel the one-off … performance.” It was too good to be true, huh?
Safety inspections revealed that Napalm Death’s traditionally insane levels of volume (think David Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’ vinyl, “to be played at maximum volume”, just up to eleven) would “damage the historic fabric of the building”. Although metal bands are no strangers to damaging things, albeit normally religious things, the show cannot go on.
The show was going to be in collaboration with V&A ceramics resident, Keith Harrison, and he stated that “the raw, uncompromising energy of Napalm Death will be used to activate a set of three specially created ceramic sound systems”. Harrison is also a long-time fan of the seminal Birmingham grindcore band.
Photo credit: Edward Hill Photography | Loudwire
