January 26, 2007, 5 PM. On the sidewalk in front of the building of Tangra Mega Rock Radio two guys come into sight - a representative of the local promo agency Re-Act, followed by a limping blond man walking with obvious difficulties. A man you wouldn't expect to see in the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria. A man called Mark "Barney" Greenway - the living legend of British death metal who's gained fame and respect during the last two decades for sharing his monstrous voice with bands like Benediction, Extreme Noise Terror and, of course, the stars of this very same evening - Napalm Death.

Two days earlier, during the performance of the band's last song on their concert in Belgrade, Serbia, Barney had an accident on stage. The unpleasant result - torn ligaments of his right foot. Most "rock stars" would immediately cancel their forthcoming shows, but not this one. Step by step, without any help, he climbs the stairs to Tangra Mega Rock's studio. After a bunch of interviews, photo sessions and friendly conversations he makes his way to Hristo Botev Hall where his band mates are already finishing the soundcheck - bass player Shane Embury (also in Brujeria and Venomous Concept, ex-Lock Up, Meathook Seed), guitarist Mitch Harris (also in Defecation, ex-Meathook Seed, Righteous Pigs), and drummer Danny Herrera (Venomous Concept).

January 26, 2007, 7:30 PM. A few hundred moshing fanatics have already invaded the hall, and the show begins with 20-minute-long sets by the local supporting bands - Envy, Urban Grey and Propaganda. Unfortunately, the sound quality is quite poor, so these three smashing Bulgarian metal(core) acts couldn't exercise a full effect on the crowd, although leaving quite positive impressions...

January 26, 2007, a few minutes after 9:30 PM. Approximately 1000 maniacs witness what they've been waiting for 20 years - Napalm Death live in Sofia. Shane, Mitch, Danny and the limping Barney leaning on a crutch come on stage and start the sound massacre. "We are Napalm Death from Birmingham, England," Mr. Greenway greets the crowd, and all hell breaks loose.

During the next one hour cuts from almost all the quartet’s 14 albums pour out of the speakers – staring with tracks off the new album "Smear Campaign", going on through "Silence Is Deafening" and the title song off "The Code Is Red... Long Live the Code" (2005), and culminating in genre-classics like "Suffer the Children" off "Harmony Corruption" (1990) and "Deceiver" and "Scum" off Napalm Death’s 1987 debut album. As an encore we get the band’s rendition of Dead Kennedys’ "Nazi Punks Fuck Off", the monstrous "Siege of Power" off "Scum" and... That’s it.
All is said and done.

Words: Nicki Vassilev.

Photos by Elena Nenkova.

More photos of Napalm Death's concert in Sofia,В plus pix of BarneyВ visiting Tangra Mega Rock'sВ studio are posted in our GALLERY.