Melvins & Napalm Death

Apr 27

Written By Luke

TAMPA, FL | THE ORPHEUM | 04.23.2025

A savage imperial death march on Tampa Bay

Napalm Death stormed across the United States this spring, reigniting their “Savage Imperial Death March” with sludge-metal legends the Melvins. On April 23, The Orpheum in Tampa shook as the grindcore godfathers unleashed four decades of politically charged fury. Blast beats blurred, downtuned guitars droned like industrial machinery, and Barney Greenway’s cavernous roar rattled pint glasses before the first chorus finished. The career-spanning assault proved why, after nearly forty years, no act matched Napalm Death’s velocity or venom.

Melvins, oozing genre-defying riffs that oscillated between punk spasms and doom-laden crawls. Buzz Osborne’s cyclone of hair bobbed to Coady Willis and Dale Crover’s seismic drum fills, creating a perfect counterweight to the preceding hurricane. First united in 2016, the tandem again felt combustible, trading sonic body-slams until the trees shook. Merch tables groaned under shirts commemorating the carnage. Fans staggered into the night truly shell-shocked, certain they had witnessed total, glorious annihilation.