Birmingham’s fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death, kickoff their 36-date North American tour tonight with their headlining show in Toronto, Canada. The first eight dates the band performs with Misery Index, and the remaining dates take the band across the U.S. with Cannibal Corpse, Kataklysm, and Goatwhore. For a complete list of dates and venues, click here.

Always outspoken about politics, Napalm Death vocalist Barney Greenway had this to say about the elections:

“If Bush gets voted in for another term, people really need to take a long, hard look at themselves. With Bush back in power, there'll be more unjustified military intervention, more shitty healthcare provisions for the poor, a country mired further in religious dogma etc. Not to mention seeing more of Jeb Bush's fat head on TV. On the other hand, the Democrats don't offer a real alternative. They're very close to the Republicans on a few issues, which is disappointing. I noted how some of the anti-war advocates in the Democratic Party were silenced quite early on. The crazy thing is that voting for the Green Party guy Ralph Nader is considered a pointless exercise, where as he is one of the only people to offer radical thinking. Based purely on his thoughts, I would probably go for Nader if I was an American.

That said, I think the whole system needs an overhaul. That whole ‘vote-rig’ thing by the Republicans in Florida last time was such a farce, people outside of the U.S. just could not believe that Americans would let something like that pass. I find it really amusing that the Republicans cast themselves as pillars of honesty when everything they do is steeped in corruption and self-interest. Similarly, I lived through Thatcher's ruthless conservatism in Britain, and I would not want to go through it again.”

Napalm Death released their Century Media debut, Leaders Not Followers: Part 2 on October 5th. For more information on Napalm Death, the new album, or anything else, please contact me directly.