Mark Andrew "Barney" Greenway (born 13 July 1969) is a British
extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
vocalist who is the current lead singer of
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...
and a former member of
Extreme Noise Terror and
Benediction.
Greenway has stated his nickname "Barney" came from a time when he used to drink alcohol. He stated he would get so drunk that when he went anywhere, he would bump into everything. From this behaviour, his friend Stick (drummer of
Doom) would call him "Rubble", which changed to "
Barney Rubble
Barney Rubble is a fictional character who appears in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. He is the diminutive, blond-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and adoptive father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. His best friend is his next d ...
" and then just "Barney".
Career
140px, left, Greenway performing with Napalm Death at Tampere, Finland, 2009
Greenway was initially the vocalist of
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band
Benediction from 1989 until he joined
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...
the following year, replacing the band's previous vocalist
Lee Dorrian, who later founded
doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
band
Cathedral. Prior to joining Napalm Death, Greenway had worked as an engineer within the motor industry in
Birmingham.
Greenway's first album with Napalm Death, ''
Harmony Corruption'' represented a shift in the band's musical style, incorporating a more death metal-oriented sound. The albums that followed this, including ''
Utopia Banished'', ''
Fear, Emptiness, Despair
''Fear, Emptiness, Despair'' is the fifth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 31 May 1994. Napalm Death's inclusion on the ''Mortal Kombat'' soundtrack brought significant exposure to the band and this album, alongs ...
'' and ''
Diatribes'' saw the band delve further into the aforementioned style whilst also incorporating elements of
groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...
.
Greenway and Napalm Death parted ways in 1996, with bassist
Shane Embury referring to the long unrest that had been present between Greenway and the remainder of the band.
Greenway later joined
Extreme Noise Terror to record vocals on their album ''Damage 381'', with Extreme Noise Terror's vocalist Phil Vane joining Napalm Death to record vocals on their album ''
Inside the Torn Apart''. Vane and Napalm Death however were incompatible according to Embury, and after discussions between Greenway and the band, Greenway returned to record the vocals for the above album.
Greenway has remained with Napalm Death since 1997 and have since released a number of critically acclaimed albums.
Personal life
Greenway is a
progressive metal fan. He joined
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
on stage at
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and performed vocals on
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's "
Damage, Inc." live. He has reviewed progressive metal bands and albums for the British rock magazine ''
Kerrang!'' though he no longer does so. He has also stated his admiration for bands such as
Motörhead and
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...
, stating that the former's album, ''
Ace of Spades'', is his all-time favourite album.
Greenway is also a voracious reader.
Greenway is a supporter of
Aston Villa F.C. He is a supporter of many animal rights organisations including
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
; he has been a vegetarian since he was 14, and
vegan since 2012. Greenway is recognisable for his strong
Birmingham accent and for his distinctive gruff vocal style which many feel has become synonymous with Napalm Death. Greenway is an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.
Discography
With Napalm Death
*''
Harmony Corruption'' (1990)
*''
Utopia Banished'' (1992)
*''
Fear, Emptiness, Despair
''Fear, Emptiness, Despair'' is the fifth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 31 May 1994. Napalm Death's inclusion on the ''Mortal Kombat'' soundtrack brought significant exposure to the band and this album, alongs ...
'' (1994)
*''
Diatribes'' (1996)
*''
Inside the Torn Apart'' (1997)
*''
Words from the Exit Wound
''Words from the Exit Wound'' is the eighth studio album by British extreme metal band Napalm Death, released in 1998 by Earache. It was issued only on CD. It is considered the final album of the band's "experimental" period, while simultaneou ...
'' (1998)
*''
Enemy of the Music Business
''Enemy of the Music Business'' is the ninth studio album by the British band Napalm Death, released in 2000. This album, along with '' Words from the Exit Wound'', are the only Napalm Death studio albums that were released only on CD until 2 ...
'' (2000)
*''
Order of the Leech'' (2002)
*''
The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code'' (2005)
*''
Smear Campaign
A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics.
It can be applied to individual ...
'' (2006)
*''
Time Waits for No Slave'' (2009)
*''
Utilitarian'' (2012)
*''
Apex Predator – Easy Meat'' (2015)
*''
Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism
''Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism'' is the sixteenth studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death. It was released on 18 September 2020 through Century Media Records, Century Media.
It is the band's first full-length studio album si ...
'' (2020)
*''
Resentment is Always Seismic'' (2022)
With Benediction
* ''The Dreams You Dread''
* ''Confess All Goodness'' (1990, Split-EP with
Pungent Stench)
* ''Subconscious Terror'' (1990)
* ''Dark Is the Season'' (1992) (on the track "Forged in Fire")
With Extreme Noise Terror
* ''
Damage 381
Damage is any Change (philosophy), change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Fa ...
'' (1997)
Other appearances
*
Cerebral Fix – ''
Death Erotica'' – backing vocals on "Never Again"
*
Leng Tch'e – ''
Hypomanic'' – Guest vocals on "Totalitarian"
*
The Haunted
Haunted or The Haunted may refer to:
Books
* ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004
* ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005
* ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...
– ''
Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
'' – cameo appearance on "No Compromise" music video
*
Cephalic Carnage – ''
Anomalies'' – backing vocals
*
Ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
– ''
A Break in the Weather'' – backing vocals on "The Dying Art of the Chorus"
*
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
– ''International Fan Club Christmas CD'' – vocals on cover of Metallica's "Damage Inc."
*
Withered – ''Foile Circulare'' – backing vocals on "...The Faded Breath" and "Clamor Beneath"
*
This Is Menace – ''
The Scene Is Dead
''The Scene Is Dead'' is the second and last album by This Is Menace.
Track listing
Personnel
This Is Menace
*Jason Bowld - drums, lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist p ...
'' – vocals on "Beg for Silence"
*
Born From Pain – War – vocals on "Behind Enemy Lines"
*
Kill II This
Kill II This (sometimes typeset as Kill 2 This) are an English metal band from Manchester.
History Beginnings and ''Another Cross II Bare'' (1995–1997)
Kill II This blend extreme metal music with elements of dance music, hip hop/trip-h ...
– ''
Deviate'' – backing vocals on "The Flood"
*
Extortion – ''
Loose Screws
''Screwballs II'', also known as ''Loose Screws,'' is a 1985 Canadian teen sex comedy film. It is a sequel to '' Screwballs.'' It was one of the first releases from Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures.
Synopsis
Brad Lovett, Steve Hardman, Hugh G. R ...
'' – Guest Vocals on "Grind to a Halt"
*
Volbeat
Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon Lars ...
– ''
Beyond Hell/Above Heaven'' – Guest vocals on "Evelyn"
*
Short Sharp Shock – ''Problems to the Answer'' – Guest vocals on "The Kill Floor, ROAR, Here Comes the Neighbourhood"
* Liquorbox (Canadian Country Band) – ''Gotta Get Gone'' – Guest vocals on "Busted Up And Broken Down"
* (Italian deathgrind band) – ''Breathing Instructions'' – Guest vocals on "Copy/Paste"
* Buzzard Dust - ''Buzzard Dust'' – Guest vocals on "Blue Blood"
*
Bloodbath - Survival of the Sickest - Guest vocals on "Putrefying Corpse"
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenway, Barney
Living people
1969 births
Death metal musicians
English male singers
Napalm Death members
English heavy metal singers
English socialists
English atheists
Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands
Grindcore musicians
British republicans