Grindcore pioneers and extreme music pillars Napalm Death have again made history with their most recent performance as part of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series. Curated by NPR Music producer and writer Lars Gotrich, the band's appearance marks another important milestone in Napalm Death's more than four decade tenure, becoming the heaviest band to date to participate in the series. 

The concise, eight-track presentation spanned the band's iconic catalog, reaching back to the debut album, Scum, with entries such as "Instinct of Survival" and the album's definitive title track. The set also highlighted the sonic evolution of the extreme music powerhouse, showcasing the versatility of tracks like "Amoral" from the universally-praised Throes of Joy In the Arms of Defeatism. 

NPR Music's Lars Gotrich explained why this performance was especially pivotal, "The first grindcore band at the Tiny Desk had to be the founding fathers. I turned down or said 'maybe later' to so many others — that’s how important it was to me to get this right. There is only one NAPALM DEATH, not only exemplary of extreme music but also what it takes to be human in what feels like an inhumane time."

Napalm Death vocalist Barney Greenway offered his take on the groundbreaking gig, "I've dipped in and out of Democracy Now! via NPR Radio for decades now to get my unvarnished yet thoughtful North American news. So when the NPR Tiny Desk thing came up, it kind of blew my tiny mind a little bit. We realised that we were going to reach far more people than usual with the TD performance, but as you might expect from Napalm Death, we were never going to temper the performance to any degree. We hope everybody at least gets something from it, even if it's just an understanding of musical abrasion being pushed to the nth degree. Please always support public access broadcasting in view of the ongoing relentless attacks upon it."

Watch the performance in full below.