The worlds of progressive metal and grindcore are fairly opposite one another, but there is that one time Dream Theater teamed up with Napalm Death vocalist Barney Greenway to cover Metallica‘s “Damage Inc.” live in 1995.
Dream Theater die-hards are likely well aware that the link to the grind originators dates back further than 1995 as singer James LaBrie was seen wearing a Napalm Death shirt in the music video for the Images and Words hit, “Pull Me Under,” pictured in the screenshot below.
“When we did a special concert, Live at Ronnie Scott’s, which is a small jazz club in the U.K. in London, we had many guests come up with us,” guitarist John Petrucci told Loudwire when he dropped by our studio prior to the release of the band’s latest record, Distance Over Time, and the subject of extreme metal came up.
“At the time, Mike Portnoy was a big fan of Napalm Death and knew Barney and that’s how that connection was made,” he continued. “Me personally, I wasn’t as in tune with that metal scene, but I love when things cross genres and you realize there’s this great brotherhood of music, regardless of the style.”
Watch the performance clip below and hear Dream Theater like you’ve never heard them before.
Dream Theater Cover Metallica’s “Damage Inc.” With Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway