When pioneering grindcore band Napalm Death went into the recording studio, band members thought it would be an uneventful session.

"We were in the country in Wales, five miles away from any big disturbance," Mark Greenway (nicknamed "Barney" by friends) said by phone from France. "All we had were a herd of cows and some other farm animals. But things got interesting."

Greenway, lead vocalist for Napalm Death, had to perform multiple vocal tracks because of the "mooing," he said. "I'd get ready to scream, and since I was using a remote microphone, it would pick up this awful 'MOOO!' and I would have to start over."

Then one day someone left a gate open, and the cows stampeded onto the studio grounds. "Some of our crew got nudged around, and we stepped in a lot of smelly things."

Still, those little things didn't stop Napalm Death, the founder of grindcore — a blend of punk and speed metal — from recording its new album "Smear Campaign." "This album, I think, is the most single-issue album we have done. I think the world is in a scary place.

"I mean, I think any kind of oppression is bad. I think racism is bad and I think self-righteousness is bad. And this album addresses things like that. We have always been a band that goes against the grain, but I think we've zeroed more on single issues than a wide variety of issues as in the past."

Greenway has joined Napalm Death twice. The first time was in 1989 at the departure of vocalist Lee Dorrian, who replaced original vocalist Nicholas Bullen. Greenway himself left in 1996, only to come back and replace his replacement, Phil Vane, in 1997. "The first time I joined the band I knew that there would be some things that I needed to be aware of. The band had been established and invented grindcore. So there was a responsibility to keep it going.

"The second time I joined the band, it had been going through a very dysfunctional time. The people that we thought were our supporters were stabbing us in the back, and it got ugly. So I left. When I returned, which was, in reality, only a few months later, we had a project. And that was to bring Napalm Death back to where it was before."

The band — which also includes bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera — is aware of the pressures of living up to its reputation, especially when it comes to making albums. "We have strived to continue as a band," said Greenway. "We have strived to continue to make important music. And we have always tried to improve musically and lyrically.

"We do Napalm Death albums that are true to who we are, and we also like to throw in some curves as well. They keep us on our toes and our fans on theirs."

If you go ...

What: Napalm Death

Where: Club Boom, 2701 Washington Blvd., Ogden

When: Thursday, 9 p.m.

How much: $13

Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499

Web: www.smithstix.com

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com