ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A death metal band that put two albums on the Indie Albums chart in the 1990s will share a bill with a band credited with helping found grunge music when they play Allentown's new Archer music hall.
Also performing at the new downtown Allentown music venue will be a 1980s cover band well known to the Lehigh Valley.
Napalm Death, the English band credited as pioneers of the grindcore genre, will perform at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, with The Melvins, the Washington band often credited with helping form Nirvana.
Also on the bill will be alternative bands Titan to Tachyons and Dark Sky Burial.
Tickets are on sale on the Archer website for Napalm Death with The Melvins at 6 p.m. May 6 and Jessie's Girl Back to the '80s at 7 p.m. April 4 at The Archer Music Hall, 939 Hamilton St., Allentown.The Archer music hall website
Tickets, priced from $38 to $114.45, are on sale at the Archer website.
Also announced was a show by Jessie's Girl: Back to the '80s, a New York City-based band that plays hit music of the 1980s and has frequently played Lehigh Valley venues. They perform at the Archer at 7 p.m. Friday, April 4.
Tickets for the Jessie's Girl show, at $48-$123.90, also are on sale at the Archer website.
The shows bring to 23 the number scheduled for the new 31,000-square-foot venue at 935-939 Hamilton St.
The Archer is scheduled to open on March 8 with gold-selling Brazilian metal band Cavalera.
Band histories
Napalm Death formed in 1981 and released its debut album, "Scum," in 1987. It since has released 15 more studio albums, six live albums and three compilation albums.
Its biggest success in the United States came with its 2012 album "Utilitarian" and 2015's "Apex Predator — Easy Meat," which charted at Nos. 43 and 25, respectively, on the Independent chart.
Its latest release was the 2022 EP "Resentment is Always Seismic — A Final Throw of Throes."
Napalm Death has four members from its commercial heyday— singer Mark "Barney" Greenway, guitarist Mitch Harris, bassist Shane Embury and drummer Danny Herrera.
The Melvins formed in 1983 as a hardcore punk band in the same Seattle, Washington, scene as Nirvana and Soundgarden, and has been credited with influencing both those bands and the grunge scene in general.
The band has peak lineup members Roger "Buzz" Osborne, vocalist and guitarist, and drummer Dale Crover.
The Melvins performed at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem in 2023, and Osborne performed with Trevor Dunn at the same venue in August.
