Napalm Death - "Scum"

Grindcore is an extreme form of heavy metal related to death metal, but historically formed by combining elements of early thrash metal (which predated the advent of death metal) and the music and attitude of hardcore punk. The adjective grind had briefly been used to describe any and all manner of hard rock, including Stone Temple Pilots, before it fell into general disuse.

Historical roots and influences

The genre was pioneered during the early 1980s in the United States by proto-grindcore and hardcore punk bands such as Siege, DRI, and Repulsion ; and in the United Kingdom by bands such as Sore Throat and Napalm Death that also had links to the anarcho-punk scene.

Many of these early bands were, and still are, obscure. For instance, the hardcore punk band Siege only released a DIY demo entitled Drop Dead, and Repulsion was posthumously exposed to the world in 1989 through the album Horrified which was released in Europe by Necrosis Records, a label owned by members of Carcass.

Many consider the first true grindcore band to be British band Napalm Death. The genre was given its name by Napalm Death's drummer Mick Harris. Since then, the grind sound has evolved but is still recognisable for its intense blast-beat drumming, grinding guitars (hence the name), brutal grunted vocals, and very short songs (the Napalm Death song "You Suffer" is listed as the shortest song ever by the Guinness Book of Records, clocking in at fractionally over 1 second long; however, others such as the Cripple Bastards on their demo 94 Flashback di Massacro, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed on their 3" cd/10" lp Altered States of America have taken this aesthetic to even greater extremes). American grindcore band Anal Cunt, a project of Seth Putnam, has recorded an EP called 5643 Song EP which, amazingly, contains 5643 songs in less than 15 minutes.

Subgenres

Grindcore has proven somewhat difficult to categorize. Some fans and musicians have a firm concept of genre and subgenre, but others reject such categorization as limiting or useless. There is often significant crossover from one category to another, and often the influence of non-metal music is present.

• Political grindcore: This subgenre is known for having politically aware lyrics, and is sometimes associated with the crust punk and peace punk movement. Of all the subgenres of grindcore, this one remains the most musically similar to the earliest grindcore bands. Power violence is the form of political grindcore which maintains the closest ties to punk rock.
• Goregrind: This subgenre started with the band Carcass, and is most notable for having gore obsessed lyrics, more of a "groove", and pitchshifted vocals. Of all the subgenres this one currently has the most commercial success (which is a relative thing, of course).
• Cybergrind: Cybergrind is a form of grindcore that, aside from the instruments used by ordinary grindcore, uses computer generated sounds and/or drum machines and other synthetic instruments.

Notable bands

• Agathocles
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed
• Anal Cunt
• Assück
• Benümb
• Blood Duster
• Brutal Truth
• Carcass
• Cephalic Carnage
• Cripple Bastards
• Discordance Axis
• Daughters (arguably)
• Extreme Noise Terror
• Fuck...I'm Dead
• Fuck the Facts
• Leng Tch'e
• Napalm Death
• Narcosis
• Nasum
• Phobia
• Pig Destroyer
• Repulsion
• Rotten Sound
• Siege
• Swarrrm
• Terrorizer
• The Kill
• Unholy Grave
• Venomous Concept
• Wasteoid