Publication:
MaximumRockNRoll

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

MRR #198 grijndcore
I've spent a few months talking about politics and such so now lets get back to what sells fanzines, music.

Before I talk about Grindcore I'd like to clear the air with some terms. To someone who doesn't listen to fast aggressive hardcore, especially the metal influenced stuff, there can be a confusing array of nomenclature. Here are some terms and examples to keep everyone straight.

Crossover-Cryptic Slaughter, early Final Conflict, DRI second LP on, Corrosion of Conformity second LP on, Later Dr. Know.
Grindcore-Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Assuck, Agothocles, early Carcass.
Death Metal-Death, Entombed, Morbid Angel, mid period Sepultura, Master, Pestilence, Malevolent Creation
Black Metal-Bathory, Celitc Frost, Venom and their imitators
Speed Metal-Possessed, Death Angel, Whiplash
Thrash Metal-mid period Slayer, early Metallica, Exodus (Note it could be argued that Speed Metal and Thrash metal are really the same thing)
Metal-Judas Priest, mid period Metallica
Crust-Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct
Crusty Hardcore-Extreme Noise Terror, Doom, Disrupt, Destroy
Thrash-Early DRI, Mob 47
Power Violence-Crossed Out, Despise You

This month we'll talk about the golden age of Grindcore. Where did grindcore begin? I would place the roots of Grindcore in the fast hardcore of the early 80's (especially Siege, DRI and classic Japanese hardcore bands like Gism, Gauze and Lip Cream) and the hardcore influenced speed-metal, death metal and crossover of the same period.

To me the first and certainly one of the best Grindcore albums is Repulsion's Horrified. This didn't come out on vinyl until the early 90's. However, the influence of this band's demo was clearly present in the several of the classic Grindcore recordings. Repulsion were incredibly fast metal-core for 1985 from some hick town in the South too I believe. Who knows where they drew their influences or what ever happened to them. Totally brutal death and gore oriented metal-core which really pioneered the genre.

To truly understand Grindcore you don't really need the Repulsion LP although it would be nice. You will need the following albums, Terrorizer-World Downfall, Napalm Death-Scum, From Enslavement to Obliteration, Mentally Murdered and Assuck-Anticapital.
Napalm Death was one of the greatest, most brutal and intense bands ever. They started in the early 80's as sort of a peace punk band in the Crass/Conflict tradition but soon became more aggressive and metal/ gore influenced. The pool of talent which produced the first three Napalm Death records was to really forge the path for grinding fast music for years to come. I remember buying the Napalm Death Scum lp when it was new in '87. Fuck, that album just blew me away, totally insane speed and fury. Remember at this time DRI's "Dirty Rotten LP" was the world's fastest, most intense record. Scum took that fury to the next level. While certainly metal influenced Napalm Death was really coming from the Hardcore scene and hence I would rate them as the all time kings of Grindcore. Scum was an instant cult favorite among punk and metal kids during the late 80's. With 28 songs it was six up on DRI and so insanely brutal. Siege of Power and Instinct of Survival are monuments of grinding mayhem. Napalm Death really brought the gruff vocal style into common use as well as the crazy shout vocals. If you listen closely to early Napalm Death material you can pick up on the influences from early 80's US Hardcore bands and classic Japanese Hardcore as well, not to mention contemporary English Hardcore like Concrete Sox, Heresy and Ripchord. Still Napalm Death took it into a totally new realm of brutality. Their second album, From Enslavement to Obliteration is brutal but more of a wall of noise assault. I feel that, while brutal and aggressive, it lacked the hooks and drive of Scum. It wasn't time to throw in the towel yet though because in 1989 they released the Mentally Murdered 12". While this is more polished and produced and has more of a Death Metal feel than say Scum, it is a total holocaust head eruption of GRIND POWER. For a four song 12" this record packs more of a whallop than most band's entire careers. Now Napalm Death continued for a long time after these recordings, in fact they may still be around the metal scene yet. But the early recordings are the most essential, and brutal. After Mentally Murdered the line-up changed several times and the members each started to pursue solo projects of varying merit, thus diluting the core of the grind. Before we take leave of Napalm Death though, there is one more essential piece of Napalm Vinyl. The 1987 Peel Sessions recordings are absolute genius. These have appeared a few different times on vinyl and CD, worth tracking down is the "Double Peel Sessions" vinyl or CD. This is a really raw and ferocious document of one of the most of brutal bands ever. The "live in the studio" feel of the Peel Sessions recordings gives you a real feeling of brutal intensity, you can tell they were really amped in the studio and playing balls out, more like a live gig than a typical studio session. An important thing to remember is that although Napalm Death was a pioneering Grind band, they had roots in the Hardcore scene and their lyrics were political and very critical of the system and the establishment. As the cult of Grind grew lots of bands entered the scene from the Death Metal direction bringing with them more of a gore/evil lyrical approach. As the music started to sound more and more alike it tended to be the lyrics which made a difference in conveying the level of conviction and emotion behind the music. The intensity of the music attracted many of the same commercial interests that had recently cashed in on Cross Over and the DIY/Punk nature of the scene was soon haunted the spectre of commercialism and mainstream metal attitudes.

Definitely coming from the Death Metal angle but with pretty political lyrics was Terrorizer. Really a project band with members of Morbid Angel, Nausea (L.A.) and future Napalm Death guitarist Jesse Pintado. Terrorizer was above and beyond just about every band of the era when in came to musicianship and production. World Downfall stands as the perfect example of a Grindcore record. Gruff vocals, fast guitar, whirlwind drumming (blast beats) a total manic assault. However perfect this album may be I find its edges a little too smooth and polished. It lacks the raw and visceral intensity of Napalm Death's early work. Still this album is a masterpiece and belongs in your collection.

After Napalm Death and Terrorizer the must own classic Grindcore album of all time is definitely Assuck's Anticapital. Assuck had already released the Necro-Salvation 7" and the split 7" with OLD when Anti-Capital came out but the LP really blew the earlier work away. In fact it blows away every other Grindcore record ever made except those by Napalm and Terrorizer with whom it stands as a monument to brutal Grind. Assuck managed to combine the anger, fury and social commentary of a punk band with the musicianship and production quality of a Death Metal band the result was a total assault of manic Grind power. This album rages from hyper speed to excruciating tense slow mosh parts back to whirlwind blasts. Most impressive is that at this time (90-91) Assuck was a three piece with NO BASS PLAYER just guitar and drums. This is and insanely heavy record to have no bass on it. Insanely heavy. It still blows my mind today. I still love Assuck today but this album was a truimph that cannot be equaled kind of like Reign in Blood for thrash metal.

You could stop there, but if your thirst for classic grind continues you need the following.

Carcass-Reek of Putrefaction. Bill Steer of Naplam Death's side project (at first) really blazing fast grind and totally sick lyrics. By far the sickest cover of its day. This band really brought the gore/decay influence to fore in Grind. Carcass-Peel Sessions, more of the early brutality captured raw and energetic but in a top notch studio. Carcass-Symphonies of Sickness-Not quite as great as the first LP but really heavy and evil. Carcass went really downhill after Symphonies, last time I saw them they sounded like Pink Floyd.

Agothocles-This Belgian band holds the title for all time masters of output. Around since 1987 Agothocles has put out so many split 7"s you need to add an annex to your record room to hold them. Styling themselves as "Mince-Core" Agothocles has always been more of an underground and DIY Grind band as opposed to the more commercial stuff on Earache etc.

Bolt Thrower-In Battle there is no law. I guess this is really a Death Metal album but it is so dangerously close to grind it deserves mention in the same breath as early Napalm and Terrorizer. I'd have to classify all Bolt Thrower's other material as Death Metal but this LP (and the Peel Sessions) has enough raw fury to register as a Grindcore offering to my ears.

Master-Again really a Death Metal record but with some really brutal grind elements and certainly a cult influence similar to Repulsion on later Grind bands.

Righteous Pigs, Defecation, Unseen Terror-All projects or percussors of Napalm Death members. Defecation is the only one which really stands on its own as a Grindcore Classic, and then only in the second string, still a brutal and intense record.

Sore Throat-Unhindered by Talent- I think Sore Throat is more of a crusty hardcore band than a Grind band, but they must be mentioned for their importance at the time. Musically Sore Throat didn't really stand the test of time, really to me they are more of a novelty after ten years. However, they offered a great deal of biting commentary on the commercialization of grind music as was happening. This is especially summed up in the second LP Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid. Since Grindcore was spawned from the Hardcore Punk scene but was largely taken over by the commercial Death Metal scene it lost much of its social commentary and most of its DIY attitude very quickly (except for bands like Agothocles who sat out the commercial hype and stayed underground). Sore Throat was really funny, but also lampooned the state of the scene in a thought provoking manner. Still I think their music is closer to Crusty Hardcore than true Grindcore.

Probably the last of the truly great Grindcore Classics was Brutal Truth's Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses. This is really furious balls to the wall grind. I think it has a really strong early Napalm Death influence but the level of musicianship was really up there enough to push it over the top to stand on its own as a classic. Brutal Truth's later stuff gets a lot more experimental and I feel it lacks the knockout punch of their first LP. We played with Brutal Truth not long ago and they still rip it up live.

By 1990-91 the market was totally flooded with Grind and Death Metal bands most of which came from the Metal angle and really dragged the style into a morass of repetition. By 1991 all the classics were established and newcomers could only imitate. The result was by the number formula gore bands some of whom got really popular but most of whom I can't even remember. As with any artistic or musical movement the most profligate years are the earliest when the floodgates first open. Is it not the pioneer and the visionary who is pushed to the fore in the heroic era of any medium. Yet these are soon drowned out and forgotten as the multitudes stampede to cash in and jump on the bandwagon.

Publication Date:
January 1, 1988

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