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Grindcore is an extreme metal genre formed in the mid 1980's from a marriage of Hardcore Punk, Crust Punk, Thrashcore and the then embryonic Death Metal genre.
Grindcore took Hardcore and Crust Punk's drive for blistering speed and short song format and Death Metal's meatier and heavier sound, as well as taking some influence from Industrial and Noise. A typical Grindcore song on average is about 30 seconds to two minutes long, and usually features downtuned and overdriven guitars and bass with fairly simple punk styled riffs alternating between lightning fast and slower groovier passages. Grindcore drumming usually consists of inhumanly fast blast beating and sometimes slower d-beats. Vocals range from Death Metal growls and grunts to high pitched shrieks, with some bands employing a more Hardcore style of shouted vocals.
Lyrically Grindcore bands usually fall into two camps, ones with political lyrics and messages of many Hardcore bands and the Gore obsessed bands that permeate Death Metal.
The first bands that usually take credit with creating the typical Grindcore sound are the United Kingdom's Napalm Death, formed in 1982, and first releasing the From Enslavement To Obliteration demo in 1986, and the full studio album Scum in 1987, the American band Regurgitation formed in 1986, and releasing the Organic Backwash demo in 1986, before changing their name to O.L.D. and recording the Old Lady Drivers album in 1988, and the United States' Genocide formed in 1985, who would record three demos in 1986, before changing their name to Repulsion and recording the Horrified studio album, which wouldn't be released until 1989 after the group had split up for the first time. Other notable early Grindcore acts include the United Kingdom's Extreme Noise Terror formed in 1985 (though they consider themselves as Hardcore punk), the United States' Terrorizer formed in 1987 featuring many members who would go on to be in other well-known and influential acts, Belgium's Agathocles formed in 1985 who dub their style of Grindcore 'Mincecore', United Kingdom's Unseen Terror formed in 1986 featuring members of Napalm Death, Italy's Cripple Bastards formed originally under the name of Grimcorpses before changing sound and name, Japan's legendary group S.O.B. formed in 1983, and others.
Some bands that must be mentioned for being highly influential to the development of Grindcore, include the Hardcore Punk of Siege, Deep Wound, Discharge, GISM, Amebix, Larm, Asocial, as well as Industrial/No Wave group Swans, and the Industrial group Throbbing Gristle.
Grindcore has also spawned many sub genres.
• Deathgrind.
Deathgrind is a genre mixing Death Metal and Grindcore. Bands that play in this style typically are heavier sounding and more technical in playing and song structure than your average Grindcore band. Deathgrind is closely related to both Goregrind and Pornogrind stylistically. Notable Deathgrind bands include the United States' Brutal Truth formed in 1990, the United States Cephalic Carnage formed in 1992, the United Kingdom's Defecation formed in 1987, Germany's Blood formed in 1986, and the United States' Righteous Pigs formed in 1987. Bands that play Deathgrind can be found on MMA under both Grindcore and Death Metal, depending on where the emphasis lies.
• Goregrind.
Goregrind is a genre mixing Death Metal and Grindcore. Bands playing in this style feature extremely violent or medical terminology for lyrics, extreme, and for artwork (often times very real pictures), a deviation from the political messages of most Hardcore bands, and many bands make use of pitch shifted or extremely low guttural vocals. The credit for the first Goregrind band goes the United Kingdom's Carcass, formed in 1985 who's debut Reek Of Putrefaction became a favourite of DJ John Peel. Other notable early Goregrind acts include Sweden's General Surgery formed in 1988, United States' Impetigo formed in 1987, and the Netherland's Last Days Of Humanity formed in 1989.
• Pornogrind.
Pornogrind is a genre mixing Death Metal and Grindcore. Bands playing in this style feature the use of porn obsessed imagery and lyrics, extremely distorted and pitch shifted vocals, and often times incorporate much slower and groovy sections within songs. Notable Pornogrind bands include the United States' Meat Shits formed in 1989, and Germany's Gut formed in 1991.
• Cybergrind.
Cybergrind is a genre mixing Electronic and Grindcore. Bands that play this style make use of synths, computers, and drum machines in addition to the usual guitars and bass, while some bands use synths, MIDI files, and drum machines exclusively. Many Cybergrind bands tend to have little to no influence or relation to metal. Japan's Catasexual Urge Motivation formed in 1992 is generally considered the first Cybergrind group with a drum machine nicknamed Cyber E.M.F. Other notable Cybergrind bands include the United States Agoraphobic Nosebleed formed in 1994, and Australia's The Berzerker formed in 1995.
• Noisecore.
Noisecore is a genre mixing Hardcore, Noise Rock, and early Grindcore. Bands that play this style of Hardcore/Grindcore usually eschew any form of song structure, in favour of rapid blast beats or fast random playing with riff-less guitar and bass noise, and indecipherable vocal growls and shrieks. Many Noisecore songs don't even hit the 30 second mark, being short blasts and explosions of chaotic sound. Notable Noisecore bands include Australia's Seven Minutes Of Nausea formed in 1985, United States Anal Cunt formed in 1988, United Kingdom's Sore Throat formed in 1987, Switzerland's Fear Of God formed in 1988, and Japan's The Gerogerigegege formed in 1985. Bands that play Noisecore can be found on MMA under both Grindcore and Hardcore, depending on which style is ascendant.
• Fastcore/Thrashcore.
Thrashcore is a genre of Hardcore and early Grindcore. Bands that play in this style of Hardcore/Grindcore are discernible for making use of shorter song structures, faster tempos, and blast beating, more than regular Hardcore bands, and for this Thrashcore can be considered a forerunner to Grindcore and Powerviolence, As many early Grindcore bands took influence from early D.R.I., Deep Wound, and Septic Death. While many Thrashcore artists are labelled as Hardcore here on MMA, some can be considered closer to Grindcore, these bands include Japan's S.O.B. formed in 1983, and the United States' Siege formed in 1981, and Britain's Atavistic formed in 1985. Bands that play Thrashcore can be found on MMA under both Grindcore and Hardcore, depending on where the emphasis rests.
• Powerviolence.
Powerviolence is a genre of Hardcore and early Grindcore. Bands that play in this style are distinguishable from Grindcore and Hardcore for extremely short song lengths with often and sudden tempo changes, and shouted Hardcore vocals. Powerviolence bands draw on early Thrashcore, Hardcore, and Grindcore for inspiration, such as Scum era Napalm Death, Siege, Deep Wound, Cryptic Slaughter, and early D.R.I. Notable Powerviolence bands include the United States' Infest formed in 1986, the United States' Plutocracy formed in 1988, the United States' Hellnation formed in 1988, the United States' Capitalist Casualties formed in 1987, Germany's Yacopsae formed in 1990, and the United States' Man Is The Bastard formed in 1990. Bands that play Powerviolence can be found on MMA under both Grindcore and Hardcore, depending on which is closer to the band's sound.
Sub-genre collaborators (+ child sub-genres):
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Album · 2020 ·
Grindcore
Vim Fuego
OK, here’s the tl;dr on Napalm Death’s new album:
1. It’s still heavy, harsh shit.
2. It still sounds mostly the same as other Napalm Death records.
3. There’s some little bits that sound a bit different to other Napalm Death records.
4. This is really fucking good!
If you have a slightly longer attention span than the “too long; didn’t read” crowd, here’s a few more thoughts on “Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism”.
If you’re a Napalm Death fan, when was the last time the band genuinely surprised you? For most, it’s probably the first time you ever heard the band. But also if you’re a Napalm Death fan, can you honestly say that any two albums sound the same? There will be a few listeners who will say yes, but observe: death metal influence creeping in to “Harmony Corruption”, massive grooves on “Inside The Torn Apart”, the rediscovery of the band’s hardcore roots with “Leaders, Not Followers”.
That’s the essence of Napalm Death’s longevity. It’s not so much change for change’s sake, but the incorporation of new influences to combine with the band’s existing sound to evolve slowly to something new. This time, it seems there is a touch of alternative thrown into the mix. No, not alternative rock which seemed edgy for about 10 minutes in the 1990s, but the alternative to alternative, Harsh, heavy, and properly original, like Swans and Neurosis. Check the evidence.
“Fuck The Factoid” blasts past almost before you’ve noticed. The familiar wall of noise smacks you in the face as you would hope. Most prominent in this song, Danny Herrera still smashes the hell out of the drum kit in ways which shouldn’t be humanly possible. Shane Embury’s blown-to-bits bass is more visible on this album than in previous releases. Check his gargantuan intro to “Backlash Just Because”. The old school hardcore influence is still floating near the top. “That Curse of Being in Thrall” has abundant hardcore riffs and blastbeats, and then slams into a thunderous doom/death riff.
“Contagion” has hints of Necroticism-era Carcass in the guitar sound, but it has Barney’s dry bark layered over it, and an almost Neurosis-ish discordant drone to the chorus. Embury pulls off another vicious bass intro to “Joie De Ne Pas Vivre”, an almost otherworldly demonic sounding song with a Godflesh/Swans industrial dissonance to it.
“Invigorating Clutch” is an unabating robotic rockcrusher of a song, reminiscent of Monotheist-era Celtic Frost. No one else creates riffs like Mitch Harris – simple in the “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?” vein, yet nobody else has thought of it.
There are so many references to different bands and genres which could be thrown in here that it makes your mind spin, but it’s all still Napalm Death to the (grind)core. There are subtleties and little flourishes which won’t be picked up on a first listen, and it’s all bathed in glorious stentorian noise.
Unlike “Apex Predator”, which was a more demanding and difficult listen, “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism” could be presented to someone not familiar with Napalm Death as an introduction to the band. And for those already familiar with then band, it’s quickly obvious that even for a band well into it’s fourth decade of existence, Napalm Death is still producing music as strong and vital as at any time in the band’s long and celebrated career.