For the fictional character see Grindcore .

Grindcore, sometimes shortened to grind, is an extreme music genre that emerged during the mid–1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk.

Grindcore is characterized by heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, high speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls and high-pitched screams. Early groups like Siege and Napalm Death are accredited for laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

An infamous trait of grindcore is the "microsong". Several bands have produced songs that last only seconds in length. British band Napalm Death holds the Guinness World Record for shortest song ever recorded with the one-second "You Suffer" (1987). Many bands record simple phrases that may be rhymically sprawled out across an instrumental lasting only a couple of bars in length. Anal Cunt and Agoraphobic Nosebleed are also prime examples.

A variety of "microgenres" have subsequently emerged, often used to label bands according to a few alternative traits that deviate from standard grindcore, including goregrind, focused on horror themes, and pornogrind, fixated on pornographic lyrical themes. Other offshoots include noisegrind (especially raw and chaotic) and electrogrind (incorporating electronic elements). Although an influential phenomenon on hardcore punk and other popular genres, grindcore itself remains an underground form of music.

Characteristics

Grindcore relies on standard hardcore punk and heavy metal instrumentation: electric guitar, bass and drums. However, grindcore alters the usual practices of metal or rock music with regard to song structure and tone. The vocal style is "ranging from high-pitched shrieks to low, throat-shredding growls and barks." In some cases, lyrics may not even exist. Vocals may be used as merely an added sound effect, a common practice with bands such as the experimental Naked City.

A characteristic of some grindcore songs is the "microsong", lasting only a few seconds. In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Brutal Truth the record for "Shortest Music Video" for 1994's "Collateral Damage" (the song lasts four seconds). In 2007, the video for the Napalm Death song "You Suffer" set a new "Shortest Music Video" record: 1.3 seconds. Along with the microsong, it is characteristic of early grindcore to have diminutive song lengths. Such is the example of Carcass' Reek of Putrefaction (1988), where the song span averages about 1 minute and 48 seconds.

Many grindcore groups experiment with down-tuned guitars. While the vinyl A-side of Napalm Death's debut, 1987's Scum, is set to standard tuning, on side B, the guitars are tuned down 2½ steps. Their second album and 1989's EP were tuned to C♯. Harmony Corruption, their third release, was tuned up to a D. Bolt Thrower went further, dropping 3½ steps down (A).

Blast beat

The blast beat is a drum beat characteristic of grindcore in all its forms, although its usage predates the genre itself. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the kick drum, snare and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal." Blast beats have been described as "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence." Napalm Death coined the term, though this style of drumming had previously been practiced by others. Daniel Ekeroth argues that the blast beat was first performed by the Swedish D-beat group Asocial on their 1982 demo. D.R.I. ("No Sense"), Sepultura ("Antichrist"), S.O.D. ("Milk"), Sarcófago ("Satanas"), and Repulsion also included the technique prior to Napalm Death's emergence.

Lyrical themes

Grindcore lyrics are typically provocative. A number of grindcore musicians are committed to political and ethical causes. For example, Napalm Death's songs address a variety of anarchist concerns, in the tradition of anarcho-punk. These themes include anti-racism, feminism, anti-militarism, and anti-capitalism. Other grindcore groups, such as Cattle Decapitation and Carcass, have expressed disgust with human behavior, animal abuse, and are, in some cases, vegetarians. Carcass' work in particular is often identified as the origin of the goregrind style, which is devoted to "bodily" themes. Groups that shift their bodily focus to sexual matters, such as Gut and the Meat Shits, are sometimes referred to as pornogrind. Seth Putnam's lyrics are notorious for their black comedy, while The Locust tend toward satirical collage, indebted to William S. Burroughs' cut-up method.

History

Precursors

The early grindcore scene relied on an international network of tape trading and DIY production. The most widely acknowledged precursors of the grindcore sound are Siege, a hardcore punk group, and Repulsion, an early death metal outfit.Siege, from Weymouth, Massachusetts, were influenced by classic American hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag, Void) and by British groups like Discharge, Venom, and Motörhead. Siege's goal was maximum velocity: "We would listen to the fastest punk and hardcore bands we could find and say, ‘Okay, we’re gonna deliberately write something that is faster than them'", drummer Robert Williams recalled.

Repulsion, from Flint, Michigan, cited street punk groups like Discharge and Charged GBH, crossover thrash such as Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and Corrosion of Conformity, thrash metal like Slayer, Metallica, and Sodom, early black metal (Venom) and death metal (Possessed), hardcore punk, like Black Flag, and older hard rock, as inspirational. The group is often credited with inventing the classic grind blast beat (played at 190 bpm), as well as its distinctive bass tone. Shane Embury, in particular, advocates the band as the origin of Napalm Death's later innovations. Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth declares that "Horrified was and still is the defining core of what grind became; a perfect mix of hardcore punk with metallic gore, speed and distortion."

Other groups in the British grindcore scene, such as Heresy and Unseen Terror, have emphasized the influence of American hardcore punk, including Septic Death, as well as Swedish D-beat. Sore Throat cites Discharge, Disorder, and a variety of European D-beat and thrash metal groups, including Hellhammer, and American hardcore groups, such as Poison Idea and DRI. Japanese hardcore, particularly GISM, is also mentioned by a number of originators of the style. Other key groups cited by current and former members of Napalm Death as formative influences include Discharge, Amebix, Throbbing Gristle, and the aforementioned Dirty Rotten Imbeciles. Post-punk, such as Killing Joke and Joy Division, was also cited as an influence on early Napalm Death.

British grindcore

Grindcore, as such, was developed during the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom by Napalm Death, a group who emerged from the crust punk scene. Albert Mudrian's research suggests that the name "grindcore" was coined by Napalm Death's second drummer, Mick Harris. When asked about coming up with the term, Harris said:

Other sources contradict Harris' claim. In a Spin magazine article written about the genre, Steven Blush declares that "the man often credited" for dubbing the style grindcore was Shane Embury, Napalm Death's bassist since 1987. Embury offers his own account of how the grindcore "sound" came to be:

Earache Records founder Digby Pearson concurs with Embury, saying that Napalm Death "put hardcore and metal through an accelerator." Pearson, however, said that grindcore "wasn't just about the speed of [the] drums, blast beats, etc." He claimed that "it actually was coined to describe the guitars - heavy, downtuned, bleak, harsh riffing guitars [that] 'grind', so that's what the genre was described as, by the musicians who were its innovators [and] proponents."

While abrasive, grindcore achieved a measure of mainstream visibility. As James Hoare, deputy editor of Terrorizer, writes:

Napalm Death's seismic impact inspired other British grindcore groups in the 1980s, among them Extreme Noise Terror, Carcass and Sore Throat. In the subsequent decade, two pioneers of the style became increasingly commercially viable. According to Nielsen Soundscan, Napalm Death sold 367,654 units between May 1991 and November 2003, while Carcass sold 220,374 units in the same period. The inclusion of Napalm Death's "Twist the Knife " on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack brought the band much greater visibility, as the compilation scored a Top 10 position in the Billboard 200 chart and went platinum in less than a year.

North American grindcore

Journalist Kevin Stewart-Panko argues that the American grindcore of the 1990s borrowed from three sources: British grindcore, the American precursors, and death metal. As early Napalm Death albums were not widely distributed in the United States, American groups tended to take inspiration from later works, such as Harmony Corruption. American groups also often employ riffs taken from crossover thrash or thrash metal. Early American grind practitioners included Terrorizer and Assück. Anal Cunt, a particularly dissonant group who lacked a bass player, were also particularly influential. Their style was sometimes referred to as "noisecore" or "noisegrind", described by Guilio of Cripple Bastards as "the most anti-musical and nihilistic face of extreme music at that time." Brutal Truth was a groundbreaking group in the American scene at the beginning of the 1990s. However, Sharp indicates that they were more inspired by the thrash metal of Dark Angel than the British groups. Discordance Axis had a more technical style of playing than many of the predecessors, and had a much more ornate visual and production style. Scott Hull is prominent in the contemporary grindcore scene, through his participation in Pig Destroyer and Agoraphobic Nosebleed. ANb's Frozen Corpse Stuffed with Dope has been described as "the Paul's Boutique of grindcore", by Village Voice critic Phil Freeman, for its "hyper-referential, impossibly dense barrage of samples, blast beats, answering machine messages, and incomprehensibly bellowed rants." Pig Destroyer is inspired by thrash metal, such as Dark Angel and Slayer, the sludge metal of The Melvins, and grindcore practiced by Brutal Truth, while Agoraphobic Nosebleed takes cues from thrashcore and powerviolence, like D.R.I. and Crossed Out. Pig Destroyer's style is sometimes referred to as "deathgrind", because of the prevalence of death metal influences, as are Cattle Decapitation.

The Locust, from San Diego, also take inspiration from powerviolence (Crossed Out, Dropdead), first-wave screamo (Angel Hair), obscure experimental rock (Art Bears, Renaldo and the Loaf), and death metal. The Locust were sometimes described as "hipster grind" because of their fan base and fashion choices. Other later prominent grindcore groups of North America include Brujeria, Soilent Green, Cephalic Carnage, Impetigo, and Circle of Dead Children. Fuck the Facts, a Canadian group, practiced classic grindcore, characterized by the "metronome-precision drumming and riffing [that] abound, as well as vocal screams and growls" by Allmusic reviewer Greg Prato.

Continental European grindcore

European groups, such as Agathocles, from Belgium, Patareni, of Croatia, and Fear of God, from Switzerland, are important early practitioners of the style. Filthy Christians, who signed to Earache Records in 1989, introduced the style in Sweden, while Cripple Bastards established Italian grindcore. Guilio of Cripple Bastards asserts that the name itself took some time to migrate from Britain, with the style being referred to as "death-thrashcore" for a time in Europe. Nasum, who emerged from the Swedish death metal scene, became a popular group, addressing political topics from a personal perspective. Anders Jakobson, their drummer, reported that "It was all these different types of people who enjoyed what we we were doing. [...] We made grindcore a bit easier to listen to at the expense of the diehard grindcore fans who thought that we were, well, not sellouts, but not really true to the original essence of grindcore." Other Swedish groups, such as General Surgery and Regurgitate, practiced goregrind. Inhume, from the Netherlands, and Rotten Sound, from Finland, and Leng Tch'e, from Belgium, were subsequent European groups who practiced grindcore with death metal inflections.

Legacy: Influence on other genres

Grindcore's impact spread quickly through the world of extreme music. For example, Napalm Death's strong inspiration from Swans links grindcore to noise rock. Since then, Japanese noise rock group Boredoms have borrowed elements of grind, and toured with Brutal Truth in 1993. Naked City, lead by avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, performed an avant-garde form of polystylistic, grindcore-influenced punk jazz. Zorn later formed the Painkiller project with ambient dub producer Bill Laswell on bass guitar and Mick Harris on drums, which also collaborated with Justin Broadrick on some work. In addition, grindcore was one influence on the powerviolence movement within American hardcore punk, and has affected some strains of metalcore. Some musicians have also produced hybrids between grind and electronic music.

Powerviolence

Powerviolence is a raw and dissonant subgenre of hardcore punk. The style is closely related to thrashcore and similar to grindcore. While powerviolence took inspiration from Napalm Death and other early grind bands, powerviolence groups avoided elements of heavy metal. Its nascent form was pioneered in the late 1980s in the music of hardcore punk band Infest, who mixed youth crew hardcore elements with noisier, sludgier qualities of Lärm and Siege. The microgenre solidified into its most commonly recognized form in the early 1990s, with the sounds of bands such as Man Is the Bastard, Crossed Out, No Comment, Capitalist Casualties, and Manpig. Powerviolence bands focus on speed, brevity, bizarre timing breakdowns, and constant tempo changes. Powerviolence songs are often very short; it is not uncommon for some to last less than 30 seconds. Some groups, particularly Man Is the Bastard, took influence from sludge metal and noise music. Lyrically and conceptually, powerviolence groups were very raw and underproduced, both sonically and in their packaging. Some groups (Man Is the Bastard and Dropdead) took influence from anarcho-punk and crust punk, emphasizing animal rights and anti-militarism. The Locust and Agoraphobic Nosebleed later reincorporated elements of powerviolence into grindcore.

Industrial and electronic music

Among other influences, Napalm Death took impetus from the industrial music scene. Subsequently, Napalm Death's former guitarist, Justin Broadrick, went on to a career in industrial metal with Godflesh. Mick Harris, in his post-Napalm Death project, Scorn, briefly experimented with the style. Scorn also worked in the industrial hip hop and isolationist styles. Fear Factory have also cited debts to the genre. Digital hardcore is an initially German hybrid of hardcore punk and hardcore techno. Agoraphobic Nosebleed and the Locust have solicited remixes from digital hardcore producers and noise musicians. James Plotkin, Dave Witte, and Speedranch participated in the Phantomsmasher project, which melds grindcore and digital hardcore. Alec Empire collaborated with Justin Broadrick, on the first Curse of the Golden Vampire album, and with Gabe Serbian, of the Locust, live in Japan. Japanoise icon Merzbow also participated in the Empire/Serbian show. The 21st century also saw the development of "electrogrind" (or "cybergrind"), practiced by The Berzerker and Genghis Tron which borrows from electronic music. These groups built on the work of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and The Locust, as well as industrial metal. The Berzerker also appropriated the distorted Roland TR-909 kick drums of gabber producers. Many later electrogrind groups were caricatured for their hipster connections.

Metalcore

Metalcore, like grindcore, draws on thrash metal and hardcore punk. However, metalcore groups also rely on breakdown: slower, intense passages conducive to moshing. In the mid-1990s, some metalcore groups became to take inspiration from developments in grindcore. For example, mathcore groups such as Dillinger Escape Plan, Some Girls, and Daughters, and screamo groups, like Circle Takes the Square and Orchid, have been associated with grindcore by some commentators. These groups also include elements of post-hardcore. By 2009, deathcore bands began to describe themselves as grindcore, but have been met with criticism.

See also

• List of grindcore bands
• Napalm Death: Thrash to Death (BBC documentary)

Notes

1. Metal: The Definitive Guide (Garry Sharpe-Young)
2. Metal: The Definitive Guide (Garry Sharpe-Young), US Death Metal and Grindcore
3. Carcass (1988).
4. Johnson 2007, page 04.
5. Adam MacGregor, Agoraphobic Nosebleed review, Dusted, June 11, 2006. [1] Access date: October 2, 2008.
6. Strub, Whitney. the Key Club: An Interview with Mark 'Barney' Greenway of Napalm Death". PopMatters, May 11, 2006. Accessed on September 17, 2008.
7. Ekeroth, p. 22.
8. Sepultura, 1985, track 11.
9. Stormtroopers of Death, 1985, track 11.
10. Sarcófago, 1986, track 10.
11. "Grindcore Special," p. 46.
12. Carcass biography. NME.com. [2] Access date: April 25, 2009.
13. Eduardo Rivadavia, Anal Cunt bio, Allmusic. [3] Access date: April 25, 2009.
14. "The Locust: Catching Up with J.P.," October 17, 2007
15. "Grindcore Special," p. 44.
16. Steven Blush, "Boston Not L.A.", American Hardcore, Feral House, p. 171.
17. Matthew Widener, "Scared to Death: The Making of Repulsion's Horrified", Decibel no. 46, August 2008, p. 63-69.
18. Mudrian 2004, p. 50.
19. "Grindcore Special," p. 41.
20. "Grindcore Special," p. 43.
21. "Grindcore Special," p. 45.
22. "Grindcore Special," p. 52.
23. "Dark Recollections: Napalm Death, Scum," Terrorizer, issue 183, May 2009, p. 84-85
24. Mudrian 2004, page 31.
25. Interview with Mick Harris, DVD half of Napalm Death's Scum 20 year anniversary reissue.
26. "Crustgrind," "Grindcore Special" part 2, p. 46
27. Ibid., p. 35.
28. Felix von Havoc, Maximum Rock'n'Roll #198. [4] Archived by Havoc Records. Access date: June 20, 2008.
29. Type "Mortal Kombat" in "Album" space.
30. Kevin Stewart-Panko, "Altered States," "Grindcore Special" part 2, p. 42-43.
31. Phil Freeman, "Gratuitous Grindcore Gross-Out Gimps' Glade and Guns Get Guffaws", Village Voice, September 13, 2005. [5] Access date: July 19, 2008.
32. Anthony Bartkewicz, "Pig Destroyer", Decibel, July 2007 [6] Access date: July 24, 2008
33. Bryan Reed, The Daily Tar Heel, July 19, 2007. [7] Access date: August 6, 2008.
34. "The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Daughters", Pop and Rock Listings, The New York Times, April 13, 2007. [8] Access date: August 6, 2008.
35. Mudrian, p. 265
36. LA Weekly, September 18, 2003 [9] Access date: July 24, 2008
37. Jason Birchmeier, Matando Güeros review, Allmusic. [10] Access date: October 3, 2008.
38. D. Shawn Bosler, "Soilent Green", Decibel, September 2005. [11] Access date: October 3, 2008.
39. John Book, Ultimo Mondo Cannibale review, Allmusic. [12] Access date: October 3, 2008.
40. Alex Henderson, The Genocide Machine review, Allmusic. [13] Access date: October 3, 2008.
41. Greg Prato, Stigmata High-Five review, Allmusic. [14] Access date: March 21, 2009.
42. "Grindcore Special," p. 54.
43. Ekeroth, p. 262.
44. Ekeroth, p. 263, 381.
45. Anders Jakobson interview, "Grindcore Special" part 2, p. 56.
46. Ekeroth, p. 263.
47. Eduardo Rivadavia, In for the Kill review, Allmusic. [15] Access date: October 3, 2008.
48. Paul Kott, Still Psycho review, Allmusic. [16] Access date: October 3, 2008.
49. Cosmo Lee, Stylus, July 25, 2008 [17] Access date: July 23, 2008.
50. Filip Dupont, Vampire Magazine, March 9, 2007 [18] Access date: July 24, 2008
51. "Grindcore", Allmusic. [19] Access date: September 16, 2008.
52. Brad Jones, "Bore None", Denver Westword, July 6, 1994. [20] Access date: September 16, 2008.
53. Andrew Parks, "Boredoms Explore the Void", Theme Magazine, issue 7, Fall 2006. [21] Access date: September 16, 2008.
54. Bagatellen, "Slave to the Grind", April 21, 2004 [22] Access date: June 21, 2008
55. Christopher Thelen, Daily Vault, 8/17/1998 [23] Access date: June 21, 2008
56. Cosmo Lee, Stylus Magazine, May 15, 2006. [24] Access date: August 8, 2008.
57. "Powerviolence: The Dysfunctional Family of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrgghhh!!". Terrorizer no. 172. July 2008. p. 36-37.
58. Anthony Bartkewicz. " Screwdriver in the Urethra of Hardcore". Decibel Magazine. July 2007. (Subscription-only site; interview reprinted in full at blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=52501650&blogID=285587688 (blacklisted link). Retrieved November 17, 2008.)
59. Andrew Marcus, "Buzz Clip", SF Weekly, August 6, 2003. [25] Access date: August 7, 2008.
60. Christian Genzel, Scorn, Stealth review, Allmusic.com, [26] Access date: July 24, 2008
61. David E. Flick, Scorn, Stealth, Re:Gen Magazine, January 18, 2008 [27] Access date: July 24, 2008
62. Simon Reynolds, "Chill: the new ambient." Artforum, January 1995. [28] Access date: July 24, 2008.
63. Interview with J. Amaretto of DHR, WAX Magazine, issue 5, 1995. Included in liner notes of Digital Hardcore Recordings, Harder Than the Rest!!! compilation CD.
64. Whitney Strub, Agoraphobic Nosebleed review, July 26, 2007. Stylus Magazine. [29] Access date: July 19, 2008.
65. The Locust Biography [30] Access date: July 19, 2008.
66. Ipecac Records, The Curse of the Golden Vampire. [31] Access date: July 20, 2008.
67. "Alec Empire Interview: "People Are Organized But Political Music Is Not Really Being Made", Indymedia Ireland, December 28, 2006 [32] Access date: July 25, 2008.
68. Kevin Stewart-Panko, "Shock Tactics," "Grindcore Special," part 2, p. 52-53
69. Lilker
70. Liz Ciavarella, "The Berzerker: Sonic Discontent," Metal Maniacs, vol. 26, no. 2, February 2009, p. 80-81.
71. "The best part of every metalcore song is the breakdown, the part where the drums drop out and the guitars slow their frantic gallop to a devastating, precise crunch-riff and everyone in the moshpit goes extra nuts." - Tom Breihan. "Status Ain't Hood". "Live: Trivium, the Jackson 5 of Underground Metal". The Village Voice Daily Voice. October 11, 2006. [33] Access date: July 21, 2008.
72. Steve Carlson, Hell Songs review, "Blog Critics", October 19, 2006. [34] Access date: September 13, 2008.
73. "San Diego Reader"[35] Access date: September 13, 2008.
74. "Contemporary grindcore bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan [...] have developed avant-garde versions of the genre incorporating frequent time signature changes and complex sounds that at times recall free jazz." Keith Kahn-Harris (2007), Extreme Metal, Berg Publishers, ISBN 1-84520-399-2, p. 4.
75. Corey Apar, Heaven's Pregnant Teens review, Allmusic. [36] Access date: August 24, 2008.
76. Joe Davenport, Hell Songs review, Delusions of Adequacy, August 24, 2006. [37] Access date: August 25, 2008.
77. Stewart Mason, Daughters biography, Allmusic. [38] Access date: August 25, 2008.
78. "Another interesting sub-sub-genre was this strange crossover of first-generation emo and grind. Bands like Reversal of Man or Orchid may not have stood the test of time, but it was a pretty cool sound at the time and one that was pretty uniquely American. - Greg Pratt, "Altered States," "Grindcore Special" part 2, p. 43.
79. Ryan Buege, "Circle Takes the Square is in the Studio." Metal Injection, June 15, 2008. [39] Access date: July 8, 2008
80. "'These kids on MySpace and Headbanger's Ball with the lame breakdown death metal bands really need to quit calling that crap grindcore -- it's offensive,' chides bassist James Delgado of Dallas grinders Kill the Client about this most grating of pet peeves. And he's right, you know." - Scott Alisoglu, "Kill the Client: The Art of Grinding," Metal Maniacs, February 2009, vol. 26, no. 2, p. 92.

References

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• Blush, Steven (1991). Grindcore. Spin, 7(3), 35-36.
• Carcass (1988). Reek of Putrefaction. [CD]. Nottingham, UK: Earache Compact Discs, Cassettes & Records. (1994).
• Ekeroth, Daniel (2008). Swedish Death Metal. Bazillion Points Books. ISBN 978-0-9796163-1-0
• Grindcore Special (2009), Terrorizer, 180, 41-56, and 181, 41-56.
• Johnson, Richard (2007). Napalm death. Disposable Underground, 15(38), 02-04.
• Lilker, Danny (2007). "A User's Guide to Grindcore." Grind Your Mind: A History of Grindcore [CD]. Liner notes. Mayan Records, MYNDD056.
• Mudrian, Albert (2004). Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House.
• Sarcófago. (1986). Satanas. On Warfare noise [CD]. Belo Horizonte, MG: Cogumelo Records. (2007).
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