| Harmony Corruption | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1, 1990 [1] | |||
| Studio | Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida, United States | |||
| Genre | Death metal | |||
| Length | 41:02 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Napalm Death chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Harmony Corruption | ||||
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Harmony Corruption is the third studio album by British grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 1 July 1990 on Earache Records.
The album represents a shift in genre from grindcore to death metal, featuring focused riffs and deep low vocals. Notably, it was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, where many classic death metal albums were recorded. Additionally, members of prominent Florida Death Metal bands Glen Benton (Of Deicide) and John Tardy (Of Obituary) were guest vocalists for the song "Unfit Earth". [2]
It is the first Napalm Death album to feature Mark "Barney" Greenway as the vocalist and Americans Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado as guitarists, and the last with Mick Harris on drums.[ citation needed ]
Harmony Corruption was the band's third UK chart entry, peaking at number 67. Richard Johnson, a member of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, says that the wide distribution of Harmony Corruption ensured that it had a greater impact on the American grindcore scene than earlier Napalm Death efforts. [3]
The track "Suffer the Children" was released as single on vinyl and CD, which features the non-album tracks "Siege of Power" and "Harmony Corruption". [4] A video was made for "Suffer the Children". [5] Additionally, limited vinyl pressings included the bonus LP with a live performance recorded at I.C.A. [6]
The tracks from the Mentally Murdered EP, [7] are included at the end of early editions of the CD, though versions now in print feature only the standard eleven tracks.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, Earache Records released a remastered edition, containing bonus tracks.[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 5/10 [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C [11] |
| Select |   [12] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10 [13] |
The album was met with a polarized reception upon release and has continued to divide listeners. Decibel described the album as, "a milestone in extreme music history." [14] Conversely, Allmusic described the album as, "a bit of a novel album for the band, though one that's not especially remarkable in the big picture."
Shane Embury has said of the album's reception, "it turned a lot of people on to the band who I guess had never given us the time of day, but also turned old-school fans off. Being young at the time and seeing the reactions was kind of scary; as you get older, opinions matter less, but it captured the time. Over in the states it has the same nostalgia as Scum. We will always have to play 'Suffer the Children.'" [14]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Vision Conquest" | Shane Embury | Embury | 2:42 |
| 2. | "If the Truth Be Known" |
| Embury | 4:12 |
| 3. | "Inner Incineration" | Embury | Jesse Pintado | 2:57 |
| 4. | "Malicious Intent" | Embury | Embury | 3:26 |
| 5. | "Unfit Earth" | Greenway | Mick Harris | 5:03 |
| 6. | "Circle of Hypocrisy" | Greenway | Mick Harris | 3:15 |
| 7. | "The Chains that Bind Us" |
| Mick Harris | 4:08 |
| 8. | "Mind Snare" | Greenway | Mitch Harris | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Extremity Retained" | Greenway | Mick Harris | 2:01 |
| 10. | "Suffer the Children" | Greenway | Mick Harris | 4:21 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Hiding Behind" | Greenway | Mick Harris | 5:15 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rise Above" | Lee Dorrian | Embury | |
| 2. | "Success?" | Jim Whitely | ||
| 3. | "From Enslavement to Obliteration" | |||
| 4. | "Control" | Justin Broadrick | Justin Broadrick | |
| 5. | "Walls of Confinement" | Dorrian | Mick Harris | |
| 6. | "Instinct of Survival" | Broadrick | Justin Broadrick | |
| 7. | "Siege of Power" | Broadrick | ||
| 8. | "Avalanche Master Song" (Godflesh cover) | Godflesh | Godflesh | |
| 9. | "You Suffer?" | Broadrick | Nick Bullen | |
| 10. | "Deceiver" | Whitely |
Napalm Death
| Additional musicians
Technical personnel
|
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC) [15] | 67 |
Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups such as England's Napalm Death are credited with 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.
Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris as replacements for guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.
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