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.
Hellhammer was a Swiss extreme metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often regarded as a key influence on black metal. In June 1984, Hellhammer disbanded but two of its members soon formed the influential extreme metal band Celtic Frost.
Apocalyptic Raids is an EP by the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. It was recorded and released in March 1984, and was the band's only commercial release.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston in 1982 and would later relocate to San Francisco. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, lead vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as bassist Greg Orr and drummer Rob Rampy.
Mentally Murdered is an EP by the English grindcore band Napalm Death, released in 1989. It was later included on the Harmony Corruption CD and the Death by Manipulation compilation album. On this EP the band's migration to death metal territory is more readily evident than on its previous album. It is the final studio recording with Bill Steer and Lee Dorrian, who simultaneously departed the band due to musical and personality differences.
Discharge are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The band is known for influencing several sub-genres of extreme music and their songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in heavy metal and other genres. The musical sub-genre of D-beat is named after Discharge and the band's distinctive drumbeat.
Disembowelment, often styled as diSEMBOWELMENT, were an Australian death-doom band that formed in November 1989 featuring Renato Gallina on guitar and vocals, and Paul Mazziotta on drums. In early 1991 Jason Kells joined on lead guitar and at the end of that year the group's line-up was completed by Matthew Skarajew on bass guitar. In 1992 they issued an extended play, Dusk, on Relapse Records and followed with a studio album, Transcendence into the Peripheral, in 1993. They disbanded shortly thereafter – never having performed live. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described them as "[s]till revered in underground circles as doom-grind pioneers ... [their works] remain genre classics".
Discordance Axis was an American grindcore band formed in 1992 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Their songs employed themes of inner struggles, science fiction, comic books, anime, and literature.
Sinister Slaughter is the second full-length album by American death metal band Macabre and was released in 1993 by Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork is a parody on the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featuring the band members, serial killers and mass murderers instead of famous people. The album was re-released in 2000 in a digipak that included the songs off the Behind the Wall of Sleep EP as bonus tracks.
Gloom is the debut album of American extreme metal band Macabre, released in 1989. Several versions of this album exist. Some versions include the Grim Reality EP, other include a few live tracks and two songs from the Grim Reality EP.
Grim Reality is an extended play by American extreme metal band Macabre. Released in 1987, it is the band's first release.
Behind the Wall of Sleep is an EP by American extreme metal band Macabre released in 1994 on Nuclear Blast Records. It contains three new tracks and one cover of Black Sabbath's song "Behind the Wall of Sleep" from their 1970 debut album Black Sabbath.
Sore Throat were a British crust punk band formed in Huddersfield in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well as for launching the careers of several prominent members of the British heavy metal community.
Electro Hippies were an English thrashcore band formed in St Helens/Wigan, England, in 1985.
In Depths of Dreams Unconscious is an EP by the Swedish death/black metal group Crimson Moonlight, released in 2007 on Endtime Productions.
Avenger are an English heavy metal band from Newcastle upon Tyne. Associated with the new wave of British heavy metal scene, they released two albums in the 1980s before splitting up. The band reunited in 2005.
Grim Scary Tales is the fifth album by American extreme metal band Macabre released in 2011. The album cover depicts the notorious Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler holding a goblet filled with blood. The album focuses on historical figures famous for killing people, such as Vlad Tepes, Countess Bathory, Gilles de Rais, and Nero. It has been described as "primitive death metal, occasionally erupting into nursery rhyme or cartoon-theme melodies, and the vocals go back and forth between guttural growls and high-pitched, hoarse shrieking". It is also Macabre's first release since Murder Metal in 2003.
Capitalist Casualties were an American powerviolence / hardcore band. They formed in Rohnert Park, California around 1986 and had their first concert in 1987 in Santa Rosa, California. They have released multiple records, including many splits with other powerviolence / hardcore bands, and have toured nationally and internationally.
Carnival of Killers is the sixth album by American extreme metal band Macabre. It was released through Nuclear Blast on November 13, 2020.
