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 like 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.
Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1988. From its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes and never had a bassist. The band, known for its flippant and noisy musical style as well as controversial lyrics, released eight full-length studio albums in addition to a number of compilations and extended plays. Anal Cunt disbanded in 2011 after the group's founder and frontman, Seth Putnam, died of a suspected heart attack.
Agoraphobic Nosebleed is an American grindcore band. Its line-up has changed often over the years, with guitarist and drum programmer Scott Hull being the only continuous member. The current line-up includes vocalist Jay Randall, and Richard Johnson of Enemy Soil and Drugs of Faith, along with John Jarvis of Pig Destroyer and Fulgora on bass guitar.
Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The band was formed by vocalist J.R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull, and drummer John Evans. Throughout the band's earlier history, they were a three-piece group until sampler Blake Harrison joined in 2006; notably, they had no bassist until the inclusion of John Jarvis in 2013 and went through two drummers prior to that, with the role currently held by Adam Jarvis. Pig Destroyer is one of the most well-known grindcore bands due to Hayes's poetic lyrics; Hull's incorporation of thrash, punk, and doom influences in songwriting; and technical drum work.
Deströyer 666 is an Australian extreme metal band formed in 1994 by vocalist and guitarist K. K. Warslut. The group originated in Melbourne, Australia and by 2001 had relocated to Europe.
Prototype is an American progressive metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band was formed in 1994 by vocalist/guitarist Vince Levalois and guitarist Kragen Lum, who were both members of Psychosis at the time.
The Galilean Satellites is the first studio album by American post-metal band Rosetta, released in 2005 on Translation Loss Records. The album is two discs long and the track lengths on each disc correspond to each other, indicating that the band intended the albums to be played at the same time. Disc one is in a post-metal style while disc two is ambient noise.
Phantom Limb is the fourth studio album by the band Pig Destroyer, released on June 12, 2007 in the United States and June 18 in the rest of the world. The album was released on CD and LP. Vocalist JR Hayes said the line up of 14 songs are "the most deranged metal songs we could come up with". The album cover art was done by John Baizley.
Seth Edward Putnam was an American musician best known as the founder, vocalist and occasional guitarist of grindcore band Anal Cunt. He was known for his high-pitched screamed vocals and lyrics that either shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor. Throughout his career, Putnam was also involved in numerous side projects.
Book Burner is the fifth studio album by American grindcore band Pig Destroyer. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Relapse Records. The deluxe edition includes a short story by J.R. Hayes entitled "The Atheist" and an EP of hardcore punk covers. Vocalist J.R. Hayes stated that the band's only goal for Book Burner was "fast/brutal" and expressed happiness over the abundance of songs on the album with shorter lengths. Guitarist Scott Hull also affirmed that the band's goal was "shorter grind" on Book Burner in contrast with the preceding full-length album, Phantom Limb.
Benümb was an American grindcore band from Millbrae, California.
The Ibanez RG2228 is the world's first mass-produced eight string electric guitar. It came out in March 2007 and was introduced in the Winter NAMM Show of that year.
Agorapocalypse is the fourth full-length studio album by American grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed (ANb). It was released through Relapse Records on April 14, 2009, in the United States, and April 20 internationally. The album was recorded by ANb's guitarist Scott Hull at his Visceral Sound studios; Hull also wrote the drum parts using Toontrack's Drumkit from Hell in his digital audio workstation. This is also the band's only album with vocalist Katherine Katz. Agorapocalypse's cover artwork was designed by German illustrator Florian Bertmer.
Mass & Volume is an EP by American grindcore band Pig Destroyer which was released on March 5, 2013 as a digital release and October 14, 2014 as a physical release through Relapse Records. The EP was written and recorded during the final day of the Phantom Limb sessions. It is dedicated to the memory of Pat Egan, a member of the Relapse Records family who died on February 18, 2013. All proceeds from the sale of the record were donated to Egan's daughter's college fund.
Heavy metal bass is the use of the bass guitar in the rock music genres of heavy metal and hard rock. The bassist is part of the rhythm section in a heavy metal band, along with the drummer, rhythm guitarist and, in some bands, a keyboard player. The prominent role of the bass is key to the metal sound, and the interplay of bass and distorted electric guitar is a central element of metal. The bass guitar provides the low-end sound crucial to making the music "heavy". The bass plays a crucial role in heavy metal and a more important role than in traditional rock."
Arc is an EP by Agoraphobic Nosebleed, featuring vocalist Kat Katz. It was released on 22 January 2016 via Relapse Records. It is the first in a 4-part series of EPs representing each individual member of the band's vision and influence.
Despise You are an American powerviolence band from Inglewood, California, formed in 1994. The group is noted for helping influencing the powerviolence movement and for their bleak lyrics about topics such as gang violence, misanthropy, and self-hate. The band was known for being mysterious during their initial run; they often used pseudonyms in their liner notes and they never played live shows until their reformation in 2007. They have been described as "the angriest band in the world" by some.
And on and On... is a split album by powerviolence band Despise You and grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed. It was released on April 26, 2011, through Relapse Records. It includes the first material written by Despise You since their 2007 reformation.
Head Cage is the sixth studio album by American grindcore band Pig Destroyer. The album was released on September 7, 2018 through Relapse Records. The album features vocal cameos from Richard Johnson and Kat Katz from Agoraphobic Nosebleed, along with Dylan Walker from Full of Hell.
