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.
Deep Wound was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They released one self-titled 7-inch and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, Bands That Could Be God, both of which are sought after by fans and record collectors alike. The band influenced the Massachusetts hardcore scene and the development of grindcore.
Saetia is a New York City-based screamo band. While relatively unknown during their initial existence, the band is now seen as one of the most critically lauded bands of the late-1990s screamo scene. Stewart Mason of AllMusic described their music as an "essential document" for fans of screamo.
Discordance Axis was an American grindcore band formed in 1991 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Their songs employed themes of inner struggles, science fiction, comic books, anime, and literature.
Hydra Head Records was an independent record label specializing in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experimental and noise music. Turner announced he was winding the label down in 2012. In 2020, the label removed its catalog from Spotify and returned its album rights back to several artists.
Today Is the Day is an American noise rock and experimental metal band that originally formed in Nashville, Tennessee. The band's diverse sound combines influences from areas such as noise music, avant-garde metal, grindcore, post-hardcore, and alternative rock among other genres. Most of the band's recordings make extensive use of dissonance and sampling, as well as unusual production techniques and psychedelic overtones. Lyrical themes include depression, warfare, violence, altered states of consciousness, and mental disorders.
Crossed Out was a powerviolence band from Encinitas, California. The band was active from early 1990 until late 1993. The group is considered to be a very important band that helped define powerviolence with a style that incorporated political lyrics, blast beats, and quick tempos. They have been named as the "dark lords of powerviolence" by Beau Beasley of Insect Warfare.
World Downfall is the debut studio album by American grindcore band Terrorizer, released on November 13, 1989, through Earache Records. It was produced by David Vincent of Morbid Angel, who also performed bass on the album, and engineered by Scott Burns at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida.
Scattered, Smothered & Covered is Unsane's third studio album, released in 1995 through Amphetamine Reptile. The album is the first to feature bassist Dave Curran, who replaced founding member Pete Shore after he left the band in 1994. Two of the album's tracks, "Scrape" and "Alleged", had music videos produced for them. The music video for "Scrape", a compilation of skate board accident videos, was made for only $169 and was played heavily on MTV. The album was named in honor of Waffle House, a southern restaurant chain. One of Waffle House's advertising campaigns used the phrase "scattered, smothered and covered," a reference to hash browns ordered prepared with onions and cheese.
38 Counts of Battery is a compilation album by the grindcore band Pig Destroyer, which was released on November 28, 2000 through Relapse Records as part of their Underground series of albums and reissues. The recording collects nearly every release the band issued up to this point in time, including their debut Explosions in Ward 6 album, their splits with Orchid and Isis, and their 1997 demo tape.
Human = Garbage is the debut by the American band Dystopia, released originally as a 12-inch EP through Life is Abuse, Common Cause, and Misanthropic Records. The record was later reissued on CD format containing a set of bonus tracks taken from the band’s 1992 demo tape, when they were a 4-piece band. They recorded 7 songs in 1992 with Dan Kaufman as their lead vocalist, and titled it as “Live In The Studio Demo,” and released two versions of it with different artwork / design. As of 1994, Kaufman was no longer part of Dystopia, and so a 3-piece band they remained until they split.
Powerviolence is a chaotic and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical aspects of heavy metal, powerviolence is just an augmentation of the most challenging qualities of hardcore punk. Like its predecessors, it is usually socio-politically charged and iconoclastic.
Jouhou is the second studio album by grindcore band Discordance Axis, originally released on vinyl format in February 1997 through Devour Records in a limited edition of 4000. The 1998 compact disc edition of the album included tracks taken from splits. The album was re-released on CD by Hydra Head Records on January 27, 2004. The song "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" is named after the novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick.
Combatwoundedveteran was a grindcore/screamo band split between Ithaca, New York and Tampa, Florida. In their 7 years of existence they managed to put out several splits, including one with heavily influential screamo band Orchid, a 10" EP, one full-length album and a posthumous release that compiles nearly all their splits and early EPs. Though the band did not tour very often or put out many records their footprint is still visible in the screamo and powerviolence underground. The band was signed to famous Florida record label No Idea Records late in their career. Guitarist Chris Norris currently does graphic design under the name Steak Mtn. and has contributed artwork for releases by groups such as Atom And His Package, Orchid and Against Me!.
Tower Of Rome was a grindcore band from South Holland, Illinois, that first formed in 2002. After releasing a demo through the music sharing website HardcoreMP3.com, the band were signed onto Hewhocorrupts' label in June 2004 after meeting the group at a live show, who released their two albums All Is Lost...All Is Lost...All Is Yet To Be Found and World War 1. The group toured with Stand Before the Firing Squad across the United States in 2005, and they have also performed with acts such as Melt-Banana and Daughters. The group intended to tour Europe in the summer of 2006, however it was cancelled due to van failure.
Fixation on a Co-Worker is the only studio album by American metalcore band Deadguy, which was released on November 20, 1995 through Victory Records. The album is now considered to have played an important role in the development of the metalcore fusion genre and was included in Decibel Magazine's "Hall of Fame" list in 2006. It is the last recording by the group to feature vocalist Tim Singer and guitarist Keith Huckins.
Reversal of Man was a hardcore punk band from Tampa, Florida that formed in 1995. The band is associated with the late 1990s screamo movement and noted for bordering on powerviolence and grindcore. The group's lyrical content was often political, and the group initially formed as a reaction to the then-growing underground nazi punk scene in Florida.
Enemy Soil was an American grindcore band from Sterling, Virginia, first formed in 1991. The band played a style of grindcore that was influenced heavily by hardcore punk, and featured many line-up changes throughout its run, with frontman Richard Johnson acting as its core. Because the group initially was unable to find a suitable drummer, earlier Enemy Soil recordings featured a drum machine. The group's music was also politically-motivated early in their career, however later recordings instead featured introspective topics for lyrics.
No Good to Anyone is the eleventh studio album by American band Today Is the Day, released on February 28, 2020 through BMG and The End Records, the first recording by the group to be issued through a major label. The album went through a lengthy production process as a result of health complications frontman Steve Austin faced, and was released five years after the band's 2014 album Animal Mother, marking the longest gap between albums for the band. Jef Whitehead of black metal band Leviathan painted the cover artwork for the album.
