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.
Hardcore punk is a punk rock subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
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.
Crust punk is a subgenre of punk rock influenced by the English punk scene as well as extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills. The term "crust" was coined by Hellbastard on their 1986 Ripper Crust demo.
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.
Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.
Deathwish Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was Deeper the Wound, a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. Deathwish established itself quickly, working with a diverse group of bands and eventually becoming one of the most respected and innovative labels in contemporary hardcore punk and aggressive music in general.
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.
Gorerotted were an English deathgrind band formed in 1997 that disbanded in January 2008 and reformed with new members as The Rotted. Gorerotted's lyrics and song titles were largely inspired by horror films and serial killers. The band's song titles often incorporated humorous rhymes or puns such as "Cut, Gut, Beaten, Eaten", "Put Your Bits in a Concrete Mix", and "Only Tools and Corpses", a pun on the popular British sitcom Only Fools and Horses, the latter beginning with a similar introductory drumbeat to the sitcom's theme music.
Sleepwell Deconstructor is the first album by Trap Them, released on April 3, 2007 on Trash Art!. Like the last recorded output from core members Ryan McKenney and Brian Izzi, Backstabbers Inc's Kamikaze Missions (2003), Sleepwell Deconstructor is produced by Kurt Ballou. Illustration and design by Justin Bartlett.
Séance Prime is Trap Them's Deathwish Inc. debut, released on October 30, 2007, making it their third release of the year. Like Sleepwell Deconstructor, Séance Prime was produced by Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios. Described as "a tornado of D-Beat hooks, frantic bursts of speed, and earth shaking dirges" this album has been critically called their heaviest release to date.
Heresy were a hardcore punk band from Nottingham, England, formed in 1985 and active until late 1989. They released three albums and recorded three sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show.
Seizures in Barren Praise is the second full-length album by extreme metal band, Trap Them. It was released on November 11, 2008. It continues the days in a now non-linear fashion in the fictional area of Barren Praise.
Backstabbers Incorporated were an American hardcore/metal band based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Darker Handcraft is the third studio album by the American grindcore band Trap Them. The album was first released in a vinyl LP format on March 1, 2011 and on CD and digital formats two weeks later on March 15, 2011 through Prosthetic Records. It's also the group's first release through Prosthetic after announcing their departure from Deathwish Inc. in 2009. Darker Handcraft was produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge.
Victims were a Swedish hardcore punk band, originally hailing from Nyköping, at the end of their career they were based in Stockholm. The final line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bass player Johan Eriksson, drummer Andy Henriksson, guitar player, vocalist Jon Lindqvist and guitar player Gareth Smith.
Blissfucker is the fourth studio album by the American grindcore/crust punk band Trap Them. It was released on June 10, 2014. It is the first album to feature their new bassist, Galen Baudhuin, and drummer Brad Fickeisen. Like their 2011 release, Darker Handcraft, it was released on Prosthetic Records. At 5:30 of the track "Let Fall Each and Every Sedition Symptom," is a hidden track, a re-recording of "Insomniawesome," from their first album, Sleepwell Deconstructor.
Crown Feral is the fifth and final studio album by the American grindcore band Trap Them. It was released in 2016 through Prosthetic Records.
Septic Tank are a British punk rock band formed out of Coventry doom metal band Cathedral. The band was originally formed in 1994, while Cathedral were on tour, and later reformed in 2013 after Cathedral's breakup. Once the band reunited, producer and former member of the UK band Trouble, Jaime "Gomez" Arellano, replaced drummer Barry Stern, due to his death in 2005. The band have currently released one self-titled EP and one full-length album, entitled "Rotting Civilisation".
Hardcore punk in the United Kingdom began in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the second wave of punk rock in the country. The scene produced many successful and influential hardcore punk bands throughout the 1980s such as Discharge, GBH and the Exploited and led to the pioneering of genres such as grindcore, street punk, crust punk and D-beat.
