Grindcore

rindcore

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For the fictional Transformers character, see Grindcore (Transformers).

Grindcore

Stylistic origins Extreme metal, hardcore punk, noise music, industrial music

Cultural origins Mid 1980s, England

Typical instruments Electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals

Derivative forms Mathcore

Subgenres

Goregrind, pornogrind, cybergrind

Fusion genres

Deathgrind

Other topics

Powerviolence

Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that originated in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive-sounding music genres – including extreme metal, industrial music, noise music and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk. Grindcore is characterized by a noise-filled sound that uses heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls 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.

A trait of grindcore is the "microsong". Several bands have produced songs that are only seconds in length.[1] British band Napalm Death holds the Guinness World Record for shortest song ever recorded with the one-second "You Suffer" (1987). Many bands record simple phrases that may be rhythmically sprawled out across an instrumental lasting only a couple of bars in length.

A variety of "microgenres" have subsequently emerged, often labeling bands according to traits that deviate from regular grindcore, including goregrind, focused on themes of gore, and pornogrind, fixated on pornographic lyrical themes. Other offshoots include noisegrind (especially raw and chaotic) and electrogrind (incorporating electronic elements such as programmed drums). Although an influential phenomenon on hardcore punk and other popular genres, grindcore itself remains an underground form of music.

Contents [hide]

1 Characteristics

1.1 Blast beat

1.2 Lyrical themes

2 History

2.1 Precursors

2.2 British grindcore

2.3 North American grindcore

2.4 Continental European grindcore

3 Influence on other genres

3.1 Powerviolence

3.2 Industrial and electronic music

3.3 Metalcore

4 See also

5 Notes

6 References

Characteristics[edit]

Grindcore relies on standard hardcore punk and heavy metal instrumentation: electric guitar, bass and drums.[2] However, grindcore alters the usual practices of metal or rock music in regard to song structure and tone.[2] The vocal style is "ranging from high-pitched shrieks to low, throat-shredding growls and barks."[2] In some cases, no clear lyrics exist. Vocals may be used as merely an added sound effect, a common practice with bands such as the experimental Naked City.

A characteristic of some grindcore songs is the "microsong", lasting only a few seconds. In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Brutal Truth the record for "Shortest Music Video" for 1994's "Collateral Damage" (the song lasts four seconds). In 2007, the video for the Napalm Death song "You Suffer" set a new "Shortest Music Video" record: 1.3 seconds.[3] Beyond the microsong, it is characteristic of grindcore to have short songs in general; for example, Carcass' debut album Reek of Putrefaction (1988) consists of 22 tracks with an average length of 1 minute and 48 seconds.

Many grindcore groups experiment with down-tuned guitars. While the vinyl A-side of Napalm Death's debut, 1987's Scum, is set to standard tuning, on side B, the guitars are tuned down 2½ steps. Their second album From Enslavement to Obliteration and the Mentally Murdered EP were tuned to C♯. Harmony Corruption, their third full-length album, was tuned up to a D. Bolt Thrower went further, dropping 3½ steps down (A).[4] Bass is tuned low as well, and is often distorted.

Blast beat[edit]

Main article: Blast beat

An example of a blast beat

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A blast beat played at tempos of 124, 160, 200 and 240 BPM, respectively.

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The blast beat is a drum beat characteristic of grindcore in all its forms,[5] although its usage predates the genre itself. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the kick drum, snare and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal."[5] Blast beats have been described as "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence."[6] Napalm Death coined the term,[6] though this style of drumming had previously been practiced by others. Daniel Ekeroth argues that the blast beat was first performed by the Swedish D-beat group Asocial on their 1982 demo.[7] D.R.I. ("No Sense"),[5] S.O.D. ("Milk"),[8] Sarcófago ("Satanas"),[9] Sepultura ("Antichrist"),[10] and Repulsion[11] also included the technique prior to Napalm Death's emergence.

Lyrical themes[edit]

Grindcore lyrics are typically provocative. A number of grindcore musicians are committed to political and ethical causes.[12] For example, Napalm Death's songs address a variety of anarchist concerns, in the tradition of anarcho-punk. These themes include anti-racism, feminism, anti-militarism, and anti-capitalism. Other grindcore groups, such as Cattle Decapitation and Carcass, have expressed disgust with human behavior, animal abuse, and are, in some cases, vegetarians.[13] Carcass' work in particular is often identified as the origin of the goregrind style, which is devoted to "bodily" themes.[14] Groups that shift their bodily focus to sexual matters, such as Gut and the Meat Shits, are sometimes referred to as pornogrind.[15] Seth Putnam's lyrics are notorious for their black comedy,[16] while The Locust tend toward satirical collage, indebted to William S. Burroughs' cut-up method.[17]

History[edit]

Precursors[edit]

The early grindcore scene relied on an international network of tape trading and DIY production.[18] The most widely acknowledged precursors of the grindcore sound are Siege,[19] a hardcore punk group, and Repulsion, an early death metal outfit.[11] Siege, from Weymouth, Massachusetts, were influenced by classic American hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag, Void) and by British groups like Discharge, Venom, and Motörhead.[20] Siege's goal was maximum velocity: "We would listen to the fastest punk and hardcore bands we could find and say, 'Okay, we're gonna deliberately write something that is faster than them'", drummer Robert Williams recalled.[20]

Repulsion, from Flint, Michigan, cited street punk groups like Discharge and Charged GBH, crossover thrash such as Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and Corrosion of Conformity, thrash metal like Slayer, Metallica, Celtic Frost,[verification needed] Sodom, and Venom, and death metal (Possessed), hardcore punk, like Black Flag, and older hard rock, as inspirational.[11] The group is often credited with inventing the classic grind blast beat (played at 190 bpm), as well as its distinctive bass tone.[11] Shane Embury, in particular, advocates the band as the origin of Napalm Death's later innovations.[11] Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth declares that "Horrified was and still is the defining core of what grind became; a perfect mix of hardcore punk with metallic gore, speed and distortion."[21]

Other groups in the British grindcore scene, such as Heresy and Unseen Terror, have emphasized the influence of American hardcore punk, including Septic Death, as well as Swedish D-beat.[22] Sore Throat cites Discharge, Disorder, and a variety of European D-beat and thrash metal groups, including Hellhammer,[23] and American hardcore groups, such as Poison Idea and DRI.[23] Japanese hardcore, particularly GISM, is also mentioned by a number of originators of the style.[24] Other key groups cited by current and former members of Napalm Death as formative influences include Discharge,[25] Amebix,[26] Throbbing Gristle,[27] and the aforementioned Dirty Rotten Imbeciles.[27] Post-punk, such as Killing Joke[25] and Joy Division,[28] was also cited as an influence on early Napalm Death.

British grindcore[edit]

Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death in a 2007 show.

External video

Napalm Death live in Germany, 1987, from YouTube, authorized by Earache Records.

Grindcore, as such, was developed during the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom by Napalm Death, a group who emerged from the anarcho-punk scene in Birmingham, England.[29] While their first recordings were in the vein of Crass,[29] they eventually became associated with crust punk.[30] The group began to take on increasing elements of thrashcore, post-punk, and power electronics.[31] The group also went through many changes in personnel.[32] A major shift in style took place after Mick Harris became the group's drummer.[32] Punk historian Ian Glasper indicates that "For several months gob-smacked audiences weren't sure whether Napalm Death were actually a serious band any longer, such was the undeniable novelty of their hyper-speed new drummer."[32] Albert

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