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Napalm Death
Napalm Death

When Black Sabbath roared out of Birmingham in 1970, they were the heaviest thing on earth, taking the blues and making it louder, heavier and darker than anyone had ever heard before. 17 years later, Napalm Death did a similar thing, although rather than blues, it was punk that the youthful Napalm Death made louder, heavier and darker. And about a thousand times faster to boot. This was Scum, the first, and - since nobody's ever matched it for speed-soaked fury - the last word in grindcore. The speed was incredible, making even the likes of Slayer sound sluggish. But it wasn't just speed for speed's sake (well, not entirely), it was the sound of political upheaval, of people severely pissed off with the hand they'd been dealt by The Man. Sabbath were the sound of industrial Birmingham, Napalm Death were the sound of unemployed Birmingham yelling at the Thatcher government. As time went on, the music began to mature beyond minute-long bursts of bile, into a more technical, death metal area on 1990's Harmony Corruption and 1992's Utopia Banished. But no matter where the music went, or indeed, the lineup, currently featuring not a single member from the Scum-era, the beating heart of Napalm Death has always been one that kicks against the pricks. Long may they continue.

Scum
Name: Scum Label: EARACHE Year: 1987
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Review: The lineup on Scum was so shaky that only drummer Mick Harris makes it onto both side A and B, but from the doom-laden intro of Multinational Corporations to the furious Instinct Of Survival, Life? and the sub-one second blast of You Suffer, the fury that rages through Scum is chilling, a stiff middle finger at corruption, injustice, racism, capitalism... basically anything where someone gets the shitty end of a stick. The only sad thing is that the message remains as necessary twenty one years on as it did in the '80s.

Utopia Banished
Name: Utopia Banished Label: EARACHE Year: 1992
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Review: Less of a blur than Scum or From Enslavement To Obliteration, Utopia Banished took the death metal leanings of Harmony Corruption, and balanced just the right amount of punk bile that resulted in a record that's as musically advanced as it is delivered with all the grace and manners of a bar fight. Perfect.

The Code is Red...
Name: The Code is Red... Label: CENTURY MEDIA Year: 2005
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Review: That Napalm Death can still make a racket as furious and energised as Scum was is admirable. Years at the mill haven't dulled them, and with a few musical flourishes to keep things interesting, age has not mellowed Napalm Death one bit.

Fear, Emptiness, Despair
Name: Fear, Emptiness, Despair Label: EARACHE Year: 1994
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Review: A more groovy proposition that any of their previous offerings, FED forsook breakneck speed in favour of a bit more chug. But if speed was a side order this time around, heaviness and intensity were still very much the main course.

Words from the Exit Wound
Name: Words from the Exit Wound Label: EARACHE Year: 1998
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Review: Moving away from grindcore again, this isn't exactly a duffer, but considering how much musical damage Napalm Death are capable of, it's easily their least essential record. They must have relised this too, and their next album, Enemy Of The Music Business, was a return to speed and making you want to run around like your pants were on fire.

    Key Napalm Death Tracks
  • BREED TO BREATHE

    Again with a surprising catchiness, this proves that you can be heavy and have hooks. Although it's the sort of hook you more often get from Mike Tyson's right hand.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Inside The Torn Apart', 1997.
  • CAN'T PLAY, WON'T PAY

    Railing against the greedy gits at the top of the music business, here we see Barney Greenway venting his grievance with particular bluntness, "Get this prick away from me..."

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Enemy Of The Music Business', 2000.
  • FROM ENSLAVEMENT TO OBLITERATION

    It takes all of 90-seconds for Napalm Death to get their point across about the evils of capitalism. Which is impressive given how bloody fast then vocalist Lee Dorrian would roar, reducing entire lines to one syllable.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'From Enslavement To Obliteration', 1989.
  • I ABSTAIN

    After yelling at capitalism, Napalm Death turn their attention to yelling at blind patriotism. And they yell bloody loud.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Utopia Banished', 1992.
  • NAZI PUNKS FUCK OFF

    The only words discernible in this Dead Kennedy's classic is the cries of 'Fuck off!', but they're the only two that really matter in this instance.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off EP', 1994.
  • SCUM

    That's FAST, ok?

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Scum', 1987.
  • SIEGE OF POWER

    A redone version of a relatively epic track from Scum, hhere we see that Napalm can do really chugging, as well as really fast.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Death By Manipulation', 1991.
  • SILENCE IS DEAFENING

    Featuring some musical craftiness among their usual toolbox of blunt instruments, silence may well be deafening, but it's nothing compared to Barney Greenway's colossal bark.

    Find on iTunes Find It: The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code', 2005.
  • SINK FAST, LET GO

    Older and wiser they may be, but age hasn't mellowed Napalm Death. Or seen them run out of stuff to yell angrily about.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Smear Campaign', 2006.
  • SMEAR CAMPAIGN

    Slow and creepy, rather than fast and smashy, once again, Napalm find another vehicle for spreading the message.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Smear Campaign', 2006.
  • SUFFER THE CHILDREN

    Good lord, it's almost catchy! Although that's not at the expense of the trademark riffs, and supreme heaviness.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Harmony Corruption', 1990.
  • THE GREAT AND THE GOOD

    Jello Biafra pops up to lend his distinctive voice to this swipe at them-at-the-top. And, thus, it's another punk-metal-speed-fury mashup that's truly ace.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code', 2005.
  • THE ICING ON THE HATE

    Again, brutality is here, but underneath the raging invective lies some of ND's most thought provoking lyrics. You'd need the lyric sheed to understand them, mind.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Order Of The Leech', 2002.
  • THE KILL

    Over by the time you've attuned yourself to its whirlwind of noise, this is 20-odd seconds of everything you want from Napalm Death.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Scum', 1987.
  • THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING

    Branding humanity "a superior race with inferior ideas", this isn't a barrel of laughs, but it's enough to make you think, and become one of Napalm's most recent classics

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Utopia Banished', 1992.
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