Grindcore

WARNING: Before proceeding to read this blog post, beware that this week we will be talking about one of the most extreme subgenres of heavy metal. If your mind can’t wrap itself around the idea of music metaphorically ripping off your limbs or stabbing your eyes out, please don’t read this entry and continue on with your weak and pathetic life. However, if you are daring enough to keep reading, then prepare to become absorbed in my discussion of one of the most brutal subgenres around: grindcore! 

Grindcore is essentially a complex mixture of death metal, industrial metal, noise rock and hardcore punk. Musically speaking, guitars are usually down-tuned and heavily distorted. Basses are down-tuned as well. The drumming of grindcore frequently involves blast beats and is very rapid. Grindcore in general makes use of fast tempos in order to emphasize its aggressive nature. 

The vocals of grindcore almost always consist of deep, incomprehensible growling (which in many cases sounds more like barking), as well as intense shrieking. Vocals in grindcore are often used more as a sound effect than they are to carry a melody or rhythm. Lyrically, grindcore is often politically motivated, but sometimes the subgenre meddles with gory themes. There are a few grindcore acts that also have more comedic lyrics, along the lines of black humor and satire.

Grindcore is notable for having short song lengths. The specific term to describe these songs is “microsong.” Many grindcore albums will have a large amount of tracks because each microsong is so short. 

The origins of grindcore music can be traced back to the UK with the group Napalm Death. Initially, the group was associated with the crust punk music scene, but when blips of thrash metal and industrial metal started to appear in its music, the band adapted to the new style and began to call it grindcore. Upon pioneering this style of music, Napalm Death received universal critical acclaim. With its invention of the subgenre, Napalm Death has influenced a countless number of metal acts, and the band still contains a strong, passionate and devoted underground following today.

Last week we talked about the British band Carcass, who helped to pioneer melodic death metal with the album Heartwork. Before Heartwork was released Carcass was a significant grindcore act. The band's 1988 debut album, Reek of Putrefaction, was an aggressive grindcore record. With each later release, Carcass began to incorporate more elements of death metal until the band finally made the switch to melodic death metal with Heartwork. 

Outside of the UK, other metal groups started to play grindcore, too. In the United States, bands such as Anal Cunt, Brutal Truth and Pig Destroyer rose to prominence in the 1990s. Meanwhile, grindcore also started to spread through the rest of Europe, with the most successful of these acts being Sweden’s Nasum. Overall, the most popular grindcore bands are definitely British groups.

Today, grindcore is still a very popular underground genre, though not as many new grindcore acts have been sprouting up and achieving prominence in the last decade. Still, groups such as Napalm Death and Carcass continue to have devoted followings and grindcore is alive and well today.