Grindcore is an extreme form of
Heavy Metal related to
Death Metal, but historically formed by combining elements of early
Thrash Metal (which predated the advent of
Death Metal) and
Hardcore Punk.
Historical roots and influences
The genre was pioneered during the early 1980s in the United States by proto-grindcore and
hardcore punk bands such as
Siege,
DRI, and Repulsion; and in the
United Kingdom by bands such as Sore Throat and
Napalm Death.
Many of the early bands, such as Napalm Death, DRI, and Siege were seen by their contemporaries as part of the
anarcho-punk and
hardcore punk scenes. As many
anarcho-punk and
peace punk bands in England and
hardcore in the United States had already incorporated elements of
heavy metal into their music.
Many of these early bands were, and still are, obscure. For instance, the hardcore punk band
Siege only released a
DIY demo entitled
Drop Dead, and Repulsion was posthumously exposed to the world in 1989 through the album
Horrified which was released in
Europe by Necrosis Records, a label owned by members of
Carcass.
Many consider the first true grindcore band to be British band
Napalm Death. The genre was given its name by Napalm Death's drummer
Mick Harris. Since then, the grind sound has evolved but is still recognisable for its intense
blast-beat drumming, grinding guitars (hence the name), brutal
grunted vocals, and very short songs (the Napalm Death song "You Suffer" is listed as the shortest song ever by the
Guinness Book of Records, clocking in at fractionally over 1 second long; however, others such as the Cripple Bastards on their demo
94 Flashback di Massacro, and
Agoraphobic Nosebleed on their 3" cd/10" lp
Altered States of America have taken this aesthetic to even greater extremes). American grindcore band
Anal Cunt, a project of
Seth Putnam, has recorded an EP called 5643 Song EP which, amazingly, contains 5643 songs in less than 15 minutes.......
