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Napalm Death

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Napalm Death

Napalm Death are a grindcore/death metal band from Birmingham, England. The band were formed in the village of Meriden near Birmingham, England in 1981 by Nicholas Bullen and Miles Ratledge.

Although other groups had previously played fast and aggressive music, Napalm Death are credited with defining the Grindcore genre (a fusion of thrash metal and hardcore / thrash punk) through their blend of hardcore punk and metal musical structures, aggressive playing, fast tempos, and deep guttural vocals. The group coined the term 'Grind' to describe the music they played with particular reference to the sound of American post-punk group Swans.

There are no original members left in the band. The early history of the band is one of constant member rotation: the group did not contain any original members by the time of the recording of the second side of their debut album Scum in 1987. Napalm Death are listed by Nielsen Soundscan as the seventh best-selling death metal band of all time[1].

Biography

Early history 1982-1986

Napalm Death were formed in the village of Meriden near Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, in December 1981 by Nic Bullen and Miles Ratledge while the duo were still in their early teenage years. The duo had been playing in amateur bands since 1980 as an extension of their fanzine writing, and went through many names (including "Civil Defence", "The Mess", "Evasion" and "Undead Hatred") before choosing Napalm Death at the beginning of 1982.

The original line-up of the group consisted of Nicholas Bullen on vocals and bass, Simon Oppenheimer on guitar, and Miles Ratledge on drums, and lasted from December 1981 to January 1982. Graham Robertson joined on bass in January 1982.

The band were initially inspired by the early wave of punk bands, particularly the Anarcho-punk movement (a sub-genre of punk music focused on anarchist politics) and groups within that genre such as Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Rudimentary Peni, The Apostles, The Rondos and The Ex.

The group played their first concert on July 25 1982 at Atherstone Miners Club, Warwickshire (with Bible of Sins, Corrupt Youth, Hiroshima and Society’s Victims).

Simon Oppenheimer left the group in August 1982 and was replaced by Darryl Fedeski. Darryl left the group in October 1982. Graham Robertson began to play guitar and Finbarr Quinn (ex- Curfew) joined on bass and backing vocals.

The group played concerts throughout 1982 and 1983 (sharing billing with Anarcho-punk groups such as Amebix, The Apostles and Antisect), and made 4 demo recordings in 1982 and 1983, one of which contributed their first released recording to the Bullshit Detector Volume 3 compilation released by Crass Records in 1984.

The band entered a period of hiatus from the end of 1983 onwards, playing only one concert in 1984 (a benefit for the Miners' Strike which was occurring at the time in Britain) with additional vocalist Marian Williams (ex-Relevant POS, and sister of the drummer of the group Human Cabbages from Coventry, UK). During this period, Nic Bullen met Justin Broadrick, a guitarist from Birmingham with whom he shared an interest in the music of bands such as Killing Joke, Throbbing Gristle, Crass, Amebix, Swans, and the developing Power Electronics scene. Bullen joined Broadrick's Final" project for a period in 1983.

In July 1985, Napalm Death briefly reformed to play at the last concert by Final in a 4-piece line-up of Miles Ratledge - drums, Bullen - vocals, bass and guitar, Robertson - guitar and bass, and Damien Errington - guitar.

After this concert, Miles Ratledge and Bullen asked Broadrick to join Napalm Death as guitarist, with Bullen as vocalist and bassplayer. The band began to develop a musical style which blended elements of Post Punk (particularly Killing Joke and Amebix), heavy Punk in the vein of Discharge, and Thrash Metal (with particular reference to Possessed and Celtic Frost).

The group played their first concert as a trio on 31 August 1985 (playing 2 concerts on the same day: Telford with Chumbawamba and Blyth Power, and Birmingham with We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It), and began to play regularly in the Birmingham area (particularly at The Mermaid public house in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham) with a wide range of musicians including Icons of Filth, Concrete Sox, The Varukers, Decadence Within, and The Groundhogs.

In September 1985, Peter Shaw (ex-Autism) joined on bass. The 4-piece line-up recorded Hatred Surge (the band's 5th demo recording) on 23 October 1985 which the band made available at their concerts and by mail.

Following the recording of the demo, Bullen and Broadrick wished to extend their exploration of a more extreme musical style which created a split in the group with Ratledge: as a result, the group splintered and Mick Harris(a local fan) was asked to join as drummer in December 1985.

The trio - Bullen on vocals and bass, Broadrick on guitar and Harris on drums - made their first performance on 15 December 1985 and went on to play many concerts in 1986, predominantly in the Birmingham area, with musicians such as Amebix, Antisect, Chaos UK, Varukers, Disorder and Dirge. The group recorded the "From Enslavement to Obliteration" 6th demo recording on 15 March 1986 which the group made available at their concerts and through mail, before recording a demo tape provisionally intended to form part of a split LP with the English hardcore thrash band Atavistic on Manic Ears records: this recording later became the first side of the band's debut album Scum in 1986.

Fake cover for the Hatred Surge demo recording from 1985. From left-right: Justin Broadrick, Nicholas Bullen, Mick Harris

The band then faced a number of line-up changes. Nic Bullen was becoming frustrated with the musical direction of the group (which was moving towards an American Death Metal influenced musical style), and began to lose interest: as a result, Jim Whiteley was asked to join as bass player. The band played a number of concerts as a four-piece before Justin Broadrick left the group to play the drums for local band Head of David. The group attempted to find a new guitarist by asking Shane Embury (ex-Unseen Terror and a fan of the group) to join and giving a trial period to Frank Healy (ex-Annihilator, later of Cerebral Fix and Sacrilege) who the group had known since sharing concerts with his band Annihilator in early 1986. After Broadrick's departure, Nic Bullen's dissatisfaction with the musical direction of the group led him to leave the group in December 1986 in order to focus on his studies in English Literature and Philosophy at university.

1987-1989

With the departure of Broadrick and Bullen, the band had to look for new members. Guitarist Bill Steer played in a band based in Liverpool, called Carcass and given the affinity between the bands, he joined Napalm Death while still playing an active role in Carcass. The band asked a friend (Lee Dorrian) to join as vocalist due to his good relationship with the band (he had organised a number of concerts for the band), even though he had never been in a band before. With this line-up they recorded what was to become the B side of Scum in the Rich Bitch studios in May 1987. The result was finally released through Earache. This classic attempt against perceived logical musical structure features seminal Grindcore classics such as "Dragnet", "Control", and "You Suffer".

The band promptly lost another member just before they undertook a short tour after the release of Scum : Jim Whitely left and Shane Embury (former drummer of Unseen Terror) joined on bass. The band then appeared on two compilation records (North atlantic noise attack and the Pathological), recorded two Peel sessions and a Split 7" with Japanese grinders S.O.B.. They also returned to Rich Bitch studio once more and recorded their second album: From Enslavement to Obliteration.

Very much in the same vein of the second half of Scum, From Enslavement to Obliteration differs only as far as production goes. Following the release, Napalm Death had a participation on BBC's Arena Heavy Metal Special, which proved how successful the band could be. The band went on touring around the world for a while, but as soon as they came back home from Japan, in July 1989, Steer and Dorrian left the band: Steer decided to dedicate himself full-time to Carcass, while Dorrian formed the doom metal outfit Cathedral. Soon enough the remaining members contacted Jesse Pintado (ex-Terrorizer). A new singer, Mark "Barney" Greenway, who sung in the death metal act Benediction was also called, and immediately joined.

After recruiting new members, the band took part of the Grindcrusher tour, with fellow labelmates Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel. After the touring, they called in a second guitarist, Mitch Harris (ex-Righteous Pigs), and soon started writing new songs with this line-up. They went to the American death metal producer Scott Burns who lives and works in Florida and records mostly in the Morrisound Recording studio.

1990-1994

In Florida, they started working on their next album, Harmony Corruption. While writing Harmony Corruption they changed their style a little, from grindcore, to a mix of blast beats and some slower, more rhythmic parts. In addition, death metal was a major influence on Harmony Corruption, more so than their previous records. After releasing the new record, they went on touring around the world and from the material filmed at those concerts they released a home-video, Live Corruption.

Drummer Mick Harris eventually left Napalm Death because of conflicts regarding their musical style. Danny Herrera, a close friend to Jesse Pintado, was brought in to replace Mick. Napalm Death released a new record, Utopia Banished. Now working with producer Colin Richardson. This release was a kind of "return to the roots" - grindcore. After recording The World Keeps Turning EP, the band toured Europe with Dismember and Obituary on the "Campaign for Musical Destruction" tour. The tour continued in the US, where Napalm Death played with Cathedral, Carcass and Brutal Truth. The proceeds of Napalm Death's 1993 EP Nazi Punks Fuck Off were donated to anti-fascist organisations.

The band remixed the track "Mind Of A Razor" by London based hip hop crew Gunshot. The remixed version of the track appeared on the EP of the same name in 1992. Thereafter, they went to the studio and recorded Fear, Emptiness, Despair. Although it was still as heavy and aggressive as ever, the new record took a different direction and sounded more experimental; they added more rhythmic riffs, an industrial-like structure, and then added grindcore blast beats. Live concerts with Entombed, Obituary and Machine Head showed the audience how violent and aggressive the new Napalm Death sound was. They continued with the experimentation through the rest of the 1990s.

1995-2004

The Greed Killing EP was the next release from the band, through Earache. After the preview with the EP, Diatribes, a full-length album was released. Although things seemed to be going smoothly from outside, they were going through problems. Misunderstanding rose between the members and singer Greenway was expelled from the band in late/mid 1996. Greenway went to record with Extreme Noise Terror (the ENT release Damage 381 features Barney on lead vocals) and ENT's main singer Phil Vane went to fill vocals slot in Napalm Death. Things did not go as well as they were supposed to, and Vane was kicked out of the band just before they got into the studio to record the new album. And so Greenway returned to Napalm Death.

The next albums Inside the Torn Apart and Words from the Exit Wound continued with the experimentation but displayed more signs of grindcore, notably faster tempos than the last two albums. This return was completed with the release of Enemy of the Music Business. It shows their anger with the music industry and especially with Earache. Order of the Leech continued where their previous album ended and can be seen as even more faster and aggressive.

In 2004, they recorded a covers album called Leaders Not Followers: Part 2, the sequel to their earlier covers EP. It contains covers of old hardcore punk and heavy metal bands, including Cryptic Slaughter, Massacre, Kreator, Sepultura, Siege and Discharge. Due to personal problems, Jesse Pintado did not play on either Order of the Leech or Leaders Not Followers: Part 2, and left the band in early 2004. Nevertheless Pintado stated that he left because he grew tired of Napalm Death and wanted to start something new. The two guitars that you hear is Mitch over-dubbing.

2005 onwards

In April 2005, their next album The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code was released. It features guest appearances from Jeffrey Walker (formerly of Carcass), Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed vocalist) and Jello Biafra (formerly of Dead Kennedys, and Lard among many other bands). The album continues the band's progressive approach to their brutal brand of extreme metal, with their trademark grindcore sound retained.

Napalm Death finished recording their new album titled Smear Campaign in June 2006; released on September 15, 2006 to very strong reviews from fans and critics alike. The main lyrical focus is criticism of the United States Government and other governments who are strongly religious. The album features a guest appearance by Anneke van Giersbergen, vocalist for the Dutch rock band The Gathering. There is a limited edition digipak version of Smear Campaign, which has two new songs, "Call That an Option?" and "Atheist Runt".

In early 2006 Napalm Death headlined a tour with Kreator, A Perfect Murder, and The Undying. On August 27, 2006, Jesse Pintado died in a hospital in the Netherlands due to liver failure, prompting Mitch Harris to express his sadness at the loss of someone he thought of as "a brother" on the band's official website. After the Smear Campaign tour, the band did a 2007 "World Domination Tour". Bassist Shane Embury is currently working on a project with Mick Kenney of Anaal Nathrakh, their work together will be released on Feto Records at the end of 2007.

Members

Current lineup

Past members

Vocals

Guitar

Bass

Drums

Subsequent activities

Members of Napalm Death have moved on to form bands such as Carcass, Godflesh, Cathedral, Scorn, Jesu and Black Galaxy.
Additionally, band members have formed numerous side projects, including Lull, Painkiller, Brujeria, Lock Up, Meathook Seed, Defecation, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine and Venomous Concept.

Discography

Main article: Napalm Death discography

Pop culture references

Dream Theater singer James LaBrie wears a Napalm Death t-shirt in their "Pull Me Under" music video. 'Unfit Earth' from Harmony Corruption was used on the Vic and Bob pilot sitcom The Weekenders. The character Sol Badguy's (from Guilty Gear) Instant Kill move is called Napalm Death. In the children's film Matilda, Matilda's brother Mikey is wearing a Napalm Death t-shirt in the scene where the TV blows up. In David Firth's Burnt Face Man series of cartoons, the character Anger Man is seen wearing a Napalm Death t-shirt. Bill Steer appeared in Red Dwarf series 3 - ep. 'Timeslides' as the drummer in character Dave Lister's band Smeg and the Heads. Jeff Walker from Carcass played the bassist. Hard Rock band System of a Down gave thanks to Napalm Death in the booklet for their self titled album. In the computer game SSX Tricky, it is stated that the character, Psymon Stark's, favorite band is Napalm Death.

References

  1. ^ [1]
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