Napalm Death

Napalm Death is a Birmingham, England grindcore band considered the founders of the genre. Grindcore was a new musical movement in the 1980s that fused elements of metal and punk and has continued into the present. Napalm Death is known for fierce and acidic short songs. One early track “You Suffer” clocks in at just longer than a second and was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. The band dabbled with death metal throughout the 1990s before returning to their grind roots, albeit with a more experimental flavor.

Vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway is a longtime advocate of progressive causes. Napalm Death is also known for incubating metal musicians that later started influential bands; vocalist Lee Dorrian founded Cathedral and guitarist Bill Steer left Napalm for Carcass.

Napalm Death formed in 1981. Early lineups changed frequently but the band nonetheless recorded the landmark album Scum. Shane Embury, who anchored Napalm in the ensuing years, joined the band in time for From Enslavement to Obliteration, which was even faster and more aggressive than its predecessor. New vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway joined Napalm for Harmony Corruption, which featured much stronger death metal influences than first two albums. Original drummer Mick Harris would soon leave Napalm.

Napalm continued down this new musical path throughout much of the 1990s with albums like Utopia Banished and Words from the Exit Wound. The band toured widely in the United States and elsewhere with both metal and hardcore bands like Sick of It All. The lineup of Greenway, Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera gelled. The quartet has stuck with Napalm since 1990, although Greenway briefly departed in the late 1990s. Guitarist Jessie Pintado played with Napalm until 2004 when he left to restart his early band Terrorizer. Pintado died of liver failure in 2006.

Napalm split with longtime label Earache before starting the 21st century with Enemy of the Music Business, which began a string of recordings that reverted to their grindcore roots while showcasing sophisticated underlying melodies. Highlights of the decade include the politically charged 2005 broadside The Code is Red-Long Live the Code, and the following album Smear Campaign. Despite their long career Napalm Death has showed no signs of slowing down.

Mark "Barney" Greenway – Vocals
Mitch Harris-Guitar
Shane Embury-Bass
Danny Herrera - Drums

Nicholas Bullen-Vocals (1981–1986)
Marian Williams – Vocals (1984)
Lee Dorrian - Vocals (1987–1989)
Phil Vane – Vocals (1996–1997)
Simon Oppenheimer-Guitars - (1981-1982)
Daryl 'Sid' Fideski-Guitars - (1982)
Graham "Robbo" Robertson-Guitars - (1983–1985)
Damien Errington – Guitars (1985)
Justin Broadrick -Guitars (1985–1986)
Frank Healy - Guitars (1987)
Bill Steer -Guitars (1987–1989)
Jesse Pintado – Guitars (1989-2004)
Finbar Quinn-Bass (1983–1984)
Peter Shaw-Bass (1985)
Jim Whiteley - Bass (1986–1987)
Miles Ratledge – Drums (1981–1985)
Mick Harris - Drums (1985–1991)

1987 Scum (Earache)
1988 From Enslavement to Obliteration (Earache)
1990 Harmony Corruption (Earache)
1992 Utopia Banished (Earache)
1994 Fear, Emptiness, Despair (Earache)
1996 Diatribes (Earache)
1997 Inside the Torn Apart (Earache)
1998 Words from the Exit Wound (Earache)
2000 Enemy of the Music Business (Spitfire)
2002 Order of the Leech (Century Media)
2005 The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code (Century Media)
2006 Smear Campaign (Century Media)
2009 Time Waits for No Slave (Century Media)

Scum
My personal favorite is the bands sophomore effort From Enslavement to Obliteration. But opening salvo Scum should be part of your musical education whether you are a metal fan or not. Napalm’s catalog is packed with memorable albums and the band’s 21st century output has been nearly as strong as their early work. But since Scum influenced so much of what happened later in extreme metal it gets the nod. It’s a metal cornerstone like Black Sabbath’s first album, Celtic Frost’s To Mega Therion and Possessed’s Seven Churches.