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Napalm Death
Biography
The fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death pushed the envelope of metal to new extremes of ear-splitting intensity, rejecting all notions of melody, subtlety, and good taste to forge a brand of sonic assault almost frightening in its merciless brutality. Formed in Ipswich, England, in 1982, the group trafficked in the usual heavy metal fare for the first few years of its existence, but by the middle of the decade they began to expand their horizons by incorporating elements of hardcore and thrash into the mix; ultimately, Napalm Death's sonic experiments evolved into a blistering mutation of metal which they dubbed grindcore, a kind of extremist noise attack characterized by incredibly brief song lengths, demonic vocals, and eye-opening sociopolitical lyrical commentary.

Building their reputation on a series of incendiary radio sessions and live dates, Napalm Death set about recording their debut LP, Scum, issued in 1987 on the Earache label. A series of lineup changes during production resulted in the record's two sides each containing almost completely different rosters: while the first half featured guitarist Justin Broadrick and vocalist/bassist Nick Bullen, the flipside presented new vocalist Lee Dorrian, guitarist Bill Steer, and bassist Jim Whitely; only drummer Mick Harris played on every track.
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