NAPALM DEATH "Scum"

(Earache Records) MOSH 3
Release date: 1987
Running time: 34:34

Review: The most influencial grindcore band of all time. They took hardcore, thrash and death and made it the most extreme they could; Short songs, basic riffs, growling and screaming vocals, fast drums and socially aware lyrics. Tracks 1-12 are grindcore classics but tracks 13-28 are faster and better! With Lee Dorian as singer, Bill Steer as guitarist and Mick Harris as drummer... A MAJOR GRINDCORE MASTERPIECE! 

Tracks: 1)Multinational corporations 2)Instinct of survival 3)The kill 4)Scum 5)Caught in a dream 6)Polluted minds 7)Sacrificed 8)Siege of power 9)Control 10)Born on your knees 11)Human garbage 12)You suffer 13)Life? 14)Prison without walls 15)Point of no return 16)Negative approach 17)Success? 18)Deceiver 19)C.S. 20)Parasites 21)Pseudo youth 22)Divine death 23)As the machine rolls on 24)Common enemy 25)Moral crusade 26)Stigmatized 27)M.A.D. 28)Dragnet 

NAPALM DEATH "From Enslavement to Obliteration"

(Earache Records) MOSH 8
Release date: 1987
Running time: 34:34

Review: In my opinion, the best Napalm Death album. It begins with the slow, doomy introducing song "Evolved as one", giving an immoderate impact to the grinding madness that ensue, with the extravagant song "It's a M.A.N.S. World!". Blowing your brain out, releasing all your stress and hatred! All the songs are classic! ("Lucid fairytale", "Unchallenged hate", "From enslavement to obliteration", "Social sterility" or "Mentally murdered"...). Grindcore in its purest form! Anyway, they invented the term "grindcore"! So talking about grind, just refer to this album. It's so sad that they now play boring death metal! At this time, there was still Bill Steer on guitars and Lee Dorian on vocals... But if you're here you should already know this album! The fastest and best album of all times! 

Tracks: 1)Evolved as one 2)It's a M.A.N.S. world! 3)Lucid fairytale 4)Private death 5)Impressions 6)Unchallenged hate 7)Uncertainty blurs the vision 8)Cock-rock alienation 9)Retreat to nowhere 10)Think for a minute 11)Display to me... 12)From enslavement to obliteration 13)Blind to the truth 14)Social sterility 15)Emotional suffocation 16)Practise what you preach 17)Inconceivable 18)Worlds apart 19)Obstinate direction 20)Mentally murdered 21)Sometimes 22)Make way! 23)Musclehead 24)Your achievement? 25)Dead 26)Morbid deceiver 27)The curse

NAPALM DEATH "The Peel Session"

(Strange Fruit SFRCD 120)
Release date: 1993
Running time: 35:08

Review: This is a compilation of studio songs recorded for a radio show or something like that.. This contains 3 sessions, from 1987, 1988 and 1990. The sound production is always really clear. And to my knowledge, the 87 & 88 sessions are the most violent and aggressive pieces of grindcore ever created! Raw and fast, with Bill Steer on guitars, Mick Harris on drums (best drummer ever!), Shane Embury on bass and Lee Dorian, at his best, on vocals. There's only 12 tracks, but each track contains 3 or 4 songs! All the Napalm Death classics are there, played with intensity and an extreme feeling of hatred. It tends to be noisy and fast as hell. All the songs are in their mosty catchy version ever! Here they prove one more time no one can beat them in term of pure grindcore! Track 8 contains cover versions of Siege & SxOxB, two bands who influenced early Napalm Death too... The third sessions are with Barney on vocals, Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado on guitars, playing the good old grind material, but they unfortunately turn it a little less interesting... It's still rawer and faster than their future works to come then... 

Tracks: 1)The kill/Prison Without walls/Dead Part 1 2)Deceiver/Lucid fairytale/In extemis 3)Blind to the truth/Negative approach/Common enemy 4)Obstinate direction/Life/You suffer part 2 5)Multi-national corporations/Instinct of survival/Stigmatised/Parasites 6)Moral crusade 7)Divine death/C.S./Control 8)Walls/Raging in hell/Conform or die/S.O.B. 9)Unchallenged hate/Murdered mentally 10)From enslavement to obliteration/Sufer the children 11)Retreat to nowhere/Scum 12)Deceiver/Social sterility 

NAPALM DEATH "Harmony Corruption" 

(Earache Records) MOSH 19
Release date: 1990
Running time: 56:42

Review: Well, this isn't that bad, for a death metal album. But if you compare the musical energy and sound, as well as the line-up with Napalm Death on 1988, you may wonder why didn't they change the band's name??? This album takes a new orientation, far from their early grindcore style; anteceding great brutal death metal albums like Massacre "From Beyond". The new vocalist, Barney Greenway comes from Benediction and have a very personal way of growling, with emphasis, in a low guttural vein. It's personal, but too death metal sounding for my fragile ears. The two new guitarists come from Righteous Pigs and Terrorizer, they keep their metal playing method here. Mick Harris is always pounding so hard on his drum kit, but with more moderation, technicality and diversity. Blast beats still have the largest place there, but are inscribed in death metal song structures; a waste of precious intensity is resulting. Guitar riffs are way more melodic, but hopefully always damn heavy, with a frightening claustrophobic feel through them, corresponding to Napalm Death sound. To exacerbate the death touch of the album, Obituary & Deicide singers perform some backing vox on the song, "Unfit earth" (the song is against disasters on planet earth wicked humans perform. Does it means that Glen Benton has an ecologist hidden in himself?). The stuff is recorded in famous Florida's Morrisound studios, with Scott Burns on the mix... who performs quite an average work I think! The sound is good, but surely not powerful enough. This is although a good death metal album, but the exciting Napalm Death grindcore side died with this album. It will never be the same. They changed their great instinctive wild minimalistic grindcore style to a complex, rather boring death metal style. Maybe because of the death metal trend at this time? (my "Harmony corruption" copy contains hidden tracks from the 1989 "Mentally murdered" Ep, it's why the running time is so long)

Tracks: 1)Vision conquest 2)If the truth be known 3)Inner incidenration 4)Malicious intent 5)Unfit earth 6)Circle of hypocrisy 7)The chains that bind us 8)Mind snare 9)Extremity retained 10)Suffer the children Bonus track: 11)Hiding behind

NAPALM DEATH "Death by Manipulation"

(Earache Records) MOSH 51
Release date: 1991
Running time: 41:00

Review: This cd contains many Napalm Death Eps. I think there are some unreleased material. This compilation is a must-have because it compiles some of best Napalm Death stuff ever! The four first songs are the "Mass appeal madness" Ep, recorded in 91 with Barney, Mick Harris and these are the best songs of the second death metal Napalm Death wave... "Mass appeal madness" & "Pride assassin" are cult death metal hymns. "Unchallenged hate" & "Social sterility" are interesting new versions of grindcore songs from "From enslavement to obliteration". The following 3 tracks are "Suffer the children" taken from "Harmony corruption" (the best song from this album), a new version of "Siege of power" (from "Scum") and a scary, oppressive, industrial atmospheric song called "Harmony corruption", these 2 songs are unreleased songs I think. The rest of the cd is filled with, the best Napalm Death material ever! Something unrepeatable, impossible to do it again! This is grindcore from 89/88 with Bill Steer, Lee Dorian. First comes the "Mentally murdered" Ep: beginning with "Rise above"; drums with a sound forever engraved in my mind, blasting and ultra fast, and in the same time so low and heavy frightening guitar riffs. With Lee Dorian incredibly inhuman guttural vocals... I realise I can't describe it, but this is magical, nearly unreal. The best grindcore material ever recorded so far! The cd ends with 6 songs from the Napalm Death material from their split Ep with japanese S.O.B, the stuff is in the same vein, even better, shorter and faster. Attention! to call yourself a grindcore fan, you must listen to this before!  

Tracks: 1)Mass appeal madness 2)Pride assassin 3)Unchallenged hate 4)Social sterility 5)Suffer the children 6)Siege of power 7)Harmony corruption 8)Rise above 9)The missing link 10)Mentally murdered 11)Walls of confinement 12)Cause and effect 13)No mental effort 14)Multinational corporations 15)Re-addres the problem 16)Changing colours 17)From the ashes 18)Understanding 19)Stalemate 

NAPALM DEATH "Utopia Banished"

(Earache Records) MOSH 53
Release date: 1992
Running time: 39:04

Review: After the relative weakness of "harmony corruption", Napalm Death manifestly carried out a return to their grindcore roots. Sure, they again composed with a death metal process on this album, elaborating complex, overflowing song structures and have a metal sound. But their direction is clearly ruled by fastness and ruthlessness. danny Hererra replaces the great Mick Harris (who was probably bored with the metal scene) on drums, with great ability. His drumming sounds very personal I think. the songs are dominated by hyper-fast tight blast beats, speedy rythms. The guitar riffs are unbalancing and totally insane. Napalm Death creates a paranoiac and schizophrenic universe in "Utopia banished", where intensity never decreases, always straining every nerve. Well, they allow themselves to use some industrial elements for their short noise-parasites introduction "Discordance" and even end the album with a slow (and quite depressive) -nearly Godflesh'Streercleaner'-like last song, called "Contemtuous", which certainly inspired Brutal Truth for songs like "Collapse" on their "Need to control" album later. As well, they use a very few short movie samples, like one from "Full Metal Jackets" ("I am in a world of shit"). The resting 13 other songs are one hundred percent of pure violence, unrelenting, straightforward, although technically and musically controlled, but leaving the boring death metal way taken on "Harmony corruption". With slaughtering songs like "Dementia access", "Got time to kill", and incredible hits like "The world keeps turning". As well, always with Barney on vocals who a little improved his growling, always so distinctive (but it's nothing compared to the wonderful Lee Dorian dehumanized low growls!). All in all, probably the best material composed with the new line-up (without Steer, Dorian or Mick Harris) with "Mass appeal madness" EP. Colin Richardson gives the stuff a perfect, clean sound production serving the brutality of the songs.

Tracks: 1)Discordance 2)I abstain 3)Dementia access 4)Christening of the blind 5)The world keeps turning 6)Idiosyncratic 7)Aryanisms 8)Cause and effects (pt.II) 9)Judicial slime 10)Distorting the medium 11)Got time to kill 12)Upward and uninterested 13)Exile 14)Awake (to a life of misery) 15)Contemptuous

NAPALM DEATH "The World Keeps Turning"

(Toy's factory)
Release date: 1992
Running time: 69:44

Review: This Napalm Death cd compilation released by japanese label, Toy's factory contains some rare and unreleased material. First, you'll find 6 songs from the 1988 Split Ep with S.O.B (also featuring on "Death by manipulation" cd). Then comes 3 songs from the "World keeps turning" single, with a new version of "World keeps turning" different from the one on "Utopia banished", plus 2 other interesting songs never released before. Then, we have 4 more unreleased tracks taken from a 3inch free single "Given away with Utopia Banished"... All this is rare material in a delicious sophisticated brutal death/grind vein, from "Utopia banished" period. Rare, but wonderful songs! The last 18 songs are the "Live corruption" live recordings from 1990, with Barney on vocals, which is awesome, downright and brutal, with a big space left to their early grindcore classics. This compilation is great for Napalm Death completists... Maybe hard to find, because it's a japanese import.

Tracks: 1)Multinational corporations Pt.II 2)Re-address the problems 3)Changing colours 4)From the ashes 5)Understanding 6)Stalemate 7)The world keeps turning 8)A means to an end 9)Insanity excursion 10)One and the same 11)Sick and tired 12)Malignant trait 13)Killing with kindness 14)Unchallenged hate 15)Life 16)The kill 17)Scum 18)If the truth be known 19)Lucid fairytale 20)Control 21)Walls of confinement 22)Malicious intent 23)Social sterility 24)Suffer the children 25)From enslavement to obliteration 26)Dead 27)Practise what you preach 28)Mentally murdered 29)Extremity retained 30)Mind snare 31)Success? 32)Rise above

NAPALM DEATH "Fear, Emptiness, Despair"

(Earache Records) MOSH 109
Release date: 1994
Running time: 38:53

Review: I'm a little sad because they didn't follow the way they took on "Utopia banished". But I still love this album. The album title says it all, the eleven songs featuring on this cd surge with a feeling of desperation, and raging pessimism. The lyrics went even more abstract and conceptual, as well as the music is so unreal, but still totally insane and violent. And nothing trendy, in contrary very untemporal. Fastness is not the point here. But the dark, low-tuned guitars provide a thick texture. Lots of repetitive parts, probably influenced by industrial music, and a suffocative atmosphere. Barney growling vocals are great on this album, they fit very well to this new style! I consider this album as the most artistic, non-conventional and experimental Napalm Death. This music can never get old, it's out of times.

Tracks: 1)Twist the knife (slowly) 2)Hung 3)Remain nameless 4)Plague rages 5)More than meets the eye 6)Primed time 7)State of mind 8)Armageddon X7 9)Retching on the dirt 10)Fasting on deception 11)Throwaway

NAPALM DEATH "Diatribes"

(Earache Records) MOSH 141
Release date: 1996
Running time: 44:11

Review: What's the hell? In contrary of "Fear, emptiness, despair", here they went a little hip and trendy and more "metal" than ever... Well, it's more trendy, the sound production is better, this contains hits where stupid chorus lingers in my mind for a long time, like stupid radio tracks, they have a "cool" logo and some ugly colourful cover designs, reminding of, Fear Factory!? Argh! here we have catchy death/grind with the appearance of a new kind of melodic guitar riffs, an industrial touch and also some clear vocals between the great Barney growls! Well... this is obvious they wanted to sell more of their discs! Aiming their new style to listeners of Fear Factory, Sepultura and nasty sterilized things like that. Honestly, this album leaves an amer taste in the mouth. But their new music is very catchy, they keep it speedy on most of the song. Sure, it's more catchy than "Fear, emptiness, despair"; but also way softer in the other hand! Napalm Death is losing my esteem.

Tracks: 1)Greed killing 2)Glimpse into genocide 3)Ripe for the raping 4)Cursed to crawl 5)Cold forgiveness 6)My own worst enemy 7)Just rewards 8)Dogma 8)Take the strain 10)Diatribes 11)Placate, sedate, eradicate 12)Corrosive elements

NAPALM DEATH "Inside the Torn Apart"

(Earache Records) MOSH 171
Release date: 1997
Running time: 45:17

Review: They go the same way as on "Diatribe", and firstly, I didn't like "Inside the torn apart". But finally it's far less flashy and far more unpretentious. The composition are catchy all along the album, the use of melodic guitars and clear vocals is more natural and coherent. The songs are not based on fastness, but keep a high intensity level with elegant, solid and surging guitars. Technicality is perfectly mastered and Barney growls are always truly powerful. The songs are really rich in a musical sense. But Napalm Death who claimed to progress and change on every album now seems to stagnate on their new sound, as their next album "Words from the exit wound" is a faster replica of this album, it's truly kick-ass though.

Tracks: 1)Breed to breathe 2)Birth in regress 3)Section 4)Reflect on conflict 5)Down in the zero 6)Inside the torn apart 7)If symptoms persist 8)Prelude 9)Indispose 10)Purist realist 11)Lowpoint 12)The lifeless alarm 13)Time will come 14)Bred dry