• • Subgenres • • Fusion genres • • electrogrind Regional scenes • Belgium • England • Sweden • United States Other topics • • • • • • Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that originated in the early to mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from the most abrasive-sounding musical styles:,, and. Grindcore is characterized by a noise-filled sound that uses heavily,, grinding, high speed,, and vocals which consist of growls and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as and. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

The blast beat is a drum beat characteristic of grindcore in all its forms, although its usage predates the genre itself, as it is native to jazz. Background Other than glycemic control, there are no treatments for diabetic neuropathy. Thus, identifying potentially modifiable risk factors for neuropathy is crucial.

A trait of grindcore is the 'microsong'. Several bands have produced songs that are only seconds in length. British band Napalm Death holds the for shortest song ever recorded with the one-second ' (1987). Many bands, such as, record simple phrases that may be rhythmically sprawled out across an instrumental lasting only a couple of in length.

A variety of have subsequently emerged, often labeling bands according to traits that deviate from regular grindcore, including, focused on themes of gore (e.g. Mutilation and pathology), and, fixated on lyrical themes.

Another offshoot is electrogrind (or cybergrind) which incorporates elements such as sampling and programmed drums. Although influential within hardcore and extreme metal, grindcore remains an underground form of music. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Characteristics [ ] Grindcore evolved as a blend of and. The name derives from the fact that grind is a British term for thrash; that term was appended to -core from hardcore. Grindcore relies on standard hardcore punk instrumentation:, and.

However, grindcore alters the usual practices of metal or rock music in regard to song structure and tone. The vocal style is 'ranging from high-pitched shrieks to low, throat-shredding and barks.' In some cases, no clear lyrics exist.

Vocals may be used as merely an added sound effect, a common practice with bands such as the experimental. A characteristic of some grindcore songs is the 'microsong,' lasting only a few seconds.

In 2001, the awarded Brutal Truth the record for 'Shortest Music Video' for 1994's ' (the song lasts four seconds). In 2007, the video for the Napalm Death song ' set a new 'Shortest Music Video' record: 1.3 seconds. Beyond the microsong, it is characteristic of grindcore to have short songs in general; for example, ' debut album (1988) consists of 22 tracks with an average length of 1 minute and 48 seconds. It is also not uncommon for grindcore albums to be very short when compared to other genres, usually consisting of a large track list but having a total length of only 15 to 20 minutes. Many grindcore groups experiment with down-tuned guitars. While the of Napalm Death's debut, 1987's, is set to, on side B, the guitars are tuned down 2½ steps.

Their second album and the EP were tuned to., their third full-length album, was tuned up to a. Went further, dropping 3½ steps down (). Bass is tuned low as well, and is often distorted. Blast beat [ ]. A blast beat played at tempos of 124, 160, 200 and 240 BPM, respectively. Problems playing this file? The blast beat is a drum beat characteristic of grindcore in all its forms, although its usage predates the genre itself, as it is native to jazz.

In Adam MacGregor's definition, 'the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the kick drum, snare and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal.' Blast beats have been described as 'maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per second than sheer sonic violence.' Napalm Death coined the term, though this style of drumming had previously been practiced by others.

Daniel Ekeroth argues that the blast beat was first performed by the Swedish group Asocial on their 1982 demo. ('No Sense'), ('Milk'), ('Satanas'), ('Antichrist'), and also included the technique prior to Napalm Death's emergence. Lyrical themes [ ] Grindcore lyrics are typically provocative. A number of grindcore musicians are committed to political and ethical causes, generally leaning towards the in connection to grindcore's punk roots. For example, Napalm Death's songs address a variety of concerns, in the tradition of. These themes include,,, and. Other grindcore groups, such as and, have expressed disgust with human behavior, animal abuse, and are, in some cases,.

Carcass' work in particular is often identified as the origin of the style, which is devoted to 'bodily' themes. Groups that shift their bodily focus to sexual matters, such as and the Meat Shits, are sometimes referred to as. 's lyrics are notorious for their, while tend toward collage, indebted to ' method. History [ ] Precursors [ ] The early grindcore scene relied on an international network of and production.

The most widely acknowledged precursors of the grindcore sound are, a group, and, an early outfit. Siege, from, were influenced by classic (,, ) and by groups like,, and.

Siege's goal was maximum velocity: 'We would listen to the fastest punk and hardcore bands we could find and say, 'Okay, we're gonna deliberately write something that is faster than them ', drummer Robert Williams recalled. Repulsion is often credited with inventing the classic grind (played at 190 ), as well as its distinctive bass tone., in particular, advocates the band as the origin of Napalm Death's later innovations. Of declares that ' was and still is the defining core of what grind became; a perfect mix of hardcore punk with metallic gore, speed and distortion.'

Other groups in the British grindcore scene, such as and, have emphasized the influence of American, including, as well as Swedish. Cites Discharge,, and a variety of European D-beat and thrash metal groups, including, and American hardcore groups, such as and D.R.I., particularly, is also mentioned by a number of originators of the style. Other key groups cited by current and former members of Napalm Death as formative influences include Discharge,,, and the aforementioned Dirty Rotten Imbeciles., such as and, was also cited as an influence on early Napalm Death.

British grindcore [ ]. Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death in a 2007 show External video, from, authorized. Grindcore, as such, was developed during the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom by, a group who emerged from the scene in Birmingham, England. While their first recordings were in the vein of, they eventually became associated with.

The group began to take on increasing elements of,, and. The group also went through many changes in personnel. A major shift in style took place after became the group's drummer. Punk historian Ian Glasper indicates that 'For several months gob-smacked audiences weren't sure whether Napalm Death were actually a serious band any longer, such was the undeniable novelty of their hyper-speed new drummer.'

Albert Mudrian's research suggests that the name 'grindcore' was coined by Harris. When asked about coming up with the term, Harris said: Grindcore came from 'grind', which was the only word I could use to describe after buying their first record in '84. Then with this new hardcore movement that started to really blossom in '85, I thought 'grind' really fit because of the speed so I started to call it grindcore. Other sources contradict Harris' claim. In a magazine article written about the genre, declares that 'the man often credited' for dubbing the style grindcore was, Napalm Death's bassist since 1987. Embury offers his own account of how the grindcore 'sound' came to be: As far as how this whole sound got started, we were really into, Siege – which is a hardcore band from – a lot of hardcore and death-metal bands, and some industrial-noise bands like the early Swans. So, we just created a mesh of all those things.

It's just everything going at a hundred miles per hour, basically. Founder concurs with Embury, saying that Napalm Death 'put hardcore and metal through an accelerator.' Pearson, however, said that grindcore 'wasn't just about the speed of [the] drums, blast beats, etc.' He claimed that 'it actually was coined to describe the guitars - heavy, downtuned, bleak, harsh riffing guitars [that] 'grind', so that's what the genre was described as, by the musicians who were its innovators [and] proponents.' While abrasive, grindcore achieved a measure of mainstream visibility.

Featured Napalm Death on their cover in 1988, declaring them 'the fastest band in the world.' As James Hoare, deputy editor of, writes: It can be argued that no strand of (with a touch of and tossed in for flavouring), has had so big an impact outside the gated community of patch-jackets and as grindcore has in the UK. [.] the genre is a part of the British musical experience. Napalm Death's seismic impact inspired other British grindcore groups in the 1980s, among them, and. Extreme Noise Terror, from Ipswich, formed in 1984. With the goal of becoming 'the most extreme hardcore punk band of all time,' the group took Mick Harris from Napalm Death in 1987. Ian Glasper describes the group as 'pissed-off hateful noise with its roots somewhere between early Discharge and Disorder, with [vocalists] Dean [Jones] and Phil [Vane] pushing their trademark vocal extremity to its absolute limit.'

In 1991, the group collaborated with the group, appearing onstage with the group at the in 1992. Carcass released in 1988, which declared his favorite album of the year despite its very poor production. The band's focus on gore and anatomical decay, lyrically and in sleeve artwork, inspired the subgenre. Sore Throat, said by Ian Glasper to have taken 'perhaps the most uncompromisingly anti-music stance' were inspired by crust punk as well as industrial music. Serial Fix Bamboo Charcoal.

Some listeners, such as Digby Pearson, considered them to be simply an in-joke or parody of grindcore. In the subsequent decade, two pioneers of the style became increasingly commercially viable. According to, Napalm Death sold 367,654 units between May 1991 and November 2003, while Carcass sold 220,374 units in the same period.

The inclusion of Napalm Death's ' on the soundtrack brought the band much greater visibility, as the compilation scored a Top 10 position in the chart and went in less than a year. Brutal Truth live at Hole In The Sky, Bergen Metal Fest 2008 Journalist Kevin Stewart-Panko argues that the American grindcore of the 1990s borrowed from three sources: British grindcore, the American precursors, and.

As early Napalm Death albums were not widely distributed in the United States, American groups tended to take inspiration from later works, such as. American groups also often employ riffs taken from. Early American grind practitioners included and., a particularly dissonant group who lacked a bass player, were also particularly influential. Their style was sometimes referred to as 'noisecore' or 'noisegrind', described by Giulio of as 'the most anti-musical and nihilistic face of extreme music at that time.' Was a groundbreaking group in the American scene at the beginning of the 1990s. However, Sharp indicates that they were more inspired by the thrash metal of than the British groups. Had a more technical style of playing than many of the predecessors, and had a much more ornate visual and production style.

Is prominent in the contemporary grindcore scene, through his participation in and. ANb's has been described as 'the of grindcore', by Village Voice critic Phil Freeman, for its 'hyper-referential, impossibly dense barrage of samples, blast beats, answering machine messages, and incomprehensibly bellowed rants.'

Pig Destroyer is inspired by thrash metal, such as Dark Angel and, the of, and grindcore practiced by Brutal Truth, while Agoraphobic Nosebleed takes cues from and, like D.R.I. Pig Destroyer's style is sometimes referred to as 'deathgrind', because of the prevalence of death metal influences, as are. External video, from, authorized by., from San Diego, also take inspiration from powerviolence (Crossed Out, ), first-wave (Angel Hair), obscure (, ), and death metal. The Locust were sometimes described as ' grind' because of their fan base and fashion choices. In Los Angeles, also initially drew influence from grindcore in their early releases, particularly on their singles ' and ', as well as on their debut album, (1991), all of which featured sexually provocative and violent lyrics, as well as the heavy distortion and fluctuating tempo that distinguished the genre.

Frontwoman stated that she wanted to capture the distinguishing elements of grindcore while incorporating more pop-based melodic structure, although the band distanced themselves from the style in their later releases. Other later prominent grindcore groups of North America include,,,, and., a Canadian group, practice classic grindcore, characterized by the 'metronome-precision drumming and riffing [that] abound, as well as vocal screams and growls' by reviewer Greg Prato. Continental European grindcore [ ]. Finnish grindcore group Rotten Sound performing in Kuopio in 2008 European groups, such as, from Belgium,, of Croatia, and, from Switzerland, are important early practitioners of the style. Filthy Christians, who signed to Earache Records in 1989, introduced the style in Sweden, D.D.T. & Fear of Dog were pioneering grind & noise in Serbia since mid-end of '80, in Slovenia at the early beginning of the '90, while established Italian grindcore. Giulio of Cripple Bastards asserts that the name itself took some time to migrate from Britain, with the style being referred to as 'death-' for a time in Europe., who emerged from the scene, became a popular group, addressing political topics from a personal perspective.

Anders Jakobson, their drummer, reported that 'It was all these different types of people who enjoyed what we were doing. [.] We made grindcore a bit easier to listen to at the expense of the diehard grindcore fans who thought that we were, well, not, but not really true to the original essence of grindcore.' Other Swedish groups, such as and, practiced goregrind., from the Netherlands,, from Finland, and, from Belgium, were subsequent European groups who practiced grindcore with death metal inflections. In 2000s, the Belgium-based 'had grown into the role of key contributors to the death-grind genres'.

Influence on other genres [ ] Japanese noise rock group have borrowed elements of grind, and toured with Brutal Truth in 1993. The Japanese grindcore group formed in 1989, and later collaborated with artist., led by avant-garde jazz, performed an avant-garde form of, grindcore-influenced.

Zorn later formed the project with producer on bass guitar and Mick Harris on drums, which also collaborated with Justin Broadrick on some work. In addition, grindcore was one influence on the powerviolence movement within American hardcore punk, and has affected some strains of metalcore. Some musicians have also produced hybrids between grind and electronic music.

Powerviolence [ ]. Main article: is a raw and dissonant subgenre of. The style is closely related to and similar to grindcore.

While powerviolence took inspiration from Napalm Death and other early grind bands, powerviolence groups avoided elements of heavy metal. Its nascent form was pioneered in the late 1980s in the music of hardcore punk band, who mixed hardcore elements with noisier, sludgier qualities of and.

The microgenre solidified into its most commonly recognized form in the early 1990s, with the sounds of bands such as,, No Comment,, and Manpig. Powerviolence bands focus on speed, brevity, bizarre timing breakdowns, and constant tempo changes. Powerviolence songs are often very short; it is not uncommon for some to last less than 30 seconds. Some groups, particularly Man Is the Bastard, took influence from and.

Lyrically and conceptually, powerviolence groups were very raw and underproduced, both sonically and in their packaging. Some groups (Man Is the Bastard and ) took influence from and, emphasizing and. And later reincorporated elements of powerviolence into grindcore. Industrial and electronic music [ ]. Of The Locust, originators of electrogrind Among other influences, Napalm Death took impetus from the scene. Subsequently, Napalm Death's former guitarist,, went on to a career in with.

Mick Harris, in his post-Napalm Death project,, briefly experimented with the style. Scorn also worked in the and styles. Have also cited debts to the genre. Is an initially German hybrid of hardcore punk and.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed and the Locust have solicited remixes from digital hardcore producers and.,, and participated in the project, which melds grindcore and digital hardcore. Collaborated with Justin Broadrick, on the first album, and with, of the Locust, live in Japan. Icon also participated in the Empire/Serbian show. The 21st century also saw the development of 'electrogrind' (or 'cybergrind'), practiced by,, and which borrows from. These groups built on the work of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and The Locust, as well as industrial metal.

The Berzerker also appropriated the distorted of producers. Many later electrogrind groups were caricatured for their hipster connections. Mathcore [ ].