Napalm Death

Scum (1987)

eatdogs

You should be listening to this!

Metal/Punk 101 here. Napalm Death’s debut album Scum is essential to those getting into

the extreme sides of the musical landscape. It’s 28 songs of pure controlled

chaos and you can’t keep up, but that’s great for those wanting bite sized

portions.

A little history first… This album is technically two separate

albums combined into one whole. Side-A (tracks 1-12) and Side-B (tracks 13-28)

were recorded by two different lineups, except for drummer Mick Harris who

stayed glued to his kit and played on the entire thing. Both present unique

aspects to the record and it’s pretty cool how each side has its own style, yet

the focus on the extremities of their choice of genres show that this band had

many ideas on what they wanted to make.

Massachusetts hardcore band Siege, Michigan death metal band

Repulsion, UK Anarcho punk acts Crass, Discharge, and even Post-Punk/Industrial

groups like Killing Joke and Throbbing Gristle all inspired Napalm Death among

many others. It really was a melting pot of different styles and the end result

is the creation of “Grindcore”, pioneered by this band here.

The tracks on the album don’t need to be dissected with a

knife. Their short (Guinness World Record for shortest song ever recorded: “You

Suffer” 1.316 seconds long!) and to the point. Lyrically the songs dealt with

the festering political climate at the time, future repercussions, as well as

ideas against authority. This is pure punk mentality and its easy now to

understand why this band was a crossover hit within the communities.

Today Napalm Death has no original members, but

the current lineup has been consistent since the 90’s. They continued to make

extreme music that pushes boundaries and inspires folks with ideas and a D.I.Y.

attitude sense. You gotta love the trailblazer artists who blew people’s minds.

It’s cool to think how shocking this all was back in day. Dig it…