Napalm Death

Napalm Death

Napalm Death is an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, Warwickshire in 1981. The group is regarded as one of the key pioneers of grindcore, and its music combines crust punk and death metal elements with distorted, down-tuned guitars, fast tempos, blast beats, grinding bass and harsh vocals. Its songs are often very short and frequently use sociopolitical lyrics.

Line-up

From 1986, no original members remain in the band apart from Mick Harris, who leaves after playing on Harmony Corruption in 1990. From Utopia Banished in 1992, the line-up of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway remains consistent for most of the band’s career. The band also becomes a five-piece from 1989 to 2004, when Jesse Pintado joins as a replacement for former guitarist Bill Steer, before the group returns to a four-piece after Pintado’s departure.

Recordings and recognition

Napalm Death gains wider influence with its debut album Scum in 1987, released on Earache Records. The band goes on to release sixteen studio albums, including From Enslavement to Obliteration (1988), Harmony Corruption (1990), Utopia Banished (1992), Fear, Emptiness, Despair (1994), Diatribes (1996), Inside the Torn Apart (1997), Words from the Exit Wound (1998), Enemy of the Music Business (2000), Order of the Leech (2002), The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code (2005), Smear Campaign (2006), Time Waits for No Slave (2009), Utilitarian (2012), Apex Predator - Easy Meat (2015) and Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (2020).

The track “You Suffer” holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest recorded song, with a duration of 1.316 seconds. The band is also recognised by Nielsen SoundScan as the seventh-best-selling death metal band in the United States.