Grindcore

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Grindcore

Grindcore (also known as grind) is a music genre that was initially created as a thrashcore/crossover thrash hybrid, "crossover" itself a combination of hardcore punk and thrash metal, but is more commonly associated with death metal and crust punk. Grindcore is characterized by heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, blastbeats, punk influenced drumming, short songs, and a vocal style consisting of growls and higher pitched shouting and screaming similar to that of hardcore punk or black metal. Lyrical concepts range from social and political issues to gore and horror.

Historical roots and influences

The genre was pioneered during the mid 1980s in the United Kingdom by bands such as Napalm Death and Sore Throat, and has its roots with proto-grindcore and hardcore punk bands, such as Siege, D.R.I., Cyanamid, Lärm, Deep Wound, Electro Hippies, and Repulsion.

Many of the early bands, such as Napalm Death, S.O.B., and Siege, were seen by their contemporaries as part of the anarcho-punk and hardcore punk scenes, as many anarcho-punk and peace punk bands in England and hardcore punk bands in the United States had already incorporated elements of metal into their music. Many of these early bands were, and still are, obscure. For instance, the hardcore punk band Siege only released a do-it-yourself demo entitled Drop Dead, and Repulsion was posthumously exposed to the world in 1989 through the album Horrified, which was released in Europe through Carcass-owned Necrosis Records.

Microsongs

One well-known characteristic of grindcore and related genres is the "microsong;" songs lasting seconds. Clocking in at just over one second long, the Napalm Death song "You Suffer" is listed as the shortest song ever by the Guinness Book of Records, and in 2001, Guinness awarded Brutal Truth the record for "Shortest Music Video" for 1994's "Collateral Damage." However, others, such as the Cripple Bastards on their demo 94 Flashback di Massacro and Agoraphobic Nosebleed on their 3" CD/10" LP Altered States of America, have taken this aesthetic to even greater extremes. American grindcore band Anal Cunt, a project of Seth Putnam, has recorded an album entitled 5643 Song EP, an EP which contains 5643 "songs" in less than 15 minutes by way of creative multitracking and recording processes.

Subgenres

Goregrind: A form of grindcore characterized by pitchshifted vocals as well as gore and/or horror themes.
Noisegrind: Grindcore with an emphasis on speed rather than musicianship.
Pornogrind: Grindcore characterized by porn/sex related themes, vocals that range from pitchshifted growls to absurdly high pitched screams, and an emphasis on groove.
Cybergrind: Cybergrind is a form of grindcore heavily influenced by electronica that, aside from the instruments used in ordinary grindcore, uses computer generated sounds and/or drum machines and other synthetic instruments.
Deathgrind: A grindcore/death metal hybrid, often with focus on the technicality of death metal and intensity of grindcore.

Grindcore bands

See also List of grindcore bands.

Crucial grindcore bands include: Agathocles, Anal Cunt, Carcass, Extreme Noise Terror, Fear of God, Gut, Impetigo, Napalm Death, S.O.B., Sore Throat, and Terrorizer.

Bands that inspired and helped to define early grindcore include: Anti-Cimex, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, Cryptic Slaughter, Discharge, Electro Hippies, Lärm, Repulsion, and Siege.

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Historical roots and influences

Microsongs

Subgenres

Grindcore bands

See also