In 1981, the scene was thriving. Heavy metal of all kinds was all over the place, with Metallica releasing their first demo “No Life 'til Leather” and other bands like Destruction, Exodus, Possessed, Sodom, Death and Morbid Angel appearing as well. All this was started by the tape-trading network, which kept growing bigger and bigger as more bands came along and more people wanting to get into them. This turned into a global thing, which meant an even bigger selection of bands to check out. This was extremely good for the bands that didn’t have the luxury of record deals.
This is how the founding member,
Shane Embury, got in contact with guitarist
Bill Steer. In 1984/85,
Embury was playing in a band called
Warhammer, which released a very promising demo.
Bill was working on his own fanzine when they decided to form a band. They originally had the name '
Civil Defence’, but as they had their line-up changes, they wanted a new name. They all wrote their ideas on a piece of paper then put them together. They had all written the word death, and one of them had napalm, thus forming
Napalm Death.
Their first shows were at a series of small clubs locally to the band members. They built up a big fan base before doing their first recording, which was for a compilation CD. The year was 1987 and Slayer was on tour with their classic “Reign In Blood” album. At their show in Birmingham UK, a young man by the name of Mick Harris got talking to people about the current tape trading scene. He talked to several people about a band called Napalm Death. He was their drummer for half of their “Scum” album. A guitarist by the name of Jesse Pintado was in LA grindcore bands for a while. His most famous work is with “Terrorizer”. By promoting their demo, he got in contact with Napalm Death. He then went on to replace Steer, being the group’s first American member.
The LA based underground scene was progressing as Mitch Harris with his band “Righteous Pigs” released “Live And Learn” in the late 80’s. He then met up with Mick and formed a Napalm Death side-project, called “Defecation.” They released one album, “Purity Dilution” before disbanding. Mitch would eventually become Napalm Deaths second guitarist. This didn’t come as a surprise to anyone as his song writing fitted perfectly with Pintado’s. From 1989-1991, drummer Danny Herrera replaced Mick Harris and Mark “Barney” Greenway joined on vocals. Although these two weren’t that active on the tape-trading front, they were both heavily into underground metal/hardcore. They had both played in several bands from their hometowns before joining Napalm Death. Greenways work on Benedictions “Subconscious Terror” was highly approved and this led to him joining Napalm Death.
Herrera and Pintado were long time friends from the LA underground scene. After the departure of Mick Harris, Herrera didn’t even have to audition for drummer as Pintado already recommended him. Here is a short review of some of their major albums:
Scum (1987)
This is surely Napalm Deaths most famous release. Recorded with Earache records it first appeared on LP. The underground scene saw this as quite revolutionary. It was the most heavy grindcore record Anyone had ever heard. They took heavy influences from bands like Siege and Repulsion. They were also being hailed as the fastest band in the world. 28 tracks of pure grindcore noise!
Harmony Corruption (1990)
This was the album that showed Napalms Death influences. This was also the first time the solid line-up had recorded a major album together. Although this featured some of the worst production they have ever had, this album was different in a good way. The first time Pintado and Harris’ dual guitars forced slayer-esque riffage down your throat. Glenn Benton of Deicide and Donald Tardy from Obituary make guest appearances on the record, what more could you ask for?
Words from the Exit Wound (1998)
One of their later albums, this certainly doesn’t lack any of the brutality of their previous efforts. Track after track of riffs and thrashing rage. This album also featured some of Napalm Deaths best lyrics.
Many albums later and Napalm Death are still a highly recommended live act and are still churning out albums with the quality as any of the legendary releases like “From Enslavement To Obliteration” and “Scum”. Their sound has defiantly progressed over the years, going from their early death influenced sound, to full-on grindcore and now leaning towards death again.
Their 1999 release was fittingly titled because it sums up Napalm Death completely… “Leaders, Not Followers”
