From Enslavement to Exaltation................

(There are many different versions of the beginnings of this band,this is just how i have come to understand it, so here goes nothing. ) Way back when, in the rainy ,industrial city of Birmingham,England,around 1983, three teenage lads by the names of Nik Bullen,Mick Harris,and last but not least Justin Broadrick were listening to a lot of Killing Joke,Crass, and early Amebix.
Clearly inspired by the fast-growing Anarchist Punk movement,these young men decided it was right time to get involved and start their own band. They released a few demos recorded at various rehearsal sessions and released them under various monikers such as Political Unrest ,Undead Hatred,and Civil Defence. In 1985,they released the excellent but very raw Hatred Surge tape under the now famous name Napalm Death.
Some of you probably know the Napalm Death of the mid to late nineties and 21st century that released a slew of mediocre and downright boring albums ad nauseum.
But back in '85,these guys were writing some of the most pissed,nihilistic,and discordant songs that had been heard at the time. On this tape,you can really here the origins of Justin Broadrick's guitar style that is better known on his abundance of later projects,most notably Godflesh and currently Jesu.
Download this great tape here.
About a year later,they released the From Enslavement to Obliteration demo, not to be confused with their later landmark album of the same name. On this tape
you can begin to hear the grind influence gradually creeping it's way in. A lot of the songs on here are reworked versions of the Hatred Surge songs, with faster drums and more manic riffing.
I think of this as the missing link between their earlier more punk rock songs and the territory they were about to unleash on the world. Get the From Enslavement to Obliteration demo here.
This is where the whole lineup thing gets a little messy. In 1987, they released the mighty Scum LP. Regarded by many to be the definitive origin of the grindcore genre(this fact is also debated by just as many), the band had at this point left most of their punk rock leanings behind musically(not so much lyrically and thematically), to adopt a blazingly primitive brutal sound that still holds up great to my ears to this day. That says a lot,considering all the absolutely shitty,generic,and mostly horrible grind bands out there today. This LP features the original lineup only on the first side. The second side features Bill Steer(of Carcass fame)on guitar and Lee Dorian(Cathedral,Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine) on vocals.Like i said in the beginning, the chronology of membership in this band is quite messy but if you are interested,search here.
Download the Scum Lp here.
Napalm Death went on to put out some really good to excellent recordings such as the pummeling From Enslavement To Obliteration LP,the brutal Mentally Murdered Ep, a few splits with Electro Hippies, John Zorn and S.O.B.,and in my opinion their last good album,1992's Harmony Corruption.
These are all available on other blogs if you want to seek them out. I recommend that you do.I just decided to stick with the releases with J. Broadrick so I could fit the following album in.Life is Easy by Fall of Because(named for a Killing Joke song) is definitely one of my absolute favorite albums,period. Taking the dissonant guitar sound from the Napalm Death demos to it's next step before perfecting it during his days with the legendary Godflesh,this record just rules.

Get Life is easy by Fall of Because
here.

And finally, for those that would like to hear what it sounded like when Nik Bullen,Mick Harris,and Justin Broadrick reunited in 1992,I present you with the final offering of the post,the twisted Scorn "Vae Solis"Lp.

Get Vae Solis here.

That is it for today. I hope you dig all this stuff. Remember,I REALLY WANT TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK ON THESE POSTS!!! no matter late you get around to it!!!!Please comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out these Napalm Death videos:

A Quick History

"Scum"

If the Truth be Known

Unchallenged Hate