Guide Note

Known as the forefathers of grindcore, Napalm Death was formed in 1982 by Nicholas Bullen and Miles Ratledge. Their name is inevitably connected with raving high-speed, highly aggressive metal and savage hardcore/punk fitted with social criticism.

Fast Facts

1. Origin: Birmingham, UK
2. Years Active: 1982-Present
3. Record Label: Century Media
4. Members: "Barney" Greenway, Shane Embury, Mitch Harris and Danny Herrera
5. There are no original band members
6. They are listed by Nielsen Soundscan as the seventh best-selling metal band in the U.S.
7. Appeared on the motion picture Mortal Kombat soundtrack

Nic Bullen and Miles Ratledge formed a duo when they were teenagers and played in amateur bands since 1980. They played their first concert at Aatherstones Miners Club and made 4 demo recordings. In 1987 the band released their debut LP Scum on their own Earache label. They returned to Rich Bitch studio once more and recorded their second album From Enslavement to Obliteration in 1988 and took part of the Grindcrusher tour.

After the touring, they worked with the producer Scott Burns on their album, Harmony Corruption in which they changed their style to more conventional song structures. In 1994 they released the album Fear, Emptiness, Despair, which earned some of the best critical notices of their career.

The following works of the band, Inside The Torn Apart and Words From The Exit Wound return to a more primitive sound, which is concretized with the albums Enemy Of The Music Business and Order Of The Leech. On August 27, 2006 Jesse Pintado died in a hospital in the Netherlands due to liver failure. The band is currently scheduled for a 2008 winter-spring tour as main support for Devildrive.

• 1987: Scum
• 1988: From Enslavement to Obliteration
• 1990: Harmony Corruption
• 1992: Utopia Banished
• 1994: Fear, Emptiness, Despair
• 2006: Smear Campaign

1. "I like to feel like that sometimes, isolated but secure."—Shane Embury, Skratch Magazine
2. "People in England do not want the war. What's the point? They don't want Tony Blair to stick so closely to George Bush."— "Barney" Greenway, Absolut Metal