 "The peak of Grindcore" | 2010-02-23 |
| - Reviewed By D. K. Malone from earth |
I think it's high time I finally gave the other side of the coin to my Scum review from a while back.
In the mid-80s, fast music was my reason for living. I started with hardcore bands like Black Flag and MDC, and went from there. I didn't care if it was punk or metal, as long as it was fast. By 1986, I was sure that nobody would ever surpass the Neos, DRI, or Slayer. One day in a record shop I was looking through the new releases, and I came across an album with a sticker on it that said something like "NAPALM DEATH'S DEBUT - THE FASTEST BAND EVER. PERIOD." Naturally I bought it without a second thought and assumed it would instantly become one of my favorite albums. I couldn't have been more wrong. I hated it. The recording quality sounded poor, as did the musicianship. It sounded like they were trying to play material that was beyond their abilities. It was undeniably the fastest music I'd heard up to that point, but there was no power behind it. It had all the force of a hummingbird beating its wings. Not my idea of an impressive debut. A few months later, it seemed like all of my fellow speed mongers were in love with Napalm Death. I wanted nothing to do with them, or any other grindcore band. It's true what they say about first impressions.
My distaste for grindcore lasted a long time. I was occasionally exposed to the stuff through friends and the other writers at the fanzine I was affiliated with back then, but I just tuned it out. Naturally I was particularly averse to Napalm Death, so I did everything in my power to make sure my ears were never assaulted by them. Around 1992 I became friends with a guy who had extremely similar tastes to me, but he loved Napalm Death. I think it was through him that I eventually ended up hearing their sophomore album, From Enslavement to Obliteration (probably against my will.) That was when I turned around. This album impressed me immediately, and I couldn't believe it was the same band that recorded Scum. (Well, technically, it wasn't... Mick Harris was the only remaining member from Scum, and Bill Steer who only played on one side of it.) The performance and the production are both brutally top notch. This album is what finally opened me up to grindcore, at least a little. It's never been my favorite genre, but I do enjoy it every now and then. As far as I'm concerned, this album has never been surpassed. To this day, it represents to me Napalm Death at their peak and the pinnacle of the genre in general. Most of my CDs get packed away and go unheard for years at a time, but FEtO is one of the few that's always kept somewhere where I can get at it whenever the urge strikes me. |
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| "the true gindcore album" | 2008-09-30 |
| - Reviewed By Christopher R. Balas |
| Napalm death is my favorite grindcore band of all time. From enslavement to obliteration is by far the best album out there for grindcore. The album is so fast and heavy and drums does not end. Lee dorrian did very well on singing on this recording as well as half of the scum album. |
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| "show this, if someone asks you about grindcore musics" | 2008-06-21 |
| - Reviewed By oldmandeath from usa |
| the answer can be easily found from first 2 tracks. also, show the first album with "1 second" song(?), You Suffer. |
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| "One of the best grindcore albums ever" | 2006-07-17 |
| - Reviewed By Peter Azello from San Jose, California |
There is a lot of criticism by the "new school" Napalm Death fans out there. Sure, Napalm Death was a great 90's death metal band, but everything from "Harmony Corruption" through their nowadays records are simply death metal. But "Scum" and "FETO" are grindcore. Grindcore does not equal death metal...and everyone should know why. Fans of the newer Napalm Death should not take their first two albums as death metal. As for Napalm Death themselves, they revolutionalized grindcore, tagged it and released two of the best grind albums in 1987 and '89. "FETO" is not "Scum", but it is better than (most) of the thousand clones that came out after grindcore became a important genre of music. In my opinion, the 1989 lineup was the best lineup ever in the band's history. Led by Bill Steer on guitars (also of Carcass fame), Lee Dorrian (also of Cathedral fame), Shane Embury on bass and Mick Harris, who went on to many industrial and doom metal projects, these legendary musicians were able to grind out this 34:18, 27-song album.
Production for this album is *better* than "Scum", and everything (except the bass) is audible, but it isn't perfect. But, for a grindcore album, it is good. Lyrics...the lyrics are pure genius. Inspired by old-school punk and the "f*** it all" attitude, you get some very angry lyrics. Songs like "It's A M.A.N.S.'s World" and "Evolved As One" offer some of the best political lyrics out there. Lee Dorrian combines the low, inaudible grunts and the high pitched shriek for vocals, which may scare away little kids, but if you try to sing behind all that carnage, it would sound stupid. Mick Harris fills drum duties perfectly, grinding out some fast and crazy stuff. The bass is inaudible, which is no surprise. And Bill Steer...this man gets my respect just for starting Carcass, but he helped revolutionize two musical genre's (grind with Napalm and Carcass and melo-death with Carcass). He is a great songwriter, and shows it in every band he is in. The guitars are on steroids and play at an insanely fast pace. You should all bow down to Mr. Steer and treat him as a god!
This 28-track album kicks off with "Evolved As One", which sounds like more of an industrial song, with a cool drum fill and almost talking vocals until Dorrian busts out screaming "weak minds" until the end. Then, the carnage begins. Most of the songs are a minute long. There are some longer songs, which slow down a little bit. These slower songs are awesome...period. Toward the end of the album, there are some 0:05 and 0:06 second songs that are there for filler, but like the immortal "You Suffer" on "Scum', they have music, lyrics and vocals, and are oddly considered real "songs". The best songs here include "Evolved as One", "It's a M.A.N.S World!" (with great, sarcastic yet serious lyrics), "Unchallenged Hate", "Display to Me...", "From Enslavement to Obliteration" and "Mentally Murdered". Sometimes, you could hear a compressed guitar solo in some of the songs. Very cool. As the title of this review states, this is one of the best grindcore albums ever. I have had this album for a long, long time, and it hasn't left my CD player in that length of time. Essential for any extreme metal fan out there. Compared to Napalm Death's followers, nothing comes close (except...maybe Carcass or Nasum). Go out and get this album if you consider yourself an extreme metal fan. |
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| "You can't handle this much metal" | 2006-03-15 |
| - Reviewed By Gorgasmic Misanthrope from Wichita, KS USA |
| This album is pretty intense. I listened to it once in the car with a friend who wasn't into heavy music, and his head exploded. All the songs after the first are extremely fast, short, and furious as hell. This is what grindcore is all about, and this is a classic in this genre. I'd strongly recommend this if you're into metal/hardcore. But if you're new to this kind of music I'd steer clear of this one for a while. You probably wouldn't be able to appreciate it yet and your head might explode. Have fun with this one kiddies. |
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| "BEST OF GRINDCORE" | 2005-10-25 |
| - Reviewed By jrichards796 |
| although some of the songs are pointless and five seconds long all of the others are great. I reccomend this for anyone who is interested in grincore or is into metal. |
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