I got the VHS cassette for Napalm Death’s “Live Corruption” when I was seventeen. Always on the search for the absolutely most intense and intelligent music on the planet, I feel instantly in love with Napalm Death. I saw them in 1992 on the Grindcrusher tour and again just a few years ago where they were just as brutal and progressive as ever. Some people actually looked like they wanted to leave because of Barney’s banter about vegetarianism and gay rights. I had to go backwards to hear Scum, and thanks to my friend Mike, I had a new favorite album. People lose their minds for the trashcan production of black metal, but crusty grind bands had the dirty and vicious metal on lock. With Broadrick (Jesu, Godflesh) playing guitar on side one and Lee Dorrian (Cathedral) on vocals for side two, Scum was essential punk/metal crossover. I was so disenchanted by crossover, I found a lot of thrash to be dumb and mean, but Napalm Death among several other bands gave me hope and eventually pushed me into the hardcore that I would be listening throughout the nineties.
FFO Extreme Noise Terror, Assück, Infest
Mystery Doll 