Of all of metal’s various subgenres, grindcore might well be the most extreme - and it’s arguable whether or not it is actually part of the metal family tree at all. Taking sonic and ideological inspiration from the birth of US hardcore and the crust punk and D-beat bands of the United Kingdom in the early 80s, as well as the most intense aspects of the No Wave and noise scenes, grindcore could be claimed as an offshoot of punk rock just as easily as it could metal.
But, however you choose to define it, there is no questioning that grindcore is a tough genre to penetrate; its deliberately short, inhumanly fast, indecipherable passages of white noise are alienating by design, but the sound, look, feel and intent of grindcore has evolved fascinatingly over the years without ever losing any of the fury that made it so special. Here are five albums that chart that evolution if you’re looking to understand this most extreme of styles.
