The Essential Grind
Grind. The abrasive, violent and disaffected cousin of death metal, raging with its punk sensibilities against a world gone mad. The genre represents the raw spirit of heavy metal combined with the snotty invective of hardcore and crust, and is an expression of cathartic anger and discontent. If you're just starting out, or if you've been listening to Repulsion before it was cool, this is the list for you. This is the essential rundown of the best albums Grind has to offer. |
| 1 |  | Repulsion
Horrified
An unquestionable classic. |
| 2 |  | Napalm Death
Scum
Where it all began- howling with rage against the failures of our society. |
| 3 |  | Napalm Death
From Enslavement to Obliteration
The evolution of grind's raw and rough-cut template into something achingly hostile. |
| 4 |  | Brutal Truth
Sounds of the Animal Kingdom
Fierce and uncompromising, with an eye to the genre's future. |
| 5 |  | Extreme Noise Terror
A Holocaust In Your Head
Blunt and crude, but potent enough to carry a seriously memorable kick. |
| 6 |  | Terrorizer
World Downfall
A debut to remember, swimming in aggression and nihilistic fury. |
| 7 |  | Rotten Sound
Exit
Disturbing in all the right ways. |
| 8 |  | Nasum
Human 2.0
Grind redefined for a new generation, packed with the sound and fury of the old. |
| 9 |  | Discordance Axis
The Inalienable Dreamless
Bleak, painfully dark, lightless and screaming- with some of the best drumming in the genre. |
| 10 |  | Trap Them
Darker Handcraft
More hardcore than grind, but with the same sensibility- a wall-to-wall aural assault. |
| 11 |  | Pig Destroyer
Prowler in the Yard
Better than Terrifyer in every sense of the word- 'Jennifer' is still one of the most unsettling opening tracks I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. |
| 12 |  | Wormrot
Dirge
Vicious- a brief burst of frenetic energy from an unlikely Singaporean source. The best they have to offer. |
| 13 |  | Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Altered States of America
Ridiculously long tracklist aside, this blast through a cynical American state is a piece of savage work. |
| 14 |  | GridLink
Longhena
The post-grindcore masterclass. Jarring and disjointed, but with a sense of lingering, impotent anger that boils beneath the surface. |
| 15 |  | Carcass
Reek of Putrefaction
Before the band went in for melo-death, they produced this hideous grind-meets-gore classic. |
| 16 |  | Nails
Unsilent Death
The sophomore effort may have made them popular, but it was the debut that made them great. |
| 17 |  | Phobia
Means of Existence
They peaked early, but this band's early work was a crust-infused journey through grind's lower reaches. |
| 18 |  | Insect Warfare
World Extermination
TRUST NO ONE. FUCK SCENES, FUCK LEECHES. FUCK BACKSTABBERS. FUCK YOU. |
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