Harmony Corruption
| Harmony Corruption | ||||
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| Studio album by Napalm Death | ||||
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Publication |
August 1, 1990 |
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| Label (s) | Earache Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
41 min 02 s |
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Studio (s) |
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Harmony Corruption is the third studio album by the English band Napalm Death and was released in 1990. It is considered to be the beginning of the band's death metal era.
Musical background
After two members of Napalm Death left with guitarist Bill Steer and singer Lee Dorrian in 1989 , the band first filled the post of singer with Barney Greenway , who was playing with Benediction at the time . A little later, a new guitarist was found in Jesse Pintado , guitarist of the American band Terrorizer . Shortly thereafter, Napalm Death brought Mitch Harris ( Righteous Pigs ) to the band as the second guitarist. This was the first time that influences from Death Metal came into the band, which until then had been a pure Grindcore band. Shane Embury and Mick Harris decided that Harmony Corruption should be recorded outside of England at the Morrisound studio in Tampa under the direction of Scott Burns . She liked the sound of the studio and the band, who had taken up there, especially the album Leprosy of Death . In addition, the band “didn't want to write any more 30 to 40 second songs”. Singer Barney Greenway summarized the band's style change as follows:
“We decided for Death Metal, but without giving up our hardcore attitude. It's not that easy to let an ethos die. [...] Our musical reorientation was absolutely necessary. "
Musically, the quintet was influenced by the aforementioned Death, but also by Massacre and Morbid Angel , with whom they had toured together in 1989 .
Creation and publication
The recordings began in the spring of 1990 in the Morrisound studio. However, they turned out to be very difficult, with drummer Mick Harris in particular struggling with timing and accuracy because of his Grindcore style . Because of his self-centered demeanor, there were often tensions between him and the rest of the band. The escalation came when Mitch Harris and Jesse Pintado did not show up in the studio the next morning after a party, whereupon Mick Harris berated producer Scott Burns for criticizing his performance. Burns and studio owner Tom Morris then told the record company by phone that they would no longer work with Napalm Death.
With the help of Digby Pearson, owner of Earache Records, it finally managed to smooth things over. Mick Harris took two weeks off to stay with David Vincent of Morbid Angel, and the recording was completed in May 1990. Looking back, the producer said:
“In the end, the boys had absolutely no idea where to go. Sure, it should sound heavy, of course, but the sound was just too clean for them. [...] Other bands would have accepted the sound with a kiss, but it was simply not extreme enough for Napalm Death. "
In retrospect, Shane Embury confirmed that the album did not sound like napalm death. Despite all the difficulties the band and Burns were not in dispute apart and the album was released in early August 1990 Europe , distributor was Rough Trade . Due to the contractual agreements between Earache and the US distributor Combat, the album was released on December 7, 1990 in the USA with a delay of several months. As part of a release package consisting of Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel, Left Hand Path by Entombed , Streetcleaner by Godflesh and Symphonies of Sickness by Carcass , it was Napalm Death's first album to be released regularly outside of Europe and was in the USA a commercial success.
Cover design
The expressionistically designed record cover shows excerpts from the anatomical representation of a human skull and the skeleton of a gorilla against a blood-red background. At the top right are snippets of charred sheet music and in the lower right area a burning cross surrounded by fighter planes . The graphic artist David Windmill, who was hired to design the record cover, was supposed to represent abstractly "the limits of bigotry and the prejudices between humans and animals". However, he demanded a fee that was more than twice as high as agreed, as well as further payments not agreed for T-shirt designs, which is said to have led to a dispute between him and the band. In addition, the band came under fire because of the burning cross and the fighter planes and was called "military supporters and Ku Klux Klan sympathizers".
more publishments
The first edition of the LP was supplemented by a live EP in black vinyl , which contained a concert recording of the band on June 29, 1990. A picture disc and a music cassette also appeared .
Also in August 1990, Earache released the EP Suffer the Children , which, in addition to the song contained as the last track on Harmony Corruption and a new recording of Siege of Power, also contained the electronic track Harmony Corruption .
The CD contained the bonus title Hiding Behind in the first version and the tracks from the EP Mentally Murdered in another version . The CD released in Japan also contained the B-side of the EP Suffer the Children .
reception
The band's European fan base was mostly irritated by the radical change in style and accused the band of going to the Morrisound studio to get the typical Death Metal sound and following a trend. Fans, who expect the traditional death-related lyrics from Death Metal, also criticized the retention of the grind and hardcore-typical social themes after the change of style. Nevertheless, the album reached number 67 on the English album charts. Outside of Europe, Harmony Corruption was the band's first commercial success.
In a contemporary review, Rock Hard noted that Napalm Death had succeeded in transforming the album from a “noise combo” to a “serious, playfully competent Death Metal / Grindcore act”, only the “brutal vocals” had too little recognition value . The online magazine metal.de lists the album as one of the classics of Death Metal of the 1990s. Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic, on the other hand, describes the album as unusual for the band, but not very important for the genre.
Track list
- Vision Conquest (Text / Music: Shane Embury)
- If the Truth Be Known (Text: Shane Embury, Barney Greenway / Music: Shane Embury)
- Inner Incineration (Text: Shane Embury / Music: Jesse Pintado)
- Malicious Intent (Text / Music: Shane Embury)
- Unfit Earth (Text: Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris); feat. John Tardy and Glen Benton
- Circle of Hypocrisy (Text: Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris)
- The Chains that Bind Us (Text: Shane Embury, Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris)
- Mind Snare (Text: Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris)
- Extremity Retained (Text: Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris)
- Suffer the Children (Text: Barney Greenway / Music: Mick Harris)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Albert Mudrian: Choosing Death: The Incredible Story of Death Metal & Grindcore . IP Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-931624-35-4 , pp. 145 .
- ↑ a b c Albert Mudrian: Choosing Death: The Incredible History of Death Metal & Grindcore . IP Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-931624-35-4 , pp. 146 .
- ↑ Richard Karsmakers: Interview with Napalm Death. Metal-E-Zine, May 1994, accessed October 1, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Barney Greenway: Horrible, hideous, horrible . Guest column. In: Rock Hard . No. 135 .
- ↑ a b Dan Tobin: Slayer Mag. (No longer available online.) Earache.com, archived from the original on December 16, 2010 ; accessed on March 17, 2011 (English): “[W] e loved NAPALM DEATH, we loved EXTREME NOISE TERROR. But Euronymous was very disappointed with the progression of NAPALM DEATH, especially from the 'Harmony Corruption' LP. You know, they recorded at the MORRISOUND to get the typical Death Metal sound. NAPALM DEATH was labeled as Death Metal and they still had the social aware lyrics, so that was the reason for that. So it was not because they become popular it was because they changed. ” Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Harmony Corruption in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Götz Kühnemund : Review of "Harmony Corruption" . In: Rock Hard . No. 43 .
- ↑ NAPALM DEATH - Harmony Corruption. metal.de, March 1, 2007, accessed October 2, 2009 .
- ↑ Jason Birchmeier: Harmony Corruption Review. allmusic.com, accessed October 2, 2009 .
