Grindcore, often shortened to grind, is an extreme music genre that emerged during the mid–1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk.
Grindcore is characterized by heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, high speed tempo, blast beats, songs often lasting no more than two minutes (some are seconds long), and vocals which consist of growls and high-pitched screams. Lyrical themes range from social and political issues to gore and black humor. The groundwork for the style was established by Siege, Repulsion, and other groups. However, it was named and identified as a distinct subgenre by Napalm Death in Britain. Subsequently, it is most prevalent in North America and in Europe, practiced by groups such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. The genre achieved a measure of commercial visibility in the 1990s. A variety of microgenres have subsequently emerged, including deathgrind, goregrind and pornogrind (incorporating elements of death metal), noisegrind (especially raw and chaotic), and electrogrind (including electronic elements). In addition, grindcore has had a notable impact on other styles of extreme music, including noise rock and some variants of electronic music. Other developments in hardcore punk, such as the dissonant and experimental powerviolence, and the more commercially viable metalcore, have also drawn on grindcore.
