Scum (1987)

Scum is the debut studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 1 July 1987 by Earache Records. The two sides of Scum were recorded by two different lineups in sessions separated by about a year; the only musician in both incarnations was drummer Mick Harris.

Scum sold over 10,000 copies in its first year of release, reaching number four on the UK Indie chart. Since then, it has become known as a formative release in the grindcore genre. In 2005, Scum was voted the 50th best British album of all time by Kerrang! readers. In 2009, it was ranked number five in Terrorizer's list of essential European grindcore albums. It is also listed in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Loudwire put it in the list of the best 10 metal albums of 1987.

Background

Napalm Death formed in 1981. After various personnel changes, demo recordings, and a period of dormancy, they had returned to activity in 1985 with a lineup of Nicholas Bullen (vocals, bass), Justin Broadrick (guitar), and Miles Ratledge (drums). Around this time, Daz Russell, promoter of the club The Mermaid in Birmingham, had essentially made Napalm Death the punk "house band" of his club. Due to the local popularity of the band, this arrangement secured him the visitor numbers sufficient to generate enough revenue to pay the foreign bands playing at the club. Napalm Death therefore supported all the hardcore punk bands that Russell booked, including Anti Cimex, Sacrilege, Heresy, Concrete Sox, and The Varukers. Bassist Peter Shaw also briefly played with the band while Bullen sang exclusively. After recording their demo Hatred Surge, Shaw and founding drummer Ratledge departed, and the latter was replaced by Mick Harris in November 1985. Harris aspired to play faster than any other drummer, citing U.S. hardcore bands Siege and Deep Wound as influences. The first live appearances with this lineup took place in January 1986 with Amebix and Instigators, and the new lineup had allowed the band to become more musically adept. In March 1986, the group entered Flick Studios and recorded the demo From Enslavement to Obliteration, combining their initial anarcho-punk influences with riffs akin to those of Celtic Frost and extremely fast drumming.

Recording and production

Napalm Death intended to record another demo in 1986, as no record label had yet shown interest in the band. Russell offered to release either a single or split for the band on his newly formed independent label. The band thus entered the Rich Bitch studio in Birmingham to record a set of songs. The recordings took place over two days, with sessions happening at night due to the studio charging a lower hourly recording rate during this time. Around 20 friends of the band were present for the sessions. These included the members of the bands Head of David and Unseen Terror, who are listed on the record as producers, as well as Damian Thompson of Sacrilege, from whom Broadrick had borrowed an effects pedal.

The songs came from different phases of the band's development. Some material was based on ideas from Justin Broadrick dating to 1983, while others derived from material written by Broadrick and Ratledge for the Hatred Surge demo. The songs "The Kill", "You Suffer", and "Death by Manipulation" were included on Scum, but the versions of the songs recorded during this session were faster than the originals. Russell paid the initial studio costs, but Napalm Death decided not to give him the master tapes because he had never paid them for their appearances at The Mermaid.

After the recording sessions, there was tension in the band. Bullen attributed this to the fact that every band member wanted to take over the leading role. In September 1986, Jim Whiteley joined as bass player while Bullen switched to singing exclusively. This coincided with Bullen's loss of interest in Napalm Death and music more generally. After a concert in Leeds with Sacrilege, Broadrick left the band to play drums in Head of David, which was at the time more successful than Napalm Death after having released an album for Blast First, the label of Sonic Youth. Broadrick was initially replaced by Frank Healy, and later by the 16-year-old Bill Steer. Soon thereafter, Bullen left Napalm Death to pursue his studies of English literature and philosophy at the university. Lee Dorrian joined as the band's new singer. The new lineup's sound reflected an increasing interest in heavy metal while remaining rooted in anarcho-punk.