From Enslavement to Obliteration

From Enslavement to Obliteration is the second album by grindcore band Napalm Death, released in 1988.

Background

From Enslavement to Obliteration is the only Napalm Death album to feature Lee Dorrian as the sole vocalist, where he offers the low, grunting vocals and from time to time in songs, he will scream in an odd-pitched tone, not unlike static. He is considered one of the first extreme metal vocalists to alternate between guttural growls and high-pitched screams, a technique that would be elaborated on by fellow grind act Carcass (who are often given credit for the invention of this vocal style) and imitated by countless bands in the future (one prominent example being Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse). This album is credited as a huge influence in the second wave of death metal bands that followed this release. This album, along with Scum, is considered to be one of the most brutal records of all time by fans and critics.

Shane Embury remembered:

It was a good experience but it was a brief one. Back in those days albums were recorded very quickly - we recorded the album in about six days and I think it cost about 800 pounds. In the early days in the very beginning before I joined, it was more of a crust punk band really but it was a natural progression, I think, to get faster and faster. Scum created a buzz and by the time we we did FETO, we just wanted to push it as fast as we could and as far as possible. We weren't really consciously trying to break any rules but we weren't paying any attention to them either. If we wanted to do a song that was going to be 20 seconds long then we'd do it - we didn't think there was any reason not to. The vocals for us went hand-in-hand with the distorted bass guitar, distorted guitars and hyper-fast drumming".^[1]

The lyrical themes ranged from a variety of social and political topics, including: misogyny/sexism ("It's a M.A.N.S World" and "Inconceivable?"), animal rights ("Display to Me…"), racism ("Unchallenged Hate"), materialism ("Private Death" and "From Enslavement to Obliteration"), and capitalism ("Make Way!"). The album calls for social change, as seen in the song "Uncertainty Blurs the Vision," quoting Rudimentary Peni at the song's conclusion. This and the former one focus primarily on political problems, while the next releases will focus more on religion (with an atheist background).

Reception

In 2009 From Enslavement to Obliteration was ranked number 1 in Terrorizer's list of essential European grindcore albums.^[3] Writer Jonathan Horsley described it as marking "the genre's perilous rite of passage through Britain's post-industrial urban landscape."^[3]

Music critic Piero Scaruffi includes From Enslavement to Obliteration at number 6, after Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking and before Fear Factory's Demanufacture, in his classification of the best metal albums of all times.^[4]

Track listing

The Curse

The Curse is a free 7-inch extended play by the grindcore band Napalm Death, included in the initial copies of the From Enslavement to Obliteration LP, which was released through Earache Records in September 1988.^[5]

Track listing

• The song "Morbid Deceiver" is a re-recording of the song Deceiver, originally on the album Scum.

Personnel

• Lee Dorrian – vocals
• Shane Embury – bass guitar
• Bill Steer – guitar
• Mick Harris – drums
• Steve Bird – engineering
• Mark Sikora – cover art
• Mike Marsh – mastering

References