Scum

RAH BUM DAH! BA-DAAAHHH!! *extreme speed drums and guitar playing the same chord or couple notes* GUH GUH MMMMMMBAMMMMMM MRUHR MRURH!!!! AAAYYAA YAAA RRUUUUUHHHMMM!!!!!! *song ends*. And yet the lyrics actually are precisely punk and fight the power (apparently, not that you would know any of that). Cool album artwork, but can't get behind something that I so actively dislike listening to.

Scum music.

This is a fucking joke right? Am I being punked? Sounds like someone threw their instruments down a hill then ran over them in a truck all while screaming out in pain. If ever an album deserved a 0... this would be it.

I think. They’re getting their points across but I can’t understand a word

Woah. That's my reaction to the music as well as the ratings for this album. I stopped listening halfway through but I didn't hate it or anything, it just started getting really repetitive.

Such an influential band! Huge respect to napalm death but i definitely need more ear training for grindcore! Its enjoyable and i missed heavier stuff on this list!

This is the first album that I tapped out before finishing. A indecipherable wall of noise accented with mumble screaming is just not it for me.

Weird & WIRED AF. Grindcore grandfathers here. To quote the great song: "Systematic rape of nature Profit precedes need Maintaining economic stature Steal the fruit yet leave no seed And of future generations? What of their inheritance A world of contamination Poisoned by our ignorance"

I've heard Scum before and didn't really get it at the time, but after years of getting into extreme music, Napalm Death makes more sense now. There are a few things about grindcore that still doesn't appeal to me but overall, Scum was a positive listening experience. The short songs make the album pass quickly; under 40 minutes long!

Couldn't really tell where one song ended and another began.

I haven't laughed so much for half an hour. Gruff wrooo wrooo. The singer seems an absolute eegit. Wait till you hear this. His mates that's brillant go for it ya fecking header.

Not for me

Not really my style. I’ve never been into this kind of hard core metal.

Mercifully short

i respect this album, you know you're gonna get some nonsensical bullshit and that's exactly what you get - feels more like a really long demo rather than an album and i'd want more out of it to call it a good album

Unsurprisingly couldn't finish this as listening to the entire album would constitute a form of self-flagellation.

Probably the worst thing I've ever listened to. Favourite song - You Suffer.

Well. At least I learned that I don’t like grindcore

Heavy, in your face, genre (grindcore) defining. 5.0/5.0

not one of my favorites so far but fairly accessible album considering the genre(s). i wish the list included more extreme genres like this more frequently

Album #129: Scum - Napalm Death Genre (W): Grindcore, crust punk Singles: You Suffer I have not listened to this album before. Thoughts?: Another bad listen. I can’t understand at all what the vocalist is saying because he seems to be obsessed with growling. Plus, everything sounds muddled and the production and arrangements aren’t that great. Favorite tracks: None of them.

There’s no denying this album bein a hugely influential and legendary cult classic. However, the songs are not really very good. S.O.D. played in the same ballpark two years earlier, albeit not as extreme, but with better riffs, better production and better songs.

Atrocious

What a bloody racket! I don’t like this at all. Less than 1 star…

can this generator let up on me? i’ve already rated a metal album one star this week.

This album is at its best when there is no singing. The lyrics are incomprehensible, and everybody just plays as fast as possible with no sign of melody. but when the band settles into a groove, there are a couple bright spots. Favorite song: Scum

An important album that literally invented and defined a genre... that i don't really enjoy.

Really enjoyed it, not going into heavy rotation but a great point on how GRINDCORE came to be.

fav songs: siege of power you suffer 10/100

Thrash metal (as if you couldn’t tell by the band name ‘Napalm Death’); though 28 songs in a 33 min total album run time made it more digestible.

4/10

Before starting this project, my primary music genre of choice was metal-including some extreme metal. I an actually familiar with a few of this album's tracks and enjoyed them, contrary to this site's general opinion towards it. This album is better when they build up to the noise blasts rather than have the entire song be a noise blast(yes, there is an actual difference). While the band are clearly capable players, the vocals on Side A lack the virtuosity that later extreme metal vocalists have(proper techniques for "toilet-gurgle" vocals hadn't yet been developed, though they do exist now). Lyrics are mostly rants about corporate greed and capitalism, though they require the help of lyric sheets and/or Spotify's helpful lyrics tool to decipher. On Side B, the sound gets noticeably tinnier and the vocals get even less intelligible somehow(with Side A only being barely intelligible as is). Side B loses the dynamic ferocity of Side A for just straight blasts of noise that barely sound distinguishable(yes, even to someone familiar with the genre). I won't say that it's the best extreme metal album for the list or even the most essential(surely, if this could make it on, then so could Death's Symbolic or Human and Morbid Angel's Altars of Destruction). But, it is the most extreme metal album on the list, and as a result of uncompromising ferocity that got me to headbang for the first time in way too long, it gets 5 stars from me. And no, I'm not insane, you're just wimpy(jk). This album is the lowest rated album of 1987 globally. Other 1987 albums rated by me: Bad(1/25)-4 Document(4/25)-4 Sign o' The Times(5/25)-4 Strangeways, Here We Come(6/25)-4 Music for the Masses(7/25)-4 Darklands(9/25)-4 You're Living All Over Me(13/25)-4 The New Tango(19/25)-2 Warehouse: Songs and Stories(21/25)-4 Opus Dei(24/25)-4

Man, some of the hipsters on this site are insufferable. If I have to listen to MULTIPLE albums by The Fall and The xx, you guys can listen to a half hour of grindcore. At best I'd probably give this a light 3 but I'm bumping it up to 4 stars out of spite. Grow up.

There's something here, but it's hard to dig out, for me anyway.

Truly trailblazers

WTF

Knew this from listening to Peel religiously back in the day. I liked the idea and the fact that they existed…..it helped that the songs were so short!

Day944 - so loud but you know what, good for them

I don't get it. But siege if power is alright and the surprise electric guitar in polluted mind is fun. The gremlin singing in the back half is hilarious. Looked up the lyrics because they are incomprehensible. Typical themes from the genre. I'm surprised at how much I like the punchiness of the lines. Weird that they bother with rhyming couplets when they're recited through a vuvuzela. Glad I listened to it before I died. Would not listen again. 1 rat.

Like a hug for the ears.

Es un disco monotono con letras ininteligibles, la grabación suena amateur. Se entiende fueron pioneros en el metal y en el genero grindcore, pero este disco es dificil de escuchar completo. La unica cancion a la que le encontre forma fue siege of power.

Not a huge fan of 1 minute songs, but enjoyed some.

I once saw one of the members of Napalm Death perform ‘Ace of Spades’ with Yard Act at Rock City in Nottingham. Having listened to this album, I understand why they didn’t play one of their own albums. It mostly consists of unintelligible growling and indistinguishable sounds as it apparently moves from track to track (it’s impossible to tell when they change really). Truly awful.

Napalm Death invented the sub-genre of metal known as Grindcore, and after having listened to this I feel like I've listened to as much grindcore as I'll ever need to. Despite the two sides being recorded by almost completely different lineups (none of the original members were present for the recording of the second half, making the band an example of the Ship of Theseus paradox) sound pretty much the same. Even the songs are indistinguishable from each other, all sounding like a muddy mess of fast paced guitars and incomprehensible vocals. It makes me for a unique but not enjoyable (in my opinion) experience. Occasionally there's a half decent riff, but other than that it's not a record I'll come back to. The 5-second 'You Suffer' provides all you need to hear from this record.

This album is 33 minutes of growling vocals, blast-beat drums, and sludgy guitars. Every track is practically identical. If you like that sort of thing you may enjoy this. Personally, I prefer albums that demonstrate at least a vague awareness of the concept of ‘melody’. Side one was awful, but side two, recorded nine months later by essentially a different band (only the drummer remained from the previous line-up) was, if anything, worse. Somehow the new vocalist was even more irritating and there were even fewer occasional glimpses of something slightly better, like a half-decent solo or riff. Just no.

I have heard this album before and my opinion on this does not change: Crindcore sucks ass. I understand that this started the whole grindcore movement, but damn, I don't like this

Straight 5. Napalm Death were such an important band for extreme music, and for my own musical journey. Hearing the Peel Session as a kid changed my world. It introduced me to new extremes that defined my youth, and in turn, my life. Albums that I still hold dear to this day. I first bought Scum on vinyl with “Pay no more than £3.99” on the front. Folk are quick to gush over US hardcore and/or Punk (mostly retrospectively because they weren’t there at the time), yet Scum and the hardcore/death metal scene spawned many equally as important records. 1989 to 1992 were the golden years. Those not familiar with UK hardcore - particularly on this list - are quick to mock (“world’s shortest song lololol”), but there’s no denying the impact and influence of Napalm. Like many bands, they are a pale shadow of their former selves (post Mass Appeal Madness) but they obviously contributed significantly to what is now known as grindcore. Even the bands that spawned from ND members speak for themselves - Godflesh, Carcass, Scorn, Painkiller, Cathedral… To this day, I am torn on which side I prefer. Bottom line is, I like both. Two different bands, essentially. The rough mixes that surfaced for the reissue are fantastic too. Tl;dr Straight 5.

Awesome heavy music.

Oh come on now, just fuck off with this crap. Negative 20

There's actually some good stuff on here... and it's short!

This was definitely a listen exercise - I can't believe I made it through the entire album. No doubt there is some skill tied to be able to play instruments like this, but the whole lot of it honestly came across as noise. Just a terrible listen.

It's fine. Hadn't figured out how to record/produce this stuff to hit very hard yet, but I'm sure it was intense live. Suffers from the diminishing returns inherent to the genre. If you're always at 11, 11 loses meaning.

Interesting backstory, crazy high energy, and the shortest song of all time!? Sign me the fuck up. 5/5

It's a classic album but that doesn't mean I have to like it

An absolute classic metal album and the pioneering grindcore record. An incredible mix of hardcore punk rock and heavy metal that paved the way for other extreme metal.

На Tiny desk было забавно

I really don’t know what to rate this. It was not a pleasant listening experience. This album has serious nads though, it takes the nihilism of punk with the fury and speed of thrash metal and turns it all up to 11. I did find myself head bobbing to some of the longer tracks so maybe I should check out more albums…

Three songs in - “This isn’t nearly as bad as all the reviews say. It’s not good but it is at least different from most of the albums on the list and worth giving a 3. Eight songs in - “Ok, I see why most people don’t like this but I think all the 1s it has been given are a bit harsh. It’s worth at least a 2.” Nine songs in with so many (thankfully short) songs left: “Yep, this is 1. It can’t end soon enough.”

WTF!!

This has got an insanely low average score. Bold, aggressive, angry, unintelligible... what's not to like? Delighted to get a bit of metal on the list.

Scum by Napalm Death is, for me, officially the worst album I've heard during this challenge. The good news is that it's short. The bad news is that those 33 minutes somehow felt much longer. With 28 tracks averaging just over a minute each, I expected the album to fly by. Instead, it felt like an endurance test. From my perspective, it's 28 songs of relentless shouting, blast beats and chaotic noise. I know that's exactly what grindcore is supposed to sound like, and I can appreciate that the album was hugely influential in creating an entirely new genre. Unfortunately, influence doesn't equal enjoyment, and I found almost nothing here that I connected with. There was no point where the album grabbed me or made me think differently about the music. Instead, I spent most of the running time waiting for it to end. It was one of the hardest listens of the entire challenge. I know this record has a passionate fanbase and an important place in extreme metal history, but it's about as far away from my musical tastes as it's possible to get. Favourite tracks: None. Nothing here made me want to hear it again. Least favourite tracks: Take your pick.

5/10

No fav song

Look, i'm glad this is in the list, because otherwise 99% of the people who use this website wouldn't know what grindcore is or how early grindcore used to sound like. These guys obviously didn't do this album to be listened on a quiet Sunday morning while sipping your oat milk Matcha latte (Which i love, i'm not throwing shade), it's made to get a bunch of angry people to smash shit up and throw each other around. Obviously it's very loud, noisy, incomprehensible, but at the same time think of this is an exercise, you're just getting free education. Alas, my score will be low anyhow, because let alone grindcore i don't even like death metal. I don't like screamo, i don't like brutal scream, i'm a more of a 'Just sing the damn thing brudda' type of person. On top of this, i hate the modern approach of 'We're ass gobblers and this song is about hemorrhoids' type of groups that has 50 songs and 51 minutes of total time, caused by groups such as these, making me hate such groups. Giving it a 2, just because 'SCUM' is a really good song regardless of the vocals.

unfortunately for napalm death one of my favourite parts of a song is how an artist can tell a story through their lyrics. as i can’t hear a fucking word of this their lyrics could be the greatest thing ever put to paper but i wouldn’t know. i do actually like the grindcore style of heavy guitars and rapid drums, it’s just that i would never put this on without having to do so for this challenge, while some parts do appeal to me the majority does not.

I find this probably funnier than they were hoping but I still think it pretty much rips .

I'm not opposed to blast beats, sludgy guitars, harsh vocals, or even intentionally difficult music, but this is just stupid. The brief glimpses of actual music, the occasional intelligible riff here and there, make the rest of it more frustrating. I'm tired of giving pity points to albums just because they're influential or novel. There are so many extreme metal bands out there that have made real music with the same ingredients.

no

of all the solid 1-star albums, i enjoyed this the most so far

The two sides of Scum were recorded separately, and it's not hard to tell. The first side is close to thrash and punk, with deep vocals and fast blast beats interspersed with more traditional riffs. The second half leans into the faster bits and features higher pitched vocals. The first half is superior, mostly for the slower bits. The pounding drums, drowned out guitars, and indecipherable vocals make it hard to differentiate the lightning fast songs. A song like "Siege of Power" gives a hint at what a less chaotic album would be, and...well it's mediocre thrash metal, but it's better than the rest. I appreciate the desire to want to be as heavy and fast as possible, but bands have been more measured and careful with their sound and have achieved heavier, more powerful music than this. But if you don't care about songs and just want your face melted? You'll love this.

I feel bad for other albums I've given one star to now. This was zero stars. It's completely impossible to listen to, I managed 3 tracks. Even Lou Reed's Machine Music is easier to listen to. You couldn't even use this as white noise. This is sounds you'd use to torture hostages.

Harsh, chaotic metal

Scum n 3: Any refuse or worthless matter. That about sums it up for Scum, the album. Went in with an open mind, had to listen to this one twice to be sure it was as bad as I thought after the first listen. It was, and I had the lyrics during the second listen. The lead vocals (which were horrible) were unintelligible even while reading the lyrics. Even without the vocals, the music is not good. Scum (title track) was almost tolerable, and Life? actually made me laugh out loud. Simply put, Napalm Death is not for me. (0.45*s) Pretty sure I could die more peacefully without hearing Scum. I’ll take my 66-1/2 minutes back…

Wooof...we have hit a list low. Scum is beyond. Evil corporations destroying the planet, government oppression, human garbage, death to all. Skeksi paired up with a warthog demon on vocals is atrocious. Same fast paced guitar and drums...must just be about message. Had to pull up lyrics for each song, can't understand a word. "Siege of Power" was the only coherent one and for that takes only spot on the record as listenable. I did hear "Born on your knees, fucking asshole" in there. I was cracking up at this and how it is even real. Stay away from anyone who listens to this for enjoyment. Can't imagine the concerts and the people at them...nightmarish. They are all probably really nice guys though. I think Napalm Death played in Ace Ventura. Grindcore ain't for me but thanks to the list,I have checked the box for the genre. Pure sanctimonious slime straight from hell...0.0666 stars.

Yep. Nope. For the most part I could care less about a bunch of 1 minute songs with the same insanely fast beat and growled lyrics that you can't understand. The first time you hear a song you are a little impressed at just how fast everything is going. The drums are so rapid that they almost sound electronically generated which I guess I can appreciate on the surface level. Then you get a thrash guitar riff and death growl vocals that you can't understand so you just shrug your shoulders and dig your heels in to get through it. After the first 5 minutes I was completely over it. I had the lyrics up for the majority of this album and even with that I still couldn't follow along. Didn't sound like they did anything different with anything else on this album other than a 1 second song buried to end side A. Evidently there is an audience for this somewhere. Critics somehow find this to be important enough to give positive reviews and include it on this list but I'm not into it. I'm not sure I'll ever understand the allure of this style of music outside of a live setting for a specific type of audience who knows what they are in for. If I heard this in the wild I would turn it off or leave the area. Not my bag in any way whatsoever. Would it be a compliment to them to call this pure Scum? This may end up on the bottom of the list as a lot of the other bottom of the barrel entries at least bring some sort of ironic entertainment out of them. Outside of an insanely fast drum beat, which is cool for 30 seconds but really not enough for any other merit, I can't think of anything else to take away from this one. 0.03 stars?

Maso

Why are metal records produced so poorly? The drums especially sound so thin, cymbals are washed out, the bass drum are so compressed, the guitars are muddy. I don’t like this style of vocals, but I would like a lot more if everything else was recorded and mixed as well as the vocals. This is actually good. The drummer is insane. The guitar player is pretty great. The bass player… do they have bass player. I can’t hear one. I want to like this more, but the production sucks. Sorry, guys. 2.5

I am a metalhead but this is unlistenable. Music for mentally handicapped people.

Too much noise, but that’s the genre lol

I generally like metal-adjecent genres, but not metal itself, and this album did not change that. Despite cramming a whopping 28 songs into 33 minutes, there is not one distinct thing about any of them. The vocal sound like an ape being tortured and barely qualify as language, the music itself is good, but indistinct across 28 songs.

No thanks... not for me

After listening I truly do understand why this made the list Because it defined the point where music becomes just noise. And for those of you who quit early note that it does get better... Because by the halfway point you are quite literally deaf. 1/5 please spare me

cool but rough instrumental, dogwater vocals. There's no weight to them at all. eh-- I liked it more as it went on but heck it'd just be better if you removed the vocals, they do nothing for me or this album. It's as bad as the 1 stars are saying. It says a lot about this album though that a good number of the 5 star reviews are like "you don't get it man it's SUPPOSED to be bad!" C'mon there's a time and a place for contrarianism but this ain't the hill to die on. It's not THAT good.

Not my type at all

A very different album with each side having a different line up except for the drummer. I prefer side 1. Also the first I ever heard of grinder music.

My knowledge of grindcore is limited. it sounds like I expected it to sound. Cool, I do like some death metal. I like the terrible sound, dumb lyrics. I imagine there are better grindcore albums out there. 3 Heard before? Some Owned: No, 92/347 (26%) Will I get: Maybe

Like metal music but this was just for me. There were some songs I did like though.

Get the fuck out of here

objectionably unlistenable

not my tyle

I got a good chuckle out of it.

fun!

Look, I'm sure this is important somehow but this is just banging on the cymbals over the same heavy metal riffs with some growling. This is a 1.

No private session used for Spotify. I had to wait until afternoon to put this on as I know its not an album I could handle in the morning. After listening, I am not sure when I could handle it. I love me some metal, but this is just too much, music to club kittens to.

The songwriting process must have been something like this: "If you bang the drums really fast, I will scream something incomprehensible." "And for the next song, you do the same, but than with another vibe. Try to keep it up for 1 minute." "Wow, we have 28 songs in 33 minutes, that must be a great album!" As I read the Wikipedia, it has been 2 recording sessions, but I rest my case.

Hell yeah, belt sand my fucking skin off Napalm Death. An album only for irreparably noise warped minds and people who go to cozy leftist coffee shops, Napalm Death deliver regardless. Full disclosure: I've seen them live (more than once), I own a shirt of theirs, and I'm wearing it in celebration of having an excuse to listen to this thing. And while I don't think this is their best album, I do think it is a conclusive mission statement for grindcore as an entire genre. If someone asks you what the genre is, you could read some paragraphs off Wikipedia or just play them this. Although, if you are wondering what grindcore is, and that isn't a satisfactory answer, I think of it as the base principles of punk and extreme metal, fused together, and driven to their logical extremes. It's all 300 BPM blasts (I'm fairly certain that they invented new drum techniques to record this), 40 second songs, tar pit bass tone, and insane vocals delivering surprisingly well constructed anti-capitalist tirades. It's sheer *excess* as a glorious artform. So much so that after side A was recorded, the *entire* band left, except for driving force and drummer Mick Harris. Then everyone else was replaced. Consequently, this may be the only album ever to prominently feature two *entire*, *discreet*, iconic lineups. To be honest, the entire genre's something of an acquired taste, but there really isn't much out there like it. I think there are more iconic songs on side A. Instinct Of Survival, Scum, and Siege Of Power are some obvious standouts, mostly out of virtue of being more than 2 minutes long, but they are some of the more obvious moments of great song writing and dynamism here. Instinct Of Survival has a surprisingly catchy, Scum is built around the interplay of grind sections and an absolute *classic* doom punk riff with one of the most fucked bass tones ever recorded. And Seige Of Power is a more solid establishment of the link to an emergent Death Metal Scene that would be expounded upon in the genre's future by bands like Pig Destroyer, Carcass and other classics including Napalm Death themselves. But even past these, on future listens, some of the less obvious highlights start popping out, on this listen I found myself really into Polluted Minds, Sacrificed, and Human Garbage, but the longer you spend with this thing, the more the writing clicks as you start hearing past the noise, and the consistency at the heart here is really remarkable. I'd also like to shout out the legendary, immortal, ~ 1 second long You Suffer, something that feels like a real statement here, which would feel like a joke anywhere else. Side B doesn't have nearly as many truly iconic songs, but the slight experimentation of it already started expanding the boundaries of a genre that Napalm Death were basically inventing on the fly. Also, this side really pushes the formula to it's limits, with the *vast* majority of these songs coming in at less than a minute, and the longest at a monumental 94 seconds. The breakneck pace and redlined intensity are honestly a treat on their own, but much like on side A, you slowly start appreciating the songs here too. There is an impressive efficiency to the writing, and I think it's part of the reason they were able to try new things here, like different effects, and more dynamic vocals, and creative guitar work; if you don't like a song, just wait like 20 seconds. On this listen I found myself really enjoying Life?, Point Of No Return, Success, C.S., Parasites, Moral Crusade, Stigmatized, and Dragnet. But, much like Side A, you slowly realize just how consistent the songs here are as you break through the noise, and honestly, it's just a matter of what leaps out at the moment. This also, consequently means that it feels like there's plenty to keep discovering on Scum: through sheer density alone (28 songs in 33 minutes). If you held me at gunpoint, you could probably get me to admit that this isn't perfect, and that Napalm Death have better (or at least more immediate) albums. But it's one that's a 5 to me. It's *incredibly* enjoyable for the type of album it is, *and* it's utterly, *improbably* successful at it's goal. There wasn't like a period of figuring it out, grindcore emerged fully formed from Napalm Death's head before we even *really* figured out death metal. It's like when you learn that the parachute was invented before the plane. And if you liked this, and think it's as exhilarating as I do, I would urge you to dig into the genre a little (Pig Destroyer, Nasum, Discordance Axis, Brutal Truth, and Terrorizer are a good place to start), But it all started here. Scum is a very particular kind of classic, for a very particular kind of person, but if it *is* for you, there is no substitute.

Well 30 minutes of death metal is always preferable to 60+ minutes of death metal.

Brutal, in the best possible way. Fun surprise and welcome change of pace. For everyone else, don’t worry, you’ll get more Bowie or Elvis Costello tomorrow . . .

This album really has me re-evaluating my entire rating scale. I was clearly too harsh with my other "1" ratings.

Nothing against some hardcore metal but this isn't for me for a couple of reasons: it often leans towards the frantic, without being counterbalanced with the chugging heaviness of good thrash, like early Metallica. Second, the vocals aren't to my taste. Other than that I've nothing inherently against it for being heavy and I appreciate that its runtime is just over 30 minutes. Probably best consumed in small doses

Put pins in my ears instead

Metal just isn't my thing, man. I appreciated some of the instrumentation but I just don't like the super deep voice style of singing in metal. Favorite Track: Siege of Power

That's some noise.

1 I once listened to Drakes 'certified lover boy' just after it had come out in an attempt to understand what all the fuss was about with him. Because of that punishing mistake this was only the second worst album I've ever heard - at least napalm death kept it under 30 minutes. There were points in this where for 15 seconds or so I'd think, this isn't so bad - a nice guitar riff maybe. And then the singer would start scream/growl/choking out something completely illegible, or the drummer would decide to see how fast, hard and tunelessly he could smash up his drums and it was back to being awful. The fact that the second half was by an almost entirely different group of musicians was the most impressive bit, because they'd somehow managed to find people worse than the first lot. I've tried to see the positives in the albums I haven't enjoyed so much, and almost all of the time I can get why other people would. But it's genuinely incomprehensible to me why anyone would actually chose to listen to something like this. Sorry to those who do :(

really not for me - skipped halfway

You Suffer is the musical equivalent of an exclamation point and it’s fantastic. This album is just relentless. Explosive speeds and volume yet clear enough that you can still hear all the instruments. Deciphering the vocals is another story. Awesome album. Favorites were Instinct Of Survival, Scum, Siege Of Power, Human Garbage, You Suffer, Success?, and C.S.

Not really my thing, good instrumentally at times though

classic rebel adolescence album

Not for me

5 - AVERAGE

I'd rather die a Napalm Death.

Napalm Death absolutely deserve to be on the list in some capacity, and this is undoubtedly a highly important album in forming the bedrock for Grindcore and other extreme metal genres, but I can't help but think they went on to release far better material than this once they honed their melodic craft and incorporated more of a death metal influence into their sound. Side 1 of Scum is an absolute cracker, upping the extremity of anarcho-punk to new heights with tracks such as "Instinct of Survival" and "Siege of Power", but the production, inexperience in songwriting and lack of dynamic range on the second side lets the package down somewhat. You can very much tell that it was recorded in two separate sessions with two entirely different remits. Personally, I'd swap this out for any of Harmony Corruption, Utopia Banished, Enemy of the Music Business or even their most recent album Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism, but it's still an album I'd revisit and that I enjoy.

Some of the lyrics I kinda approved of, too bad you can't actually hear them

Whilst it's nice to have all genres represented on this list, it's very apparent that all genres are not for everyone

Sometimes art is not meant to be beautiful, or even enjoyable by most people. Sometimes art is meant to challenge, or even violate your sensibilities. Napalm Death accomplished this gloriously here, and if one is able to get past the horrifying noise they generate, the skill demonstrated becomes apparent, and the message hidden in the "music" is loud and clear. This album is bold and unapologetically hostile to corporate greed, government corruption and societal apathy.

i can see why this is lowest rated......

Might be the funniest thing I've listened to so far. It's getting a 3 for that and because this is what I was expecting RATM to sound like. Those guys weren't nearly as pissed off as these jolly fellows.

I've heard descriptions of people taking salvia - the super weird and disturbing 15-minute hallucinogen - who say they took it and said the experience was like being trapped as a fiber of a carpet for 1000 years, and it was extremely distressing for the nightmare and unpleasantness to end. This is what this album sounds like to me.

Hahaha I bet this one pisses off the old heads.

I don't want to sound like an old man about an album that came out before I was born, but it's just noise. I can't tell any sound apart from any other one. It's just an endless torrent of... noise.

0.0

I don't like this album but not because of the reasons the wusses in the reviews have. I just thought it was boring.

My goal in life when I retire is to create my own Top 1002 Albums Of All Time playlist for people to try. It will be better, less shoe gazer, and have a lot less small town Brit bands who never saw success outside of the island. Shit like this album will not be tolerated. Those aren't words he's "singing", it's as dark and dreary as anything I've ever heard. I do understand there is a market for this, those guys who live under the freeway have to listen to something. SHOCKINGLY they have one song with 7M listens, the title track, which is super catchy (I prefer the Taylor Swift cover). Even the 1.5 minute songs are too long! Zero value. Musicianship is ham fisted and juvenile, the mix is murky and fills every gap. Then he yells over machine gun drums. This is possibly the worst album I've reviewed thus far. No influence, no hits, no longevity, no good songs and no stars. I'm glad my kids never got into this and won't be living under the freeway.

This is about as bad as it can be.

2-

Every song sounded the same and I could not for the life of me determine what the vocalist was saying. Also, the instrumentals mushed together like they were beating mashed potatoes with an industrial mixer on the highest speed setting, which made it difficult to determine the skill of any one band member.

200626 11:54 3.5

yeah that’s grindcore alright

To jest peak totalny

A paradigm-bending classic I first heard via Jon Peel, then a friend taped it for me on a C30 cassette, which meant I never heard the last couple of tracks on this 33 minute/28 song album. Good to be able to read the lyrics while listening as otherwise most are incomprehensible. Technically proficient, initially energising but exhausting after about 20 minutes.

Not my style really, but again I see why people like it.

Just not fucking with it tbh.

Not boring.

Nope. Absolutely not, just no.

Sadly not into this genre.

An unrelenting wall of noise. I liked it.

Boo

Deserves to be on this list more than a lot of albums.

go random shit

Twenty-eight tracks with an average run time of a minute and ten seconds, so it's only thirty-three minutes you'll never get back. Still, the best thing for me about this album is that I'll never have to listen to it again.

Reading the reviews for this has reminded me that most people’s level of exposure to heavy music is minimal because this is so much more accessible and melodic than I expected. Most of the A side would fit into any hardcore or metalcore set I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Not to mention that most of the riffs wouldn’t feel out of place on an Iron Maiden album, they’re just shorter. It doesn’t have to be for everyone, but while metal and hardcore are frequently two sides of the same scene today, it doesn’t take much digging to learn how significant this album was on bridging the previously massive gap between them. That alone earns the album’s spot on this list. Update: Just listened to Converge’s new album right after and the influence can’t be denied!

Before listening to 𝘚𝘤𝘶𝘮, the only Napalm Death song I really knew was 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿, mostly because of how ridiculously short it is. After hearing the full album, I can at least understand why it became so influential. The riffs are often better than I expected, and the sheer intensity of the music was clearly pushing heavy music into new territory. What keeps me from enjoying it more is the vocals. I know they’re an essential part of the album’s appeal, but they rarely do anything for me beyond adding another layer of noise. Combined with the relentless speed and aggression, the album ends up feeling more exhausting than exciting. As a historical document, 𝘚𝘤𝘶𝘮 is fascinating. As something I’d actually want to listen to regularly, not so much.

Napalm would be more fun than listening to this.

No. 409/1001 Multinational Corporations 2/5 Instinct of Survival 2/5 The Kill 1/5 Scum 2/5 Caught...In a Dream 2/5 Polluted Minds 1/5 Sacrificed 1/5 Siege of Power 2/5 Control 1/5 Born On Your Knees 1/5 Human Garbage 1/5 You Suffer NR Life? 1/5 Prison Without Walls 1/5 Point of No Retrun 1/5 Negative Approach 2/5 Success? 1/5 Deceiver 1/5 C.S. 1/5 Parasites 1/5 Pseudo Youth 1/5 Divine Death 1/5 As the Machine Rolls On 1/5 Common Enemy 1/5 Moral Crusade 1/5 Stigmatized 1/5 M.A.D. 1/5 Dragnet 1/5 Average: 1,22 Tried to go in this with open ears and to find joy in some of it. But on top of it being pretty grating it is super repetitive.

This isn't for me. When the band stops playing I can tell the song is over. And then miraculously it starts over again.

Overall: 7/10 I don't fully know what to make of this album, but there's one thing I know for sure: it's a masterpiece. I enjoy listening to it not because of the melodies or incredible musicianship on display, but because these guys were brave enough to make something so far outside of the mainstream, and they did it while basically inventing a new genre of music and injecting an incredible amount of political lyricism into it. Another thing I like about it is that the two sides (recorded by almost entirely different groups of people) are very distinguishable from each other while still retaining the core essence of the project. For an album that's basically just unintelligible screaming over blast beats, that's pretty impressive. It may not be the most pleasant thing to listen to, but this is an important piece of music (and way better produced than it has any right to be) and I think it is essential listening for anybody who claims to be a fan of all music. It's the whole argument of "I listen to all genres" and somebody asking you "what's your favourite grindcore band?". Probably Napalm Death. 10/10 for it's importance and 5/10 for it's enjoyment. 7/10 seems appropriate. Fav Song: M.A.D.

Light 4.0. Definitivamente um álbum memorável, que fundamentou bem o Deathgrind

also death metal und grindcore is dann also fix doch nit so meins.. is ma zu viel und zu wenig zu gleich. is ma außerdem iwie zu happy? also so die drumms gehen volle ab und die gitarren auch aber es is so idk.. gibt ma einf nix

God lord no. Per google the lyrics are actually good but that could be fake news as they’re completely indecipherable in the singers low bark

1 star for publishing an album 1 star for guitars and drums, which are pretty rad Zero stars for everything else. The vocals are beyond appalling.

so cute when they do their little growls and grunts

Napalm Death is a classic band. Pioneers of deathgrind. That being said, time has passed them by. There's better stuff than this out there nowadays, as there should be.

Simultaneously great and awful. I think if the vocals were done a bit more... stylishly... then you would have a pretty solid album here

lol (kul att det här finns ändå även om det inte är för mig)

Jodå, det här har helt klart en energi som jag kan uppskatta!

Meningslös genre, obegripligt slöseri av metallriff.

Jag gillar heavy metal men den här var inte kul

Imponerade att få in 28 låtar på 33 minuter! Gjorde annars inget starkare intryck.

Har det något? Ja något. Men inte mycket.

Ah, a band I have put off listening to for about 2 decades. I love heavy metal and have always heard that Napalm Death is one of the original "Death Metal" bands and kept up with Slayer and Metallica during their Thrash Metal phases. I've never actually sat down and listened to any of their music until today. And honestly, having the lyrics open as I listened actually did not help at all with interpreting their speed chants. This is a core album to any skateboard parts/repair shop or tattoo parlor. Reading the lyrics, I actually find myself loving the message in their music. It's anti-corporation, heavily critical of consumerism and flock-mentality which is a message that is still extremely relevant in the year 2026. The media that the message is delivered via is extremely energetic and offensively raw. Every song definitely took one take and they just said "fuck it, keep it like that". The guitar tone is crunchy as hell but also comes through extremely clean, the bass thunders in the background of every track, and the drums are ridiculously fast and it all sounds like it was recorded in a garage next to a bunch of metal trash bins. Hilariously, the lyrics read like a high school LitMag with its various prose and poetic techniques. Sort of like thrash metal slam poetry. I definitely knew people in my high school who thought they were enlightened when listening to music like this. I get it, but also - objectively - it's just not great music. I think for me, personally, it's going to get a 4/10 which is carried purely by the content of the lyrics which you can't understand unless you read them. Honestly, they could have written anything in the transcription, and I wouldn't have questioned it. Cheers to those lads and their Dresden adventure. That review had me crying and trying not to make a scene at work.

Ugggghhh when you can read the lyrics, you find that they are actually interesting. But they are impossible to understand when they are being growled at you! My least favorite vocal style. What a waste of good content. I will give credit to the instrumentalists, because when I manage to block out the vocals I hear some pretty good stuff going on back there. It’s going to go into the two star category of: I understand the value of this, I just get no pleasure from listening to it.

How can you not like classics like "Ra ru re rah raaaaah" and "Roo too rah rooooooooo" seriously though not to bad and I like heavy music but this particular album wasn't for me

well alright! grindcore had to start somewhere and i appreciate that it exists but its not for me

Not good, sorry :/

Só barulho.

i'm sure this is culturally significant for some reason. however it is also unlistenable. when "scum" started playing i was like "oh at least this is an ok guitar riff" but then the guy started growling again and that's when i stopped

This is a wild one. 28 tracks and 33 minutes long. Only 3 songs over 2 minutes. It kicks ass for what it is and the drums are awesome, but if I'm going to listen to extreme metal I'll pick Bolt Thrower Realm of Chaos over this any day. Listen to World Eater and tell me I'm wrong.

Awful. Was going to give it a 2 cause it made me laugh a few times but I was listening to it on speakers and now my neighbours are going to call the men in white coats. Thanks Napalm Death

Nope

Beautiful peaceful music, I like to have it on in the background while gardening or painting

Seminal stuff

I'm in on track 5 and didn't realize it until I checked. It kinda sounds like the band just recorded a jam session and determined there were different songs based on when they needed a break. I'm having a hard time getting a clear story here. A lot of them seem like great ideas for songs that need some polish. Spotify says this has actually lyrics. I don't hear the words Spotify says are being said. I would like this more if I could understand what is being said

It sounds like what I expect heavy metal to sound like.

Wild for late 80s, too much at some points

Kudos if you like this noise. Not for me

Scum es un manifiesto estético radical y una obra de arte atemporal que revolucionó los límites de la música extrema, demostrando por qué ha envejecido bien como el pilar fundamental del Grindcore. Lejos de ser un caos sin sentido, el álbum es una muestra de genialidad disruptiva que rompió esquemas al dinamitar las nociones convencionales de melodía, estructura y duración. A través de ráfagas sónicas ultracortas y una distorsión abrasiva, el disco se erige como un potente llamado a la conciencia social que vomita su descontento contra la alienación y las estructuras del sistema. A nivel técnico, la velocidad sobrehumana de la batería y el zumbido industrial de las guitarras no desdibujan la ejecución; bajo la superficie late un ensamble apasionado y profundamente conectado en su rabia interpretativa, donde la furia instrumental y los gritos guturales se entretejen muy bien para sostener la tensión. Es un trabajo conmovedor, crudo y real en su brutalidad, cuya inmensa descarga de adrenalina y honestidad política lo vuelven una pieza de gran versatilidad, ideal para múltiples usos que van desde la alta intensidad del ejercicio y el enfoque dinámico en el manejo en carretera, hasta detonar una profunda reflexión solitaria sobre las fronteras del arte.

If I could give this a 0 I would

Horrible

I know grindcore is not going to be for everyone but this is not nearly as punishing as the ratings would suggest. But I get it, I probably would have hated this album too before I started giving metal a serious chance. Nobody has to like it, but it deserves a fair shot because I think its insanity is pretty fun to listen to

The GOATs. The journey the have been on through their career is incredible, and the debut is a really cool starting point. I personally enjoy the later deviations a bit more but you have to respect this.

This was horrible. Sounded like a bad garage band just beating on drums and trying to play electric. Couldn’t understood a word he “sang”.

It was so loud and utter rubbish-I could do better

Just random noises. I don’t see the vision.

Only positive was that I couldn’t understand the lyrics-so much guttural shrieking. And just loud noise-even the dogs were turned off by the sound

Отакої!!! Крутяк)

Yeah - rubbish

Noise in a bad way. 2/10

Primal, visceral, gutteral. Iconic for the early part of the hardcore scene and genre. Its a fun listen for musical knowledge especially a person like myself who likes metal and hardcore. Its truly unique in the lexicon of music. Almost unlistenable but it has those bitchin riffs.

Wichtig, aber nicht deren bestes Album.

Weckt starke Erinnerungen an meine ersten Jahre Wacken. Mittlerweile ist mir der Sound aber zu stupide und eintönig.

Aus historischen Gründen schon gut, dass das hier in der Liste ist. Wahrscheinlich aber ihr einziges Album hier in der Liste und "Scum" ist weit davon entfernt, ihr bestes Album zu sein.

Well, at least all tracks are short

boring.

??? nunca escuché algo tan espantoso

This was… something. I’m sure there’s an audience for this. It sure as hell ain’t me, though.

Ewwwww

No odio tanto la vida como para que me guste esto

Canciones de 1 min y medio Molesto inaudible

I'm going to guess that this is probably not going to be one of the more highly regarded albums in this project, and I was certainly skeptical going in. I like some metal, even some of the more extreme subgenres like death metal and black metal, but I've never really listened to grindcore (and, yes I'm aware the boundaries of the various subgenres are somewhat fluid). I was generally aware of Napalm Death's existence but hadn't really listened to them before this. The biggest surprise for me was how cohesive this was as an album, which is surprising when you consider that the first and second halves were recorded with almost entirely different lineups, with the drummer being the only performer on all 28 songs. Said drumming is muscular and drives the pleasantly chunky guitars fantastically. The vocals were you pretty standard metal indecipherable cookie monster growls for both lead singers, but this isn't a genre where lyrics or vocals are particularly important. I did look up the lyrics for some of the songs out of curiosity, and it's nice to see a band of this kind not going for the shock value of gore or satanism or extremist ideologies in what they put out.

I have not hated a 1001 Album this much for a long time

I get that each genre of music has something that is great and enjoyable and even beautiful and artful. And I have had brief glimpses of this on occasion when listening to music like this. I also know that people are wired and I'm sorry to say I am not wired to enjoy this kind of music. Yes I can appreciate the energy of this music and can appreciate the satire I often hear in the lyrics of this type of music, but unfortunately it will never penetrate my heart. My 2 stars here are an indication of my own personal dislike of this music - not 1 star because I do see the art - it just doesn't speak to me.

This could be the worst album we have had

NFM

I’m not really into this style of music. Heavy metal has never been my favorite, but I didn’t dislike this as much as a screamo-style album. It was short and kept me awake at work.

I like the drumming, guitar riffs and that the album has a lot of short songs so that you get more unique guitar riffs and drumming.

Umm...I wanted to like it because of the protesty vibes that are even truer today than when this album was written. But man the screaming was just so hard to get over. Like can people who listen to this even understand what he is saying without reading the lyrcis??? The songs were short and for me a good length for a break in between, but there is little chance this will be part of my rotation or that I would ever search this out.

nope. I could swear that the first quarter of the album was just the drummer warming up. This is good music to stomp around to.

Maybe this would hit different if I’d been to Dresden… I appreciate the sentiment here but holy crap. The singer sounds like Cookie Monster freaking out on PCP, and I can’t hear a word he actually says. Thankfully we’re in an age of being able to read along with lyrics so I could get the gist of what this was all about. I’m pissed about what’s going on in the world too, but this is next level dark shit. The manic instrumentation almost made me feel panicky. But I’m giving it a 2 because I was at least entertained by it and was able to laugh through the panic.

A veces no tenés ganas de escuchar algo, y está fue la ocasión exacta. Le pongo un dos porque a pesar de no tener ganas y escucharlo por encima no fue para nada inescuchable.

Nah 1.5

Back when i was a bartender in Dresden, my friend had told me about napalm death and i decided that i would play scum for all of my customers. While that was going on i saw two drunk young men walk into the accessible bathroom with a fully tattooed goth whore and they started to have a spitbogging contest inside while a guy in a wheelchair was patiently waiting to use the toilet. I felt bad for the guy.

Unlistenable. Who would recommend this? A good argument for negative star ratings.

Very interesting. I have not listened to much grindcore but a lot of hardcore. I really appreciated the guitar work and the drums in particular. They are very raw and add a lot. The vocals are a lot but I get the energy behind them.

What on earth was that

Well, that was 'fun', but I doubt this will be on my future playlist. There's a place for this, but not, I think, this list.

nah

I tried. Just can't get down with this kind of hardcore.

Takkeherrie

Must be an acquired taste.

I am not a big grindcore fan. I much prefer Heartwork to Reek of Putrefaction, and my brief time listening to Napalm Death in the early 2000s was pushed aside as I discovered At The Gates and started listening to melodic death. Not for me, but blast (beats) from the past.

6.5

Wow! Surprise addition!

I laughed when I saw this pop up. I look forward to the comments on this one!

No💜 Son 28 canciones de no más de 1 min de ellos gritando💜

This is #day639 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this isn't the kind of music to expose yourself to on a Saturday afternoon, right? I acknowledge this record as a cornerstone of grindcore, but this just isn't my lane. I can tolerate certain forms of thrash metal and, say, hardcore punk, but this… is too extreme/angry/evil for me. I didn't feel like finishing it. I'm landing on a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day640.

Some musically great sounds from time to time but otherwise lacklustre. They have far better works out there. 2.5 stars

I absolutely love Napalm Death, and Scum is a no-skip monster from start to finish. This album is pure chaos and aggression. While listening I felt energized, angry, and strangely euphoric — the kind of adrenaline rush only the best grindcore can give you. It’s short, brutal, nasty, and completely relentless. Songs are over before they even begin, but every single one of them hits like a sledgehammer. From the raw punk energy on the first side to the even more extreme second side (with a different lineup), the whole record is a classic. “You Suffer,” “Scum,” “Siege of Power,” “Instinct of Survival,” “Deceiver”… every track delivers. The production is filthy in the best way, the riffs are vicious, and the blast beats feel like machine gun fire. This album basically helped invent grindcore and still sounds as extreme and pissed off as it did in ‘87. If you’re into fast, heavy, and uncompromising music, Scum is essential. One of the greatest debut albums in extreme music history. No skips. Just pure destruction.

I wanted to like this album based on the cover art alone. I like punk. I love metal! This just sounds like unrehearsed noise. Its only redeeming quality was how short the songs and album were for my own sake.

There are just two songs on this 28 track album that are over 2 minutes long. That fact is the best thing about this album. Each track sounded like the one before it. And each made my ears bleed. Now, get off of my lawn!

Never been a grindcore fan. Obviously, this is one of the big albums of the genre. I appreciate the energy, but I just can’t get into it…and I’m in a punk band.

I couldn't make it past about 4 songs. I turned it off and raw dogged the morning commute rather than continue to punish myself.

LOUD. I mean, not enjoyable, but... kind of?

I thought this was a joke but apparently it’s not! Felt like it was about 32 minutes longer than it needed to be. Like a bad horror movie, just when you thought it was over it kept coming back. 1

Only a one-star because zero point zero isn’t an option. Unlistenable slop. No redeeming characteristics.

I wasn't ready for this on a Tuesday morning.

It’s so fast it almost feels like it’ll fall apart. It never does. Wild stuff.

Erm—28 songs in 33 minutes—can a fully formed musical thought be less than 75 seconds long?

I feel like my grandma when I say this, but what’s the racket?? Sounds like Frankenstein in the throes of being born.

Wikipedia says that the two sides of this album are “very different” and that the only musician who plays on both is the drummer. Huh.

Early grind. Pretty solid.

1/10 Garbage. It did make me question what is music, what is talent, why am I doing this? But it absolutely offended my musical sensibilities. And that doesn't matter, but it does mean you get 1 star. Horrible

Definitely among some of the least accessible selections on the list, but is the most important album for one of the harshest music genres and scenes out there, the stuff that's at the highest levels of "heavy music". Obviously that stuff isn't going to bother me because I wish people would be more ready to listen to music outside of their comfort range and discover more to life than constant The Office reruns. I'm not into grindcore, although I love most metal that I check out. Grindcore, for those unfamiliar, is essentially death metal on crack. That's the easiest way to put it. Scum incorporates the genres origin points: a mixture of something like Crass on meth, hardcore punk and a touch of metal. I actually ended up liking this more than I expected. I think Scum is certainly a 1001+ whatever album for music given it's legacy. But in some way it's not as inaccessible as the genre would mostly end up sounding. Between this and the black metal I've heard, I would much prefer this.

Ridiculous inclusion, absolutely terrible, can we move on please...

Horrible. I was just driving home and suddenly I had the experience of being in a mosh pit. Which is not something I enjoy. I understand that on the bell curve of things that qualify as "music", this is... on there, but it's right at the tail end.

WRAAAHGHGHGH. I mean that isn't something I personally listen too hahaha. But honestly I do get it and see the point of it a bit, and the raw noise it brings over. 1. Scum 2. Instinct of Survival 3. You Suffer

"Augughjfudjdhjgghhgjfj" I'm pretty sure that's an actual quote from this album from what I could tell.

Well…. Not for me eventually.

#380 / 1089 Heard before? ✅ Revisit? ✅ I'm going to give full stars to this one, just to spite those "is this even music" cunts that are bound to be present in the reviews. I see you. In the 80's when my musical taste was expanding from hard rock and heavy metal towards more and more extreme expression, I eventually came upon noise (or noise core), which is what stuff like this was called back then. I was already into punk and hardcore and this band just blew me up. Napalm Death, and especially the b-side of this album and their later "FETO" album, exploded my sense of what music is and gave me an inkling what music can be outside widely accepted parameters. Atonal sounds, hyper fast (and slow) tempos and genres such as harsh noise are a good examples of what I mean by that. I love chaos. Music like this takes quite a lot of understanding in a music-theoretical context to open up. It's also good to know what it takes to play stuff like this. Most people don't have that knowledge. Bands like Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror, to some extent Carcass as well, are some of the reasons why my taste in music is what it is and as varied as it is. "You suffer but why" indeed. 5/5

I like weird stuff, but this is too angry and heavy for me. Ha at that 5 second song though.

I think a lot of later bands have done this sound better, but to be fair a lot of later bands have done it worse, too. Pretty middle of the road, to be honest. It's got more energy than it knows what to do with, and as far as grindcore goes, the vocals are relatively intelligible. It, however, still features some of the genre stereotypes (and I guess it may be the progenitor?) that I don't care for like the overwhelming blast beats and the fact that a lot of these songs drop off a cliff by the time you can get into them (if you can) so you kinda have to know what's coming. Which is tough, because there are a LOT of songs and a surprising amount of variety for grindcore. It will surprise nobody that knows me that I prefer side A to side B. Anyway, decent album and an essential listen to understand a vast part of western music from the mid-80s on. Meet you in the mosh pit, or possibly at a deadlift PR attempt.

No thanks. Not for me.

If you have violent thoughts and feelings about capitalism, this music is for you. From the amazing cover art to the relentless sound, it scratches the itch that comes each time I get any news about politics in my country or elsewhere. The only thing I don't really get is the singing. I read the lyrics as I listened and they are pretty good, so it feels like a waste when the song titles are most of the context for their anger that you're gonna get. That being said, the complete disconnect between what I read and what I heard and the unhinged growling made me laugh a lot.

The vocals just make it hard to listen to for me, but the instrumental sections are classic thrash.

Ah yes, grindcore my beloved. Well, maybe "beloved" is a strong word, but compared to what everyone else seems to think of this, it may as well be my favourite thing ever. I like a lot of metal, much of which is on the more hardcore/extreme side. But this even for me is a bit too much. I still appreciate and enjoy a lot about it, the intense blast beats, insanely fast guitar playing, and absurdly aggressive vocals are all still really cool things to experience. But I'm glad this album is as short as it is, I don't think I could handle any more. I'm glad I've heard this, and maybe if I build a tolerance to it I could get more into grindcore, but for now I don't see myself refurning to this any time soon.

Haha

Lots of aggression here but very little else. Pretty difficult to discern one track from the next. Very much like a fart, we know it smells but that’s about all we’re left with

Gnarly, DNF.

I've officially confirmed that death metal is not my thing. This album consists of almost 30 songs (using the term loosely) that all sound more or less the same, which is to say that they consist of tremendously fast drumming, chunky guitars, and bursts of incomprehensible vocal growling. Thankfully they're mostly pretty short. Technically proficient, but not very interesting, at least for me.

Better than expected. This is actually a "double" album, with the A and B sides being recorded in different years by almost totally different groups and which I would rate 5.5/3.5, averaging to 4.5, rounding up to 5 Pros: - def 95th percentile deepest lyrics I have heard in a punk or really any song ("Control") - this is the fastest that it is possible for music to go? - it is a beautiful punk/metal Rorschach test, with punk rockers splitting to A and metal heads B. I was amazed by how different the two sides feel with relatively minor differences (e.g., the evil demon voice on B, which turned me off some of those tracks)

Good for what it is but doesn’t push the needle for me

No denying the influence but the production makes it sound like a bee trapped in a washing machine

Genuinely don’t know how anyone listens to this and thinks it’s good.

Didn't mind the first half since it was mostly speedy drumwork and some solid chord progressions borrowing from hardcore. Wasn't a fan of the growl vocals but that's okay, I can work around that & appreciate what I like. Second half filtered me or rather, I filtered it out. It drops much of the recognizable hardcore inspired stuff that I was enjoying & just becomes this abrasive wall of sound. At a certain point, I just stopped paying attention. I was about three songs from the closer when I learned the album was still trudging along. Then it started going back to the hardcore stuff & I was like, oh thank god, the light, the light.

Sounds like ninth grade. Which on the surface is great. But when you dig deep into the bullying and all the beatings, it gets to be much darker. Good thing I have Napalm Death to get me through those lonely hours on the mend.

I like to imagine he’s singing: 🎶I see skies of blue, red roses too…🎶 This was good in a frightening sort of way

This record is so critical and ahead of its time that it feels like Napalm Death traveled through time to steal it from a band that's currently active, and then trashed the fidelity and fucked with the levels a little to make it seem like they didn't recursively copy their own homework. A two part epoxy of CD skip guitar riffs paired with the rhythmic aggression of the most evocative hardcore and early death metal bands holds together a record that shouldn't hold together for 33 minutes. As an engineer in 1987, how do you even approach recording music that sounds like this? The guitars are disgusting, and each track is a homunculus with a distinct smell. Everything sounds like shit. At times, the song's arrangements notice that the tone sounds like shit, gets fed up with the deal, and decides it wants to sound like shit too. The tightness of the tracks goes from the lumbering but steady tank tread powerful enough to crush even the most steadfast doubter to a coiled, directionless mess of steel only capable of jingling lifelessly. Once this rare runt song finally dies of uselessness, the record continues like it never happened. I'm willing to play ball. There's something to be said (by me) about how this record sells all that needs to be sold in the grindcore marketplace of ideas. I often wonder, why do new bands keep trying to create what this record already is? Great albums are more than the sum of their parts, and the difference of Scum's sum seems to be ball lightning strong enough to power almost 40 years of cultlike respect. I truly feel like this band turned on a chain reaction of imitation and homage that will last long after they're dead. Maybe you don't believe me but Magrudergrind used the same crayons to craft their instant classic in 2012.

Unintelligible gibberish, and 1-2 unique lyrics per song. 28 songs and 33 minutes is not good avg. song length. The song title is probably the only lyric in the song.

Vocals are gutteral screaming, guitars and drums are skilled. Sounds like a neo Nazi hate rally. Not for me. The reviews do not disappoint!

Great bass, amazing guitar, meaning lyrics, heart pounding drums and the worst vocals you've ever heard. I've ever heard what else could you ever possibly want.

Honestly, I really kind of dug the music. Fast paced, high energy, but the "singing" really drug it down. I probably should give this a 1 star, but I am still riding high on that vacation vibe so I'll throw in an extra.

finally some real music

If you're like me, you're going through this list because you "love all kinds of music." But if you're rating this album as a 1 or 2, then you don't actually love all music, so stop lying to everyone. Because this album is absolute gold in the world of Death and Thrash Metal.

Grindcore. Litt som å bli banka en halvtime i strekk. Monotont og litt vondt. Top 3: -

very loud, and very concise songs, hard to understand a lot of it but i had no problem with it

I was hoping for Anal Cunt but this will do...I guess... 🙄

Its death metal

Funny for all the wrong reasons, but mostly because it defines the stereotype and takes the garbage that it is so seriously. The band can’t play its own songs, but didn’t take the hint and played them anyway.

Brutal.

Cant do it

When considering the concept of a book called "1001 albums you must hear before you die" it is thoroughly plausible to consider this as a more appropriate entry than a seventh Beatles album or some other album millions of people have already heard yet is of minimal artistic consequence. I'm not trying to be a music snob; like I've said many times already, I have a lot of time for (and own and enjoy) plenty of music I consider to be "disposable" or "lowbrow" and I stand by them as a valid artform and capable, as with any music, of being good or bad. If we're honest, the majority of people who like music (most people?) would think that Scum is terrible. There is little about it that conforms to any accepted norms of what makes music enjoyable to listen to. As a piece of art though, unintentionally or not, it is of huge importance. Not all things extreme make a difference. You'd be forgiven for thinking Scum just survives because Napalm Death maybe pushed things more than the next band, but there's more to art than that. It would take a staggering combination of foolhardiness and arrogance for any artist to proclaim they were going to make a debut album that would be influential and have people still writing things about it 40 years later. I haven't investigated further, but I'm pretty confident no such claim was made by Napalm Death (nor by Unseen Terror, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Doctor and the Crippens, Electro Hippies, Extreme Noise Terror etc.) This music was influential though! and here I am writing about it 40 years later. I have countless punk and metal records I prefer to this, and Scum doesn't come down off my shelves particularly often, but it really matters. So many of those albums that make it onto my turntable more regularly may never have been made if Scum hadn't been. And of course, this was only the beginning.

uma bosta

Love it or hate it, you just have to respect how relentlessly berserk this thing is. Are you really not glad you've heard this before you died? Favourite track: Siege of Power

1/5

Found myself laughing a lot while listening to Scum - 28 tracks in 33 minutes will do that to a person. Favourite track: Scum

Historically important but not something I’d listen to despite liking metal. Not thrash.

I quite enjoyed this! The guitars were awesome I'm personally not a fan of the vocal style, which drops it a star. As an instrumental though this would rock 3 ⭐️

I was wholly unable to understand any of the lyrics on this one I think. It was close to a 2 for me but for some reason that's not entirely clear to me it ends up being a 3. Maybe it's the absolute breakneck energy that's pulling it up Standouts You Suffer 3/5

Quality Quality Quality

Mick Harris says it's a 5, no bullocks, no circus.

People out here giving this a 1 when I had to listen to that bullshit Mariah Carey album.

I lasted 9 minutes until I had to cleanse my ears with Stevie Wonder.

Ok

Solid album but not every track was great.

That was certainly sound.

Raw and Brutal

I didn't really expect a grindcore album to be on this list. It's also very funny that only the drummer actually played on this full album - all the other guys were different on tracks 1-12 and 13-28. There's also a funny story about Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror trading vocalists back and forth twice in the mid-90s, though neither of those guys are on this album. Lots of songs, but mostly very short. Honestly I kinda dig it. Cool riffs. The vocals aren't my preference, but I'm OK with that style every now and then. I do slightly prefer the lineup from the first half of the album.

Awful

20/04/26 isso vai ser um lixo equalizado igual meu cu repetitivo pra um caralho parece que os caras escutaram uma música do gênero, tiveram 1h pra aprender a tocar os instrumentos e gravaram *emoji de caveira* é tudo igual - a virada da bateria, a voz, a guitarra não escuto death metal, mas eu tenho certeza que ele não se resume a ser igual assim deixaram as músicas de até 3 min com alguma coisa interessante a acrescentar no início, o resto é skit tmnc a bateria fez o mesmo padrão 1000 vezes em 5 min, e o cara até para gutural o cara n sabe falar - existe gente que sabe fazer e existe esse mano orororororororororor!!!!!! - esse cara em todas as faixas alguém confisca a bateria desse cara e coloca alguém que sabe fazer alguma outra coisa ou virada em siege of power trocou, ele tocou a bateria de fato e o outro aprendeu a pronunciar :0000 e aí voltou a mesma bosta pq tem uma faixa de 4 segundos kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk essas letras são inventadas dps da gravação n é possível acho que é a pior coisa que eu já ouvi, desculpa nine inch nails 28 faixas tortuosas por serem idênticas - sem vocal entendível e com a mesma bateria 2 se diferenciam, mas é tipo lixo dentro de um bando de merda foda-se o antifascismo aqui, execução de bosta 0/10 / 0/5, infelizmenre vai ter que ser 1

This was actually horrible. Totally incoherent noise. I hated this. Sometimes the riffs were okay and then vocals would come in and destroy anything they had going. This was just bad. I was counting down the time and number of songs til it was over. Also what is up with sub 1 minute songs? So weird....they all blended together anyway. I gave this 0 stars on my app lol Liked Songs: None, but these songs had okay riffs - "Scum" , "Born On Your Knees" , "Parasites" , "M.A.D."

There are amazing albums out there that represent the metal genre. This is not one of them.