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Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Goregrind1988

Second genre

Grindcore1985

Head to headGoregrind vs Grindcore
Goregrind: heaviness 9, melody 1, speed 10. Grindcore: heaviness 9, melody 1, speed 10. The two ratings are identical, so the shapes coincide.Heaviness9 / 9Melody1 / 1Speed10 / 10
Identical on all three meters. Whatever separates these two is not in the ratings.

The difference, by ear

Grindcore is political and comparatively musical. Goregrind keeps the form and swaps the politics for pathology, and pitch-shifts the vocals.

Both are growled or screamed and move at much the same pace, around 200 to 320 bpm. To hear the difference, play Carcass next to Napalm Death. Goregrind grew out of grindcore, three years later.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Goregrind9
Grindcore9
level
Speed
Goregrind10
Grindcore10
level
Melody
Goregrind1
Grindcore1
level

Goregrind

1988 · UK / Japan

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Grindcore › Goregrind

In short

Grindcore with pitch-shifted vocals and lyrics from a pathology textbook. Carcass wrote the rules on their first two albums.

How it sounds

  • Vocals run through a pitch shifter into an underwater sound.
  • Simple riffs, extreme tempos and deliberately filthy production.
  • Lyrics and cover art drawn from medical and pathological imagery.

Key acts

  • Carcass
  • Regurgitate
  • Last Days of Humanity

Start here

The pickCarcass - Symphonies of Sickness. Better produced than the debut, which is a low bar.

Full page →

Grindcore

1985 · Birmingham, England · 3 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Grindcore

In short

Hardcore and death metal compressed into songs under a minute, with continuous blast beats. Napalm Death have a song that lasts one second.

How it sounds

  • Blast beats at maximum speed, songs under a minute, albums of twenty minutes.
  • Short hardcore and death metal riffs with no development.
  • Dual vocals: guttural growl and high shriek, alternating rapidly.

Key acts

  • Napalm Death
  • Repulsion
  • Terrorizer
  • Brutal Truth

Start here

The pickNapalm Death - Scum. Side B, with Bill Steer on guitar, is the essential half.

Full page →