Name: Scum (Full Dynamic Range 2012 Edition) by Napalm Death
Brand: Napalm Death
SKU: 5055006500332
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3.5 (392 reviews)

ALBUM Explicit

As a rallying call for what seemed like millions of bands to follow, not to mention the launching point for the varying careers of Justin Broadrick, Nick Bullen, Mitch Harris, Lee Dorrian, and Bill Steer, Scum deserves its reputation alone. But it's also fun to listen to -- a strange word to use, but no doubt about it, the album has its own brand of rock & roll kicks taken to an almost ridiculous extreme. Split between the original lineup, with Broadrick and Bullen, and the next one, with Dorrian, Steer, and Shane Embury, Scum is a portrait of a place, time, and state of mind. Opener "Multinational Corporations" is the deep breath taken before the plunge: skittering cymbals, low-key feedback squalls, Bullen's rasped hatred -- and then all hell breaks loose. The riffs by both the Broadrick/Bullen and Steer/Embury teams use hyperconcentrated Black Sabbath-via-Motörhead-and-Metallica approaches as starting points, but the moorings are cut loose when everyone concentrates on nothing but speed itself. The combination of hyperspeed drums, crazed but still just clear enough guitar and bass blurs, and utterly unintelligible vocals takes the "loud hard fast rules" conclusion to a logical extreme that the band's followers could only try to equal instead of better. Interspersed throughout all this on various songs are more obviously deliberate constructions -- parts of the title track, say, or the focused chug-and-stomp start of "Siege of Power." They act as just enough pacing for the rampages elsewhere, where unrelenting, intense sound becomes its own part of weird ambient music, textures above all else. It's little surprise the free jazz/noise wing latched onto Scum as much as wound-up-as-hell headbangers did worldwide. That practically no song survives past two minutes -- much less one -- is all part of brusque do-the-job-and-do-no-more appeal. The most legendary number as a result: "You Suffer (But Why?)," running at a mere two seconds. ~ Ned Raggett

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Scum (Full Dynamic Range 2012 Edition)

Product information

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1. Multinational Corporations

2. Instinct Of Survival

3. The Kill

4. Scum

5. Caught... In A Dream

6. Polluted Minds

7. Sacrificed

8. Siege Of Power

9. Control

10. Born On Your Knees

11. Human Garbage

12. You Suffer

13. Life?

14. Prison Without Walls

15. Point Of No Return

16. Negative Approach

17. Success?

18. Deceiver

19. C.S.

20. Parasites

21. Pseudo Youth

22. Divine Death

23. As The Machine Rolls On

24. Common Enemy

25. Moral Crusade

26. Stigmatized

27. M.A.D.

28. Dragnet

29. Multinational Corporations (Rough Mix)

30. Instinct Of Survival (Rough Mix)

31. The Kill (Rough Mix)

32. Scum (Rough Mix)

33. Caught... In A Dream (Rough Mix)

34. Polluted Minds (Rough Mix)

35. Sacrificed (Rough Mix)

36. Siege Of Power (Rough Mix)

37. Control (Rough Mix)

38. Born On Your Knees (Rough Mix)

39. Human Garbage (Rough Mix)

40. You Suffer (Rough Mix)

41. Life? (Rough Mix)

42. Prison Without Walls (Rough Mix)

43. Point Of No Return (Rough Mix)

44. Negative Approach (Rough Mix)

45. Success? (Rough Mix)

46. Deceiver (Rough Mix)

47. C.S. (Rough Mix)

48. Parasites (Rough Mix)

49. Pseudo Youth (Rough Mix)

50. Divine Death (Rough Mix)

51. As The Machine Rolls On (Rough Mix)

52. Common Enemy (Rough Mix)

53. Moral Crusade (Rough Mix)

54. Stigmatized (Rough Mix)

55. M.A.D. (Rough Mix)

56. Dragnet (Rough Mix)

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