Released 30 years ago
Diatribes
Napalm Death · 1996
97 min · 31 tracks · death metal
Aggressive grindcore erupts with relentless rhythms and socially charged lyrics, showcasing the band's signature sonic brutality.
Top tracks — play these first
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Greed Killing — Opening with a blistering pace, this track critiques societal greed through a combination of furious instrumentation and guttural vocals that embody the band's ethos.
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Cursed to Crawl — This track showcases a shift in dynamics with an intense buildup leading to an explosive chorus, effectively illustrating the struggle against oppression.
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Just Rewards — With its relentless tempo and incisive lyrics addressing moral decay, this track encapsulates the band's thematic focus on societal issues during the album.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
The album's relentless energy and thematic depth make it a notable entry in grindcore, though its cohesion suffers from numerous short tracks.
What we noticed
- The album features a consistent use of blast beats and aggressive guitar riffs, creating an unrelenting sonic assault throughout its duration.
- Tracks often shift abruptly in tempo and dynamics, with some songs clocking in under two minutes, emphasizing intensity over length.
- Lyrical themes focus on societal issues, with each track delivering a pointed critique, enhancing the overall message of disillusionment.
- Composition 25% of the score
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7/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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8/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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6/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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7/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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5/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Significant within its genre. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- dynamic emotional journeys
- long immersive listening sessions
- wave-like pacing experiences
- intense, cathartic releases
Where this album fits
- Career context
- Released in 1996, Diatribes marked Napalm Death's fifth studio album and followed the successful album Fear, Emptiness, Despair. At this point in their career, the band was solidifying its reputation as a pioneering force in grindcore while also experimenting with more complex song structures and production techniques.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Carcass· Brutal Truth· Pig Destroyer
Tracklist
Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.
Disc 1
- 1 Greed Killing 3:05
- 2 Glimpse Into Genocide 3:01
- 3 Ripe for the Breaking 4:01
- 4 Cursed to Crawl 3:25
- 5 Cold Forgiveness 4:32
- 6 My Own Worst Enemy 3:35
- 7 Just Rewards 3:28
- 8 Dogma 3:30
- 9 Take the Strain 4:10
- 10 Diatribes 3:51
- 11 Placate, Sedate, Eradicate 3:24
- 12 Corrosive Elements 4:01
Disc 2
- 1 Intro 4:33
- 2 Unchallenged Hate 2:14
- 3 Life? 1:12
- 4 The Kill 0:45
- 5 Scum 3:02
- 6 If the Truth Be Known 4:37
- 7 Lucid Fairytale 1:31
- 8 Control 1:53
- 9 Walls of Confinement 3:11
- 10 Malicious Intent 3:55
- 11 Social Sterility 1:24
- 12 Suffer the Children 4:17
- 13 From Enslavement to Obliteration 1:56
- 14 Dead / Practice What You Preach 2:26
- 15 Mentally Murdered 2:40
- 16 Extremity Retained 4:51
- 17 Mind Snare 4:04
- 18 Success? 1:45
- 19 Rise Above 2:50
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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