What we have here is a combination of death metal like vocals done by Napalm Death's old singer, Lee Dorrian and backup ones by Mick Harris, who left the band in the early 90's.  I'd have to say that the older Napalm Death releases like this one are where they were at their best.  I would say that this album is better than "Scum" because the music is more catchy and the intensity of the songs are more noticable.  They have all kinds of tempo changes like a slow intro and a slow outro.

The band did justice here for grindcore, them being pretty much the originators of the extreme music.  "From Enslavement To Obliteration" is an album that one can get into easily because the musical quality and production were way better than average for a grindcore act (old Napalm Death I mean).  When "Harmony Corruption" came out with Mark "Barney" Greenway, I think that all of the songs and production were superb as well.  They didn't give up their roots on that one, but later play more death metal more than grind.

The compositions here by Bill Steer on guitars is filled with all sorts of original ideas based on his influences and not duplicating anything, just playing his bar chord exhibitions and shying away from any sort of lead guitars, which is different than when he was and now is again with Carcass.  I think that he puts forth some sounds done like no other and intensity through the whole album except for the intro and outro guitars.  He doesn't contribute anything to the vocals, Lee and Mick were on duty for that.

I'd say that this is like death metal mixed with grindcore.  You can hear what Bill's playing even with the extreme blast beating.  Some of the riffs are going at full speed and it's really intense to say the least.  I'd really say that Mick was the best drummer for the band, I suppose that he left because he sort of lost interest with extreme music.  He was one helluv a grindcore drummer.  I don't think that the drummer that replaced him (Danny) comes close to Mick's talent.

So hearing this album compared to the newer Napalm Death sound, they don't have really brutal vocals anymore, Lee was pure deep throat and "Barney" was better in the early 90's via "Harmony Corruption" and "Utopia Banished."  Well, the music here is what counts the most and you can because of the production hear Bill Steer's riff outputs even when Mick is grinding out blast beats.  Most songs are not extremely long, but longer than the ones from "The Peel Sessions" compilation.

Lee and Mick kept the band brutal and insanely intense on this album.  Bill had some leads here and some songs were very brief.  The bulk of the grind was in the guitar, drums and vocals.  The combination of the low-end grunts by Lee and the high pitch sounds done by Mick gave the band more variety.  Bill does an awesome job on the guitar, even though maybe there were only 1-2 leads on this entire album.  His riffs are immensely good, maybe even better than that.

For a grindcore band during the earlier days, this album sure puts a good impact on the music community because it simply uncompromising.  The lyrical concepts are well thought out too and I think that as a whole, the band made an outstanding contribution to grindcore in itself.  There's nothing compared to the older sound of the band, nowadays I find their albums to be monotonous and that they disbanded from their roots.  Shane has been in the band for the longest time still dishing out great bass guitar.

If you're looking for grindcore at its absolute finest, "From Enslavement To Obliteration" is where it's at.  You can find the full album on YouTube.  It would be good to own even just the actual CD of this one because it's to me one of their best releases.  With Bill out of the band and back to playing guitars with Carcass, Mitch Harris is a good fill.  It's tragic what happened to Jesse Pintado, dead at 37.  Anyway, for grind and extreme music lovers, this one should definitely hit home and 34+ minutes of intensity!

Rate: 100%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

A 20+ minute bout of sheer NOISE.  This CD is grindcore at it's finest!  Low end vocals by Lee Dorrian and high end screams by Mick Harris.  Heavy wrenching guitar work by Bill Steer and on bass the immortal Shane Embury who's been with the band the longest.  What we have hear is almost musically unspeakable.  So intense and BRUTAL!  The guitars are all over the place, mostly fast tremolo picked riffs and heavy duty bar chords with blasting by the amazing drums.

Some songs are 6 seconds and I'd say a majority out of the whole CD there are no songs lasting more than 2 minutes.  In fact, most songs are about 1 minute and a half tops.  Just grind city and a raw production quality.  This is Napalm Death at their most brutal and intense.  There simply is no letting up with the deep throat vocals fluctuated with Mick Harris' screaming!  His drums almost never let up in intensity and the compilation has a little reverb added to that drum set.

There aren't many songs on here that you can really make out what's being played because what you mostly hear are not only the guitar, but bass riffs that have a distorted sound to them.  The band plays some covers on here.  You CANNOT say that this is really music, it's really just a conglomeration of distorted guitar work and because the snare is blasting away constantly, it's hard to hear the music itself.  There are only a few seconds of lead guitar work, pretty much all of this is pure grind.

This is one of the most intense 20+ minutes of sheer abomination!  I have never heard a most extreme noise terror outlet by this band, it's simply amazing in intensity and total musical destruction.  Yes the guitars are loud enough on here, but when you hear the drum blasting, I can't really make out and actual music.  When the tempos are slower, then you can definitely make out what's being played.  I think that Napalm Death did something here that is quite amazing if you want an adrenaline rush.

There are 25 songs on here most of which you can find the lyrics of, but from a musical standpoint, this is what grindcore should sound like and definitely should be at its most intense.  These guys put in so much energy in each track, even if one was 6 seconds long like the song "Dead."  There's only maybe 1-2 tracks that are slower.  The bulk of the release is just a good caffeine boost to have in the morning to get you going.  This compilation is one of N/D's most notorious ones in just 20 minutes.  It's hard to believe they were able to make this really work.  If you want extreme noise terror, The Peel Sessions is for you!

Rate: 100%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

All that I can shockingly say when I first heard this was "wow, what a hell of an album!" If your desire is to know what an ideal grindcore/death metal release or more particularly Napalm Death's best work to date, this one is it. Some accusations here I've heard is that Napalm Death copied the Floridian grindcore/death metal sound of the early 90's. While I say yes there are similarities, I still feel "Harmony Corruption" is original as is all of the Napalm Death albums that I've heard. This one has the most sickest guitar work, vocals and drums that an album needs in order to coin it as a quality release.

Let's look at the sound and riff structure first off. If you have the metal zone pedal more power to ya because the distortion here is maxed out. If you haven't heard this album, the crunch tone is monumental and contains so much thick fuzz that an amplifier can dish out. Next, the riff writing was not overtly complicated and technical. It is just heavy, fast and insanely intense. Their riffs are composed of bar chord usage, tremolo picked notes and fueled with so much energy. To me, the riffs were wholly amazing and flowed well for each song. The production makes the music a little bit hard to hear everything though, that's the only downside. So the album has a little bit of a "live" sound to it. However, all of the instruments and vocals were well mixed together despite this.

My favorite feature of the album are the drums. Why though? A name that may be long forgotten: Mick Harris. This guy tore it up. It was his next to last effort with the band entirely and his energy is astounding, but yet his drum lines are basic and well fitting. One thing that will pump you up is the blast beating. If you have "Live Corruption" (1992), you'll know what I mean because you get to see him in action. His efforts make the songs sound more intense and fast. The band as a whole contributed the most ever and every member was at their best.

One of the fastest and most invigorating experiences are viewed on "Live Corruption". Mick kept the band intense, brutal and insane which is something they have lacked since his departure. For Mark "Barney" Greenway, their vocalist, this his first effort with the band and best one to date. To compare, he's similar sounding to Frank Mullen of Suffocation, but seems to have a sustain that's longer and more instances where he's bellowing out his vox. The vocals therefore makes things fitting and exciting. Another note here, John Tardy (Obituary) and Glen Benton (Deicide/Vital Remains) are guest backup vocalists for the song "Unfit Earth".

The promise of "Harmony Corruption" is a great one because this album remains in the grindcore/death metal archives forever for being one of the best records ever made. I don't like the newer lineup and all of the other Napalm Death releases that I've heard haven't been as original and classic grindcore/death metal as this one was. What stood out the most again are the vocals, the guitars, and the drums. Everything was fueled and fueled with vigor. I discount other Napalm Death releases and refuse to listen to any of other one of theirs because they're not even close to sounding as good as "Harmony Corruption" is. Old Napalm Death is dead, long live old Napalm!