Top 10 Best Grindcore Bands

Hatred, frustration, political intolerance, and medical terminology are what Grindcore is all about.

The Top Ten
  1. Napalm Death

    Napalm Death is a British grindcore and death metal band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, England, in 1981. Although none of the founding members are still in the band, the lineup of Mark "Barney" Greenway, Shane Embury, Mitch Harris, and Danny Herrera has been stable for most of the band's career.... read more

    Most intense live band I've ever seen!

    Absolutely the best, no contest.

  2. Carcass

    Carcass is a British extreme metal band from Liverpool, formed in 1985. The band initially disbanded in 1995 but reunited in 2007. Drummer Ken Owen did not rejoin due to health issues, though the band has continued to release new music since reforming.

    Grindcore at its best. The angry vocals and Steer's brilliance on guitar. Why on earth is Carcass so underrated?

    Carcass is much better than Napalm, especially when they lost Steer and he went to Carcass.

    Listen to Reek of Putrefaction, and you will know what the definition of grindcore is.

  3. Pig Destroyer

    Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The original lineup featured vocalist J. R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull, and drummer John Evans, who was later replaced by Brian Harvey. The band is known for its intense sound and literary lyrical themes, with notable... read more

    This band is great for their genre, but one thing I noticed is that on their Prowler in the Yard album, the song Starbelly has parts that sound a lot like the Melvins' song Boris (which was made way before Starbelly).

    You might think I'm being unjust since the Melvins and Pig Destroyer sound nothing alike, but if you listen to the middle of the song Starbelly and then listen to Boris, you'll notice that they sound almost exactly alike. I'm beginning to wonder if Pig Destroyer stole the part from Boris.

    If they did, that would be bad because bands should be original and not rip off other artists. If they did it but asked first, then it would be okay. If they didn't, then it wouldn't matter.

  4. Cattle Decapitation

    Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band from San Diego, California, formed in 1996. Their music addresses themes such as animal rights, environmental destruction, and misanthropy, often depicting humans in the roles of abused animals. While the band originally had an entirely vegetarian lineup... read more

    One of the best out there. Their vocalist, Travis Ryan, can do pretty much anything, and they have amazing technical instrumentalists.

    Cattle Decapitation is most certainly one of my favorites.

    Cattle Decapitation is just fantastic!

  5. Nails

    Nails is an American hardcore punk band with powerviolence and grindcore influences, formed in 2007 in Oxnard, California. The band has cultivated a strong cult following among fans of extreme metal genres. Nails is currently signed to Nuclear Blast, and their most recent album, Every Bridge Burning... read more

  6. Discordance Axis

  7. Terrorizer

    Terrorizer is an American grindcore band originally formed as Unknown Death in 1985 in Los Angeles, California, before adopting the Terrorizer name in 1986. After disbanding, members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands such as Napalm Death and Morbid Angel. The band later... read more

    Aggression, speed, rage, heaviness - that's what grindcore is, and that is all about Terrorizer. World Downfall is the greatest grindcore record ever made.

    Should be the runner-up, just below Napalm Death.

  8. Insect Warfare

  9. Wormrot

    Wormrot is a Singaporean grindcore band that was formed in 2007 immediately after its founding members completed their mandatory two years of national service. The band gained international recognition with their intense sound and DIY ethic, releasing their debut album Abuse in 2007. Wormrot continues... read more

    The greatest modern grindcore band ever and one of the greatest modern metal bands.

  10. The Berzerker

    Amazing band. Every grind fan should listen to their self-titled debut and Dissimulate!

    Such a funny band, but very crazy and intense.

  11. The Newcomers
  12. ?

    Full of Hell

    I can't believe they weren't on this list.

  13. ?

    The Great Redneck Hope

  14. The Contenders
  15. Repulsion

    Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, formed in 1984. They are considered pioneers of the grindcore genre. Their influential debut album, Horrified, was recorded in 1986 and released in 1989.

  16. Aborted

    Aborted is a Belgian death metal band that formed in Waregem in 1995. They are known for combining brutal death metal with grindcore influences. Over the years, they have released 12 studio albums and toured extensively across Europe and North America.

  17. Brutal Truth

    Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band formed in New York City. The band was founded in 1990 by bassist Dan Lilker, who had previously played in Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death. The group disbanded in 1999, reunited in 2006, and continued releasing music until disbanding again... read more

    Extreme Conditions rules! Enough said.

    Best American grindcore band.

  18. Agoraphobic Nosebleed

    Agoraphobic Nosebleed is a grindcore band formed in 1994 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The group is known for its aggressive sound, use of drum machines, and short, intense songs. They have released several albums and EPs and are regarded as pioneers of digital grindcore.

    I love them. They're so fast-paced that they fired their drummer when he couldn't keep up. So they replaced him with a drum machine.

  19. Nasum

    Nasum was a grindcore band from Örebro, Sweden, formed in 1992. The band released four studio albums and developed into one of Sweden's premier metal acts. They disbanded after the December 2004 tsunami killed the band's frontman, Mieszko Talarczyk, while he was vacationing in Thailand.

    Best band that plays grindcore.

  20. Anal C***

    Anal C** was an American grindcore band founded by vocalist Seth Putnam in 1988 in Newton, Massachusetts. The band became infamous for its highly offensive lyrics, which included themes such as misogyny, homophobia, racism, Nazism, and antisemitism.... read more

    Anal C is the all-time heaviest band ever. Their 5,643-song EP cannot be topped. Absolute pure noise. Beautiful in every aspect.

    Way better than Napalm Death. These guys have pure talent!

    For me, it's AxCx and Napalm Death. The mass lunacy and carnage of Napalm Death and the non-conformist, actually quite funny song titles of A.C. are great.

  21. Bolt Thrower

    Bolt Thrower were a British death metal band from Coventry, England. Formed in 1986, they released their debut album through Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band later signed with Earache Records, where they became one of the label's best-selling acts.

  22. Brujeria

    Brujeria is an American extreme metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1989. Its name comes from the Spanish word for "witchcraft," reflecting the band's dark and politically charged themes. The band is known for its theatrical presentation, with members often using pseudonyms and masks or... read more

    One of the underrated ones. These masked Mexican musicians really know how to rock.

  23. Rotten Sound

    They can bring great riffs, great bass guitar, great solos, great vocals, and still be one of the heaviest bands of all time. Albums like "Cursed" and EPs like "Napalm" or "Consume to Contaminate" are some of the best grindcore works of all time.

    Rotten Sound should at least be in the top ten.

  24. Cephalic Carnage

    Cephalic Carnage is an American deathgrind band formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1992. The lineup includes vocalist Leonard Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman, and bassist Nick Schendzielos. The band has released six studio albums and has toured extensively in North America... read more

    Wow, why are these guys not higher on the list? One of the best.

    Arguably, they're deathgrind, but if we're going to include deathgrind in grindcore, these guys are easily top-five material. Like Cattle Decapitation, Cephalic Carnage has a surprising and creative take on the deathgrind formula.

    While Cattle Decapitation experiments more with vocal techniques, Cephalic Carnage also has a great and variable vocalist. Though slightly less creative than Cattle Decapitation's Travis Ryan, they experiment more with interjecting ambient sounds from jazz, surf rock, and flamenco. At times, they also incorporate jazz fusion licks into their unique and trippy brand of deathgrind without ever seeming ridiculous.

    These unique elements, combined with the fact that they manage to stay as brutal as grind gets, make them far more interesting than straightforward peers such as Terrorizer, The Berzerker, Nasum, or Anal C***.

    The top five should be: 1) Napalm Death 2) Carcass 3) Cattle Decapitation 4) Pig Destroyer 5) Cephalic Carnage. And while Carcass is an excellent band, their success comes more from their own unique brand of death metal, which they've been playing since Necroticism in 1991 and which barely has any grind left. In that case, Cephalic Carnage climbs to the fourth place, and Aborted is able to take a deserving fifth spot.

  25. Extreme Noise Terror

    Extreme Noise Terror is a crust punk and extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England, in 1985. It is considered one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. The band helped shape the style by blending anarcho-punk themes with grindcore and extreme metal elements.

    Love these guys. Put them in the top 5.

  26. Assück

    They are awesome, and their music style is also very innovative. I want to see them at least at number 5.

    By the way, Brutal Truth also should be ranked higher.

    Awesome band. Misery Index is their best release ever. By the way, why is Sayyadina not voted?

  27. Magrudergrind

    Their self-titled LP is definitely a must-listen for grindcore fans.

  28. Regurgitate

    They're awesome! The cover of their album "Carnivorous Erection" is the goriest ever.

  29. Homewrecker

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