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''Horrified'' is the only studio album by American
grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
band Repulsion. Originally released as a
demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...
titled ''Slaughter of the Innocent'', the band recorded the album for US$300 at the basement studio of engineer Larry Hennessy in June 1986. It features fast songs combining elements of
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
,
death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
and
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
; blast beats; and bloody, gory lyrics. Although Repulsion disbanded not long after its recording due to a lack of record label interest in September 1986, the ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' demo was circulated in tape trading circles, and the album was eventually given an official release with its present title and adjusted artwork through Necrosis Records, a sublabel of
Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by r ...
owned by
Bill Steer William Geoffrey Steer (born 3 December 1969) is a British guitarist and co-founder of the extreme metal band Carcass. He is considered a pioneer and an essential contributor to grindcore and death metal due to his involvement in Napalm Death and ...
and Jeff Walker of
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...
, in July 1989. ''Horrified'' is retrospectively considered a classic and highly influential grindcore album and has been credited with pioneering the
goregrind Goregrind is a fusion genre of grindcore and death metal. British band Carcass are commonly credited for the emergence of the genre. Goregrind is recognized for its heavily edited, pitch shifted vocals and abrasive musicianship rooted in grindco ...
subgenre. In 2009, ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...
'' ranked it as the greatest grindcore album of all time, with ''
Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...
'' ranking the album as the second-greatest American grindcore album.


Background

In 1984, Matt Olivo and Scott Carlson formed the band Tempter in
Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...
. In the fall of 1984, they briefly renamed themselves Ultraviolence before settling on Genocide. The band recorded its first demo, known as ''Armies of the Dead'', in November 1984. In the spring of 1985, following a period of lineup instabilities, Carlson and Olivo agreed to disband and merge Genocide with
Chuck Schuldiner Charles Michael Schuldiner (May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American musician. He cofounded the pioneering Florida death metal band Death in 1983, in which he was the guitarist, primary songwriter and only continuous member until his ...
's
Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
. In August 1985, only weeks after they arrived in
Altamonte Springs, Florida Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in Central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Greater O ...
, drummer
Kam Lee Barney Kamalani "Kam" Lee is an American death metal vocalist. He is best known for his vocal contributions to Death from 1983 to 1985, and joined Massacre in 1985. Career Lee was one of the founding members of Mantas (later renamed Death). He ...
left Death. Unable to find a new drummer, the band attempted to work on new material. Carlson and Olivo found themselves at creative odds with Schuldiner; Carlson said that the latter wanted to take things in a more technical and guitar-oriented direction, while he and Olivo wanted to "completely thrash out". After returning to Flint, Carlson and Olivo reformed Genocide and recruited drummer Dave "Grave" Hollingshead, a punk rock drummer whom they heard about from a newspaper article about a
grave robbery Grave robbery, tomb robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a grave, tomb or crypt to steal commodities. It is usually perpetrated to take and profit from valuable artefacts or personal property. A related act is body snatching, a term ...
. Hollingshead's musical background in
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
and new wave differed from those of his bandmates, who were primarily into heavy metal. In October 1985, Genocide recorded the ''Violent Death'' demo and began playing local shows around Flint. Hollingshead initially struggled to play to the speeds Genocide wanted, leading him to play what they described as a "cheating beat"—"hitting the hi-hat every other time he was not hitting the snare". Within a few months, his drumming speed rapidly increased; Carlson said the lyrics of "The Stench of Burning Death", "Six Feet Under", and "The Lurking Fear", which were meant to be played at a slower, Slayer-esque speed, became "garbled". In January 1986, Genocide recorded ''The Stench of Burning Death'' demo at WFBE Studios with the help of guitarist Aaron Freeman, who was made a permanent member thereafter. The band attempted to shop the demo to various record labels, who responded with indifference and viewed the band as too extreme and uncommercial. According to Carlson, the demo was rejected by
Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...
,
Metal Blade Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...
, and
New Renaissance Records New Renaissance Records is an American record label founded in 1984 by Ann Boleyn (singer), Ann Boleyn, who also is the lead singer of the group Hellion (band), Hellion. History New Renaissance Records was created by Ann Boleyn after her ...
. In May 1986, Genocide changed their name to Repulsion, after the
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...
film of the same name, due to the existence of several other bands under their former name.


Development

Olivo said that 75–80% of the songs on ''Horrified'' were written while Repulsion was known as Genocide. All but eight of the album's songs are taken from the band's previous demos, and most were completed before Freeman joined the band. The intro of "The Stench of Burning Death" was taken from the chorus of an old Repulsion song titled "Crack of Doom". "Six Feet Under", "Decomposed", and "The Lurking Fear" were written during Carlson and Olivo's time with Schuldiner and Death in Florida. Carlson and Olivo were primarily responsible for the album's writing, either through the former bringing in a complete song that the latter would contribute to or both of them combining their ideas in equal measure. Freeman contributed to the writing of "Eaten Alive", "Acid Bath", "Crematorium", and "Splattered Cadavers". Carlson later described his and Olivo's organization style as a "dictatorship" that he believed was not enjoyable for Hollingshead. Although he said Repulsion "kind of ended up using imas a drum machine", Olivo felt Hollingshead brought in his own influences, such as with his use of downbeats when playing blast beats. Freeman highlighted Hollingshead's use of swing beats on "Slaughter of the Innocent" and "Bodily Dismemberment" as representing his experience in hardcore and funk bands. In June 1986, Repulsion recorded ''Horrified'', then known as ''Slaughter of the Innocent'', at the basement studio of engineer Larry Hennessy. According to Freeman, the album was recorded in three to four days, with two days spent on drums and another two days on guitars and vocals. Carlson said the recording marked the first time Repulsion's members had to be isolated from one another, which "threw everybody off" and made the band less "tight" than they had been during rehearsals. Repulsion self-funded the album's recording due to the lack of label interest. Doug Earp, the owner of a local record store called Wyatt Earp, paid the recording costs of US$300; the band did not pay him back until the album was released. Carlson said that Repulsion had intended to release ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' as an album rather than a demo, either through their own or an established label, but were unhappy with Hennessy's recording. Hollingshead recorded his parts in the studio's utility room with a Tama Rockstar drum kit. Olivo tracked his parts in the control room with a Vantage Flying V; Freeman also used a
Gibson Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designe ...
. Situated in a room between Hollingshead and Olivo, Carlson recorded his parts—intended as scratch tracks—with a Squier P Bass into a
Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
distortion pedal connected to a
DI box A DI unit (direct input or direct inject) is an electronic device typically used in recording studios and in sound reinforcement systems to connect a high output impedance unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance, microphone level, balanced ...
at the recording console, so Hollingshead could hear them while recording drums. He described the resulting sound—which William York of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called "an unholy mess of distorted sludge"—as a "happy accident". The guitars and bass tracks were re-recorded thereafter. According to Carlson, the re-recorded bass tracks were lost when Hennessy "blew over" them during the recording of guitar solo overdubs, resulting in his scratch tracks being used on the final album. Prior to recording, Carlson caught
strep throat Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive, group A str ...
but continued to practice vocals and "didn't let isvoice heal properly", resulting in it permanently moving to a higher register after the studio sessions.


Composition and lyrics

''Horrified'' consists of 18 songs with a running time of just under 30 minutes, with its tracks averaging around one to two minutes in length. Carlson cited Discharge as an influence on the album's length, stating that the band "needed 30 minutes, we figured—we were really into punk bands—and Discharge albums were about 30 minutes long, so we figured '18 songs'." Musically, the album has been described as both
grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
and
death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
. ''
Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
'' Eli Enis viewed the album as a "missing link between mid-Eighties American thrash and early English grindcore", while Alex DiStefano of the ''
Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''Phoenix'' ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A ...
'' described it as a "hybrid" of death metal and hardcore punk. Backed by raw production, the album's songs are fast-paced and show few signs of
groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...
and
melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
. They feature
thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
riffs and blast beats, as well as "noisy whammy-bar-eruption solos" reminiscent of
Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
. Carlson's distorted bass was influenced by
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
, Discharge, and
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
. At the time of ''Horrified'' recording, Hollingshead said he was listening to "death metal, anything fast—Slayer,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, Sodom, nowiki/>Corrosion of Conformity">Corrosion_of_Conformity.html" ;"title="nowiki/> nowiki/> D.R.I., GBH (band)">GBH, [and">Dirty_Ro.html" ;"title="Corrosion of Conformity">nowiki/> D.R.I., GBH (band)">GBH, [andBlack Flag (band)">Black Flag." Alexander Santelt of Metal.de">Corrosion of Conformity Dirty Rotten Imbeciles">D.R.I., GBH (band)">GBH, [andBlack Flag (band)">Black Flag." Alexander Santelt of Metal.de described the album's drumming as "chaotic, yet extremely driving". J. Bennett of ''
Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...
'' described the lyrics of ''Horrified'' as "blood soaked". DiStefano said that they tell stories of "cannibalism, rancid corpses, zombies, blood, gore, the horrors of war, and the apocalypse." Santelt writes that while the lyrics are primarily focused on "gore horror", songs such as "Slaughter of the Innocent" show elements of "socially critical hardcore". In a 2012 interview with ''
BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...
'', Carlson said that his lyrics were "a product of issurroundings", with some songs "conveying real fears and emotion while others are just pure exploitative fun." He drew influence from
splatter films A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the hu ...
such as '' Dawn of the Dead'' and ''
Evil Dead ''Evil Dead'' is an American horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series follows various characters as they battle demonic forces unleashed by an ancient book called the ''Necrono ...
'', horror comics like ''
Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...
'' and ''
Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics comics anthology, anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones (comics), Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''T ...
'', and the bands
Crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
and Discharge. He credited the latter with influencing the lyrics of "The Stench of Burning Death", "Slaughter of the Innocent", and "Pestilent Decay". Carlson's vocals, influenced by Cronos and Jeff Becera, were called "brutal" by Distefano and likened to a guttural, "zombie-fied version" of Slayer's
Tom Araya Tomás Enrique Araya Díaz (; born June 6, 1961) is a Chilean and American musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist of the thrash metal band Slayer. He was ranked 58th by ''Hit Parader'' on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalist ...
by Enis. York called them a "mid-range sneer" that would differ from the "exaggerated Cookie Monster style of much later grindcore". "Slaughter of the Innocent" is about the end of the world and was musically written by Carlson and Olivo with Discharge and
Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...
in mind. According to Carlson, "Decomposed" is the "ballad of a flesh-eating
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
". Selected as one of the album's highlights by York, "Radiation Sickness" was described by Joe DiVita of ''
Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...
'' as "a frenzied attack of clanging cymbal bashing and gnashing guitars". ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...
'' Gregg Pratt described "Splattered Cadavers" as "speedgrindmayhem". The lyrics of "Festering Boils" were taken—largely unaltered—from a "rought draft" written by Carlson's friend Jim Mark. "Crematorium" was the last song written for ''Horrified'', being completed days before recording commenced. The song's lyrics were written by Carlson, Freeman, and Dejecta vocalist Lee Williams, the latter of whom Carlson later called its "main songwriter". "Driven to Insanity" was inspired by ''
Re-Animator ''Re-Animator'' (also known as ''H. P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator'') is a 1985 American comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette " Herbert West–Reanimator". Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Y ...
'' and features a "victorious", galloping punk riff. "The Lurking Fear" was titled after the short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft, although its lyrics "have nothing to do with it", according to Carlson. "Black Breath" was inspired by the Nazgûls of
J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' series and is the only song on ''Horrified'' to not feature a blast beat. Carlson wrote the lyrics of "Maggots in Your Coffin" after its title was suggested by Tom Puro, a friend of Repulsion.


Release

Repulsion hoped the ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' demo would garner them label attention, and its subsequent failure to do so left them feeling confused and disillusioned. In July 1986, Hollingshead left Repulsion to join the Army, which Carlson attributed to him and Olivo constantly pushing him to play faster. The band recruited Tom Puro as a replacement drummer that month. By this point, Carlson felt that Repulsion had said all that they needed to with ''Horrified'' and were creatively burnt out. The band subsequently disbanded following one final performance in September 1986. At Earp's request, the ''Horrified'' lineup would reunite twice thereafter to perform at the Fallout Shelter in Flint on November 7, 1987, and January 1, 1988. In a 2020 interview with ''Echoes and Dust'', Carlson said that Hollingshead's departure and the birth of Freeman's son shortly after the recording of ''Horrified'' resulted in "a transitional period
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
we just never recovered from", and believed at the time that the album "would just be forgotten forever" after record labels showed no immediate interest in Repulsion.'''' In the intervening years, the ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' demo was circulated in tape-trading circles. At the urging of Napalm Death bassist
Shane Embury Shane Thomas Embury (born 27 November 1967) is a British musician, who is primarily known as the bassist of the grindcore and death metal band Napalm Death since 1987—the longest-serving member of the band. Career Napalm Death While not ...
, who was pen pals with Freeman,
Digby Pearson Digby Pearson (born 1962), also known as "Dig", is an English musician, producer and businessman. He is the founder of independent record label Earache Records. Biography Born and raised in Nottingham, he was introduced to extreme music whilst ...
of
Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by r ...
contacted Repulsion in early 1989 with an offer to release their album. Carlson said that, ironically, Earache was one of the few labels Repulsion did not send their demo to, as they had only put out two releases at the time—a reissue of
The Accüsed The Accüsed is an American crossover thrash band from Washington (state), Washington, formed in 1981 by Chibon 'Chewy' Batterman, Dana Collins and Tommy Niemeyer. The band was a progenitor of the crossover style that bridged the gap between th ...
's debut album and a flexi release by
Heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
. With some funding from Pearson, ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' was remixed in March 1989 at Silver Tortoise Soundlab in
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
, by Carlson, Freeman, and Jonas Berzanskis. Hennessy was supposed to work on the mix, but Repulsion could not contact him when it was time to do so. Around this time, Jeff Walker and
Bill Steer William Geoffrey Steer (born 3 December 1969) is a British guitarist and co-founder of the extreme metal band Carcass. He is considered a pioneer and an essential contributor to grindcore and death metal due to his involvement in Napalm Death and ...
of
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...
expressed interest in signing Repulsion to a record label they wanted to form to exploit the
Enterprise Allowance Scheme The Enterprise Allowance Scheme was an initiative set up by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative UK government which gave a guaranteed income of £40 per week to unemployed people who set up their own business. It was first announced on 13 November 1 ...
. Walker said that Pearson was afraid that—like Heresy had done in the past—Carcass was attempting to secede from Earache. Ultimately, Walker and Steer agreed to release Repulsion's album through their own Earache sublabel, Necrosis Records. Prior to its release, Carlson changed the name from ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' to ''Horrified'', which he considered a better fit for its cover artwork. The album was released through Necrosis and Earache on July 10, 1989.


Artwork

The cover of ''Horrified'', illustrated by Carlson in the style of
EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...
, was inspired by a story in ''Twisted Tales'' about a "burned up kid who comes back from the dead on Halloween and goes trick-or-treating." Mike Grossklaus, who worked on its layout, initially drew the album's cover, which Carlson described as a "sort of psychedelic blur of a photo of a guy getting his head blown off". Earache rejected Grossklaus' cover, and Walker ended up handling the artwork uncredited. According to Carlson, Walker enlarged and painted over his illustration to depict a "rotten, green zombie", unaware of its intended representation of a "burned up kid". Phil Skarich, whom Carlson knew from a band he was in called From Beyond, drew the liner notes artwork. Olivo, who was stationed in Germany with the Army at the time of its release, recalled that his first thought upon receiving a copy of the album was Goddamn, this is shitty looking!' ..that cover is just fucking awful", although he was happy with the rest of its packaging. In a 2004 interview, Carlson criticized the cover for deviating from its intended idea and said it was "terrible and we're stuck with it cos that's what people have seen." Conversely, Freeman considered the cover to be the "better choice" in hindsight, calling it Repulsion's version of Eddie. Bennett described the cover as "iconic".


Reception and legacy

In his retrospective review for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, York writes that ''Horrified'' is "widely regarded as a classic album" amongst grindcore fans as well as one of its most influential early works, though it could still be enjoyed as a "direct blast of youthful, horror-inspired thrash/grind mayhem" without having to consider its impact or legacy. ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
'' stated in 2019 that ''Horrified'' "agitated pace is also what gives he albumits charm, and for a generation of kids uninterested in a lot of extreme metal's technical obsession, the record became influential beyond anyone's wildest dreams." In 2021, Alexander Santelt of
Metal.de Metal.de is a German-language online magazine launched in 1996. The magazine focuses on the subgenres of heavy metal and hard rock, but also reports on similar styles. ''Metal.de'' foundation in 1996 makes it one of the longest-running heavy me ...
wrote that the album "remains absolutely relevant today, both as a historical audio document and the birth of rindcore but also as a still incredibly entertaining, ..primitively antisocial, yet charming and catchy blast." Calling it the genre's "first, and definitive" album and crediting it with "legitimizing the blast beat by employing it in bulk", Andrew Bonzanelli of ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...
'' ranked it first on the magazine's list of "The Top 30 Grindcore Albums of All Time" in 2009. That same year, ''
Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...
'' ranked it second on their list of the 20 best American grindcore albums, stating that Repulsion was "directly and indirectly responsible for
he existence of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
every other band" on their list. ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
'' and ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...
'' also listed it as one of the genre's most essential albums. ''Horrified'' has also been credited with pioneering the
goregrind Goregrind is a fusion genre of grindcore and death metal. British band Carcass are commonly credited for the emergence of the genre. Goregrind is recognized for its heavily edited, pitch shifted vocals and abrasive musicianship rooted in grindco ...
subgenre. Bennett remarked that although many did not understand Repulsion's style at the time of ''Horrified'' recording in 1986, "the handful that did would go on to form bands that would define grindcore and death metal in the late '80s and early '90s". As the ''Slaughter of the Innocent'' demo, ''Horrified'' garnered a following from "aspiring extremists" such as Nickie Andersson,
Lee Dorrian Lee Robert Dorrian (born 5 June 1968) is an English singer, best known as a former member of grindcore band Napalm Death and later as frontman of doom metal band Cathedral. He is currently singing with Septic Tank and With the Dead. Career ...
, and
Fenriz Gylve Fenris Nagell (born Leif Nagell; 28 November 1971), known professionally as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician, part-time music journalist and online radio host (with the show "Radio Fenriz")
of
Darkthrone Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band hailing from Kolbotn, Akershus. Formed in 1986 as a death metal band named Black Death, in 1991, Darkthrone transitioned to a black metal style influenced by Bathory (band), Bathory and Celtic Frost and ...
, the latter of whom would get a matching tattoo of the album cover on his arm. Embury and
Mitch Harris Mitchell Harris (born October 31, 1969) is an American guitarist. He started his career in the Las Vegas, Nevada grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originat ...
both cited the album as a massive influence on
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mi ...
, who also covered "Maggots in Your Coffin" on their 1999 covers EP '' Leaders Not Followers''. Entombed recorded a cover of "Black Breath" for a 7" single in 1994.
Anders Björler Anders Björler (born 26 February 1973) is a Swedish musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler. Björler has also directed, edite ...
of
At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At ...
credited his experience listening to ''Horrified'' at the house of bandmate
Tomas Lindberg Tomas Lindberg (born 16 October 1972), also known as "Tompa" and "Goatspell", is a Swedish vocalist who has fronted many death metal bands, most notably At the Gates. He has been active as a musician and composer since the late 1980s. He also t ...
with exposing him to grindcore and death metal.
Brutal Truth Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release mu ...
bassist
Dan Lilker Daniel Adam Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He has played bass in numerous heavy metal bands, including Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and Holy ...
said he was surprised at the speed of Repulsion when he first heard the album in demo form in the mid-1980s; vocalist Kevin Sharp considered Carlson's bass tone to be genre-defining for grindcore, comparing it to the influence of the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
' "riffing" on
punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
and
Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer. He currently plays drums with Fantômas, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungle, Empire State Bastard, and Misfits. Lo ...
's "'' Reign in Blood'' beat" on thrash metal.
Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They have released twelve studio albums. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, the band was originally known as ''Inferior Breed''. In late 1996, they changed t ...
drummer
Dirk Verbeuren Dirk Verbeuren (born 8 January 1975) is a Belgian musician and the current drummer of American thrash metal band Megadeth, amongst other projects. He previously was a member of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. Verbeuren recorded f ...
expressed admiration for the album, which he considered a "grindcore milestone".
Mortiis Mortiis is an Electronic music, electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Morti ...
cited the album as an influence. ''Horrified'' has also been described as laying the groundwork for other bands, including
Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...
,
Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
, and Pestilence.


Aftermath

Repulsion reunited in 1990 and produced two demos and an extended play, ''Excrutiation'' (1991), through
Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The ...
. The EP's success led Relapse to re-release ''Horrified'' in 1992,York, William. "Repulsion" ''
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
''. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
with new artwork and the bonus track "Black Nightmare", taken from Repulsion's ''Stench of Burning Death'' demo. In a 2004 interview, Carlson and Freeman said that the album had sold 6,000 copies through Earache and another 5,000 through Relapse. The band disbanded at the end of 1992, due to Carlson losing interest and moving out of Flint. On February 4, 2003, Relapse reissued ''Horrified'' again with a bonus CD consisting of various demos and other recordings titled ''Rarities''. Shortly after its release, Repulsion were offered a headlining slot at the final Milwaulkee Metalfest, leading to their reunion; the band has continued to tour and perform, primarily at festivals, since then. In 2009, Repulsion performed the album in its entireity in New York City with
Pig Destroyer Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The band was formed by vocalist J. R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull and drummer John Evans. Pig Destroyer is one of the most well-known grindcore bands due ...
and
Brutal Truth Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release mu ...
. The band initially reformed with its ''Horrified'' line-up; by 2013, Carlson remained its sole constant member. To date, ''Horrified'' remains Repulsion's sole album. When asked about the possibility of recording new material in a 2012 interview with ''
BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...
'', Carlson said that if "the material and motivation ever come together, I think epulsioncould do something that would not tarnish our name". In the 2016 edition of '' Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore'', he said that new material would have to come naturally instead of forcing it, but otherwise believed audiences would not be interested in it.


Track listing


Personnel

Personnel adapted from liner notes.Repulsion * Aaron Freeman - guitar, mixing * Matt Olivo - guitar * Scott Carlson - bass, vocals, mixing * Dave Hollingshead - drumsProduction * Doug Earp - production * Repulsion - production * Larry Hennessy - recording, engineering * Jonas Berzanskis - mixing Artwork * Scott Carlson - cover illustration * Jeff Walker - artwork (uncredited) * Phil Skarich - inner artwork * Mike Grossklaus - layout


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Horrified
' on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 1989 debut albums Repulsion (band) albums Southern Lord Records albums Earache Records albums