Unseen Terror was a British

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band formed by Mitch Dickinson (

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 ...

) and Shane Embury (later of

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 ...

), and played extreme metal with a technical edge along with elements of

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 ...

Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of Earache Records' ''Human Error''

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

Their most notable feat took place in March 1988, when they recorded tracks for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

program.

History

The band formed after the demise of Warhammer, which consisted of Wayne Aston, Mike Clarke, Mitch Dickinson and Shane Embury. Unseen Terror was named after Dickinson was listening to

Septic Death Septic Death was an American hardcore punk band active in the 1980s. The foursome from Boise, Idaho was a major influence for the development of grindcore, thrashcore and "speedcore". History Septic Death was formed in 1981 by Brian "Pushe ...

. The song "Terrorain" by Septic Death has the lyric "Unseen Death - Terrorain". The

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

was fresh in the minds of many at the time, and Dickinson thought of the term "Unseen Terror", as the radiation in the air around the area of the disaster was invisible. The band was founded in early 1986 by singer/guitarist Dickinson and Embury. The duo wrote many songs together as a two piece band during mid 1986 - mid 1987. These tracks were recorded on to cassette during rehearsals. These rehearsal tapes were subsequently distributed on an international level via the tape trading network of the time. These tapes caught the attention of Digby Pearson who had recently founded

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 ...

. A few months into 1987 the band were invited to contribute two tracks to the compilation LP ''Diminished Responsibility'' (1987), and the group landed a record contract at Earache Records. Just after the recording of the tracks for this compilation LP, the band recruited Pete Giles as their bass player. This line up did not last very long. Earache Records booked the recording studio for the recording of ''Human Error'' during a time when there were various difficulties occurring (both logistically and personally) for the band. These unchangeable dates in September 1987 for the recording ultimately meant that Dickinson and Embury had no choice but to fulfil the agreement with Earache as a 2 piece band. The original album back cover photographs were taken on location in Broseley, Shropshire, England (by Pearson). After their debut album,

drummer Mick Harris joined the band as singer. The band were invited by John Walters to a recording session for

BBC Radio One BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, hi ...

. A one-off performance in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

with bassist Aston (Ex-Warhammer) took place prior to the recording of the session, but Wayne did not go on to appear on the Peel sessions recordings. The BBC session saw Dickinson and Harris share vocal duties on different songs during the session. The Peel sessions were released as a limited 12" EP in the UK and a CD (with uncommissioned artwork) in the US. These original releases are now regarded as collectors items. After the BBC session, the band reverted to the original line up of Dickinson and Embury. This line up was bolstered in early 1989 by the addition of Carl Stokes (Cancer) who joined on bass guitar. This was to be the last line up of the band. The band finally broke up later that year. More recently, re-releases of the BBC session occurred on the Earache compilation '' Grind Madness at the BBC''.

Band members

Constant

* Mitch Dickinson - vocals, guitar (1986–1990) * Shane Embury - drums (1987–1990)

Others

*Carl Stokes - bass (1989) *Wayne Aston - bass (1988) *Pete Giles - bass (1987) * Mick Harris - vocals (1988)

Discography

* Rehearsal demo tape (1987) * ''

Diminished Responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental funct ...

'' (comp LP), 1987 * ''

Human Error Human error is an action that has been done but that was "not intended by the actor; not desired by a set of rules or an external observer; or that led the task or system outside its acceptable limits".Senders, J.W. and Moray, N.P. (1991) Human Er ...

'' (album,

, 1987) * '' Hardcore Holocaust'', 1989 * '' Hardcore Holocaust II'', 1989 * ''The Peel Sessions'' (12", Strange Fruit Records, 1989) * '' 21 Years of Alternative Radio One'', 1989 * '' Grindcrusher'' (compilation album, (

, 1990) * ''Human Error'' CD Reissue (with bonus tracks), 2001 * '' Grind Madness at the BBC'' (3 CD Compilation), 2010

References

External links

Earache Records

Coverage in the book "Global Metal Music and Culture"Metal Underground
{{Authority control Crossover (music) Heavy metal duos British musical trios English grindcore musical groups Earache Records artists