Earache records is officially 25 years young this year. While it was the vinyl-only release of The Accüsed’s The Return of Martha Splatterhead that marked the label’s debut, it was the release of Napalm Death’s inconic/incendiary/etc debut, ‘87’s Scum, that started an uncanny hot-streak for the label, one which saw them go on to bogart shelf space in hesher bedrooms across the globe. Morbid Angel, Carcass, Cathedral, Godflesh, Extreme Noise Terror, Bolt Thrower, Terrorizer, Entombed…. Shit, Nocturnus, At The Gates too: all helped make that MOSH- catalogue number a guarantee of quality through the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Some great moments of ye olde Earache would have to include the cops busting their Nottingham, England office and tut-tutting and muttering obscenity charges when shambling across Carcass, Filthy Christians and Cadavers album artwork. The cops were duly alerted to this moral rot in the Midlands after some explicit gore artwork from John Zorn seized by customs. And then there was the toxic slime pack edition of Morbid Angel’s Domination. But shit, you’d have to go some to better this appearance on that old Hard and Heavy grind special from label owner Digby Pearson and Napalm Death, featuring a blonde Barney and chuffed Mick Harris.
https://youtu.be/TipudD5mq_8
Well, Carcass on Red Dwarf was pretty cool too.
Fuck, the Gods of Grind tour was unfuckwithable.
https://youtu.be/3Q5LPXD1i_A
In the past few years, they’ve kinda juggled their roster around, embracing digital distribution and unearthing ferocious nuggets such as Singapore grind troupe Wormrot, and crossover party-enablers Municipal Waste. Earache are popping the cork on their birthday celebrations with a one-off show featuring current flagship thrash acts Evile and Savage Messiah teaming up with Glaswegian hard-ass death metal crew Cerebral Bore. More to follow, for sure.
Now, seeing as we’re all lousy bakers and really suck when it comes to forgetting birthdays, anniversaries and suchlike, instead of getting the flour, eggs, sugar and butter out for Earache’s 25th birthday we affixed ski-masks and raided their stockroom filling the pockets with the following shit that you, yes you can win:
Godflesh Streetcleaner
Napalm Death From Enslavement to Obliteration
Various Grind Madness at the BBC
Evile Five Serpent’s Teeth
Woods of Ypres Woods Five: Grey Skies & Electric Light
Savage Messiah Plague of Conscience
Various Maximum Metal DVD (Morbid Angel Live Madness ’89, Deicide Doomsday LA, At The Gates Purgatory Unleashed — Live at Wacken, Municipal Waste — Live in Richmond 2006)
To be in with a shout of winning this over-sized Jiffy bag filled with six CDs and said four-DVD boxset (all pictured up top, game show style), just answer this easy question:
What was the second Earache release?
A: Kate Bush — Dreaming
B: Heresy/Concrete Sox — Split
C: Sepultura — Schizophrenia
Send your answers to: [email protected] by the 31st January and we’ll pluck the winner out of a Morbid Angel trucker cap and ship it out to them. Many thanks, Earache: Good luck with the next 25.
