The band is recognized as pioneers of the grindcore genre, blending elements of crust punk and death metal. They are known for their noise-filled sound, characterized by distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdrive bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals consisting of incomprehensible growls or high-pitched shrieks. Their songs are exceptionally short, often featuring sociopolitical lyrics. Napalm Death gained substantial influence in the global metal community with the release of their debut album "Scum" in 1987, which was issued by Earache Records. Notably, their track "You Suffer" holds the Guinness World Record for the shortest recorded song, lasting a mere 1.316 seconds.
Over the years, Napalm Death has released sixteen studio albums and is recognized by Nielsen SoundScan as the seventh-best-selling death metal band in the United States.
Studio albums
Scum (1987)
From Enslavement to Obliteration (1988)
Harmony Corruption (1990)
Utopia Banished (1992)
Fear, Emptiness, Despair (1994)
Diatribes (1996)
Inside the Torn Apart (1997)
Words from the Exit Wound (1998)
Enemy of the Music Business (2000)
Order of the Leech (2002)
The Code Is Red...Long Live the Code (2005)
Smear Campaign (2006)
Time Waits for No Slave (2009)
Utilitarian (2012)
Apex Predator - Easy Meat (2015)
Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism (2020)
Mentally Murdered
Napalm Death Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Beyond the barriers of what's expected
As the free thought you were born with
Becomes externally polluted
Lose sight of your ideals
In their brainwashing institutions
Predetermine your values
Discouraging creativity
To aim for empty ambitions
Living up to others' expectations
Takes hold of your assiduity
Mentally murdered!
The will to succeed
Overpowers the will to resist
Mentally Murdered!
Always up to the mark
Set the wheels in motion
A fake sense of security
From your invariable position
Sinking in the crowd
A face minus expression
A mouth that echoes words
Recycled from tradition
Your only contentness
Is in living a lie
Mentally Murdered!!!
Do you possess the strength
To re-create your own life?
MENTALLY MURDERED?!
The song "Mentally Murdered" by Napalm Death describes the effects of societal pressure on an individual's psyche. The lyrics talk about how people are expected to conform to a set of expectations and values that are predetermined by society. The free thought that an individual is born with becomes polluted and they lose sight of their true aspirations.
The song suggests that brainwashing institutions discourage creativity and aim for empty ambitions. As a result, individuals end up living a lie and sinking into the crowd with no originality or uniqueness. They echo words that are recycled from tradition without any meaningful expression.
The chorus "Mentally Murdered" emphasizes how the will to succeed overpowers the will to resist and how people become mentally and emotionally drained by living up to others' expectations. The song ends with a question, "Do you possess the strength to re-create your own life?" which suggests that it is possible to resist the social pressure and recreate one's own life by breaking free from societal expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
Your aspirations, unable to stretch
Beyond the barriers of what's expected
As the free thought you were born with
Becomes externally polluted
Your desires are limited by societal expectations, and your innate ability to think independently is being influenced by outside forces.
Lose sight of your ideals
In their brainwashing institutions
Predetermine your values
To befit your substandard existence
Discouraging creativity
To aim for empty ambitions
You forget your own values and beliefs as you are indoctrinated by institutional norms that aim to make you conform to a mediocre lifestyle, while discouraging your pursuit of creative and fulfilling goals.
Living up to others' expectations
Takes hold of your assiduity
Fulfilling the expectations of others stifles your drive and ambition.
Mentally murdered!
Your mind has been destroyed by the influence of societal expectations, forcing you into a state of submission and conformity.
The will to succeed
Overpowers the will to resist
Mentally Murdered!
Your desire to succeed in society silences your urge to revolt against it, leading to your mental murder.
Always up to the mark
Set the wheels in motion
A fake sense of security
From your invariable position
You constantly meet standards and follow societal norms, despite the fact that it gives you only an illusion of safety and comfort, while keeping you stagnant.
Sinking in the crowd
A face minus expression
A mouth that echoes words
Recycled from tradition
You become lost in the sea of conformity with no identity of your own, lacking any emotions or individuality, and regurgitating words that hold no meaning to you.
Your only contentness
Is in living a lie
Mentally Murdered!!!
The only happiness you get is by deceiving yourself and following a fabricated lie, which leads again to your mental murder.
Do you possess the strength
To re-create your own life?
MENTALLY MURDERED?!
Can you find the courage and power to defy societal norms and break free from conformity to create a life that is truly your own? Or are you forever mentally murdered?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sean Cooke
My favourite Napalm Death noise! One for the funeral play list!
ecopunk66
At 55 secs into this i was launching myself off the stage at Newcastle Riverside in 1989…..Harmony Corruption tour ……RIP Jesse Pintado xxx
ro 997
Esse é volume no max
DIERAPPER - ANIMALMODE
THE BEST ALBUM
Mr. Vinster Guyster
Heavy and Sickening! 🤘
Innate
The EP that followed this album was the last of the true Napalm Death,,with all due respect to what came after that,
Dan (plays guitar)
The volume through this upload is so inconsistent, I keep having to turn it up and back down between songs. Anyone got a full playlist of the album that doesn't do this? Eh who am I kidding I'll just go buy the CD
andy forsythe
Never to return to this...classic
David B
Who here is reminded of Terrorizer's After World Obliteration
lakmeister
How very apt....look at the cover....Napalm saw it!!!! You didn't?