Napalm Death is an English grindcore band that was formed in Meriden, West … Read Full Bio ↴Napalm Death is an English grindcore band that was formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. Since 1986, none of the band's original members have remained in the group. However, starting from their album "Utopia Banished" (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera, and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent for most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death briefly expanded to a five-piece band when Jesse Pintado joined as a replacement for former guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to being a four-piece.

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)

Social Sterility
Napalm Death Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[misprinted a "Social Security" (!) on the liner notes]

Time for my omittance
From a sterile existence
Where the weekend pays homage
To stereotypical perpetuation

Must inebriate my senses

Into a state of delirium
Before I turn to the meat-rack
For my penial selection

Apathy spreads
In unison with social disease
A scourge that infests
The cattle markets of youth

Unconscious, just promiscuous
Deprived of self-respect
In the selling of their bodies
All emotions dead!

Thoughts absorbed
Lost in sense of direction

It's time to sit down
And reassess my course of action

Overall Meaning

In "Social Sterility," Napalm Death expresses disgust with society's obsession with conformity and consumerism. The lyrics depict a weekend filled with shallow activities that maintain the status quo, such as drinking and hooking up with strangers. The singer feels trapped in this cycle and believes that apathy and a pandemic of unfulfillment are spreading throughout society, especially among the younger generation. The lyrics also touch on the issue of prostitution and the loss of self-respect that comes from selling oneself.

The song highlights an existential crisis where the singer looks to numb their feelings through alcohol and promiscuity. The song's chorus expresses the anger over the plight of youth as they strive for basic survival, who are conditioned to devalue themselves with the lack of options presented.

Line by Line Meaning

Time for my omittance
It's time to leave this environment

From a sterile existence
From a life of conformism and compliance

Where the weekend pays homage
Where the celebration of mediocrity occurs on weekends

To stereotypical perpetuation
By continuing to follow norms and customs

Must inebriate my senses
I must get intoxicated to numb my senses

Into a state of delirium
To forget about reality and enter a state of bliss

Before I turn to the meat-rack
Before I succumb to casual sex

For my penial selection
For a sexual partner

Apathy spreads
Indifference becoming infectious

In unison with social disease
Aligned with societal afflictions

A scourge that infests
A disease that infects