Sore Throat
Encyclopedia
Sore Throat were a British
crust punk
/ grindcore
band, formed in Yorkshire
in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well launching the careers of several prominent members of the British metal
community.
, Pelvic Thrust, Police Bastard and Cain), Brian "Bri" Talbot (guitar; also previously associated with Doom and Pelvic Thrust, as well as Ackworth St. Chaos Front, Metal Motherfuckers from Mars, Bugeyed, Warfear, Woodhouse Rejects, Stalingrad, Blood Sucking Feaks, Devils and Virtual Reality). The band were vehemently opposed to what they saw as commercialism with the hardcore
scene, and used ridicule to lyrically lambast the likes of Napalm Death
, The Sex Pistols, Suicidal Tendencies
, DRI
, OLD
, Wehrmacht
and SOD
. Other lyrics mocked Nazis
, capitalism
and the straight edge
movement.
The band's first release was the Aural Butchery demo in 1987, and like other early releases such as the 42 track Death to Capitalist Hardcore EP (1987) and the Noise Annoys demo (1988) consisted largely of raw, sub-one minute blast of grindcore noise; Death to Capitalist Hardcore was later ranked number 14 in Terrorizer
s list of essential European grindcore albums. After signing to the Manic Ears label in 1988, Sore Throat released their debut album, Unhindered by Talent, which continued the trend, albeit with a number of more traditional, Discharge
-style numbers. Their second album, Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid on Earache
, showed even more diversity, incorporating distortion, blast beat
s, screams and grunts, and sound samples. However, whilst the A side of the album consisted of the band's patented noisecore, the B side contained more doom
-inspired crust punk, along the lines of Amebix
. The band also released the Inde$troy in 1988 under the moniker Saw Throat.
A line-up change resulted in Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw taking over on drums, and Sore Throat released their final full-length album, Never Mind the Napalm... Here's Sore Throat, in 1989, returning to their crust punk roots. A number of other releases followed, including the Soar Throat EP, the And We Don't Care compilation and the Poison Idea / No Handle Beer demo (featuring two Poison Idea
covers and one original track), but Sore Throat disbanded in 1990 due to internal conflicts.
Vocalist Rich Walker was already involved with Sludgelord and went on to play in the doom metal band Solstice
and epic heavy metal
group Isen Torr, as well as some hardcore bands like Wartorn, Warfear, Discontrol, Nailbomb and Harmony As One, all of whom released records in the early 1990s. He currently runs his own label The Miskatonic Foundation and plays guitar in Solstice
. Guitarist Brian Talbot went on to play with doom metal group Khang (latterly Lazarus Blackstar). Bassist John Pickering became a DJ at Radio Kerrang!
Original drummer Nick Royles set up an anarchist book mail order service, whilst his replacement Paul Halmshaw founded Peaceville Records
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
crust punk
Crust punk
Crust punk is a form of music influenced by anarcho-punk, hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the mid-1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills...
/ grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
band, formed in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well launching the careers of several prominent members of the British metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
community.
Biography
Sore Throat were formed in 1987 by Richard "Militia" Walker (vocals; of Wartorn and Warfear) and Nick Royles (drums). They recruited Jon "Doom" Pickering (bass; previously a member of DoomDoom (UK band)
Doom are an English crust punk band from Birmingham, England, whose first, influential lineup were together from 1987 to 1990. Despite its short existence, the band is considered pivotal in the rise of crust punk, a style within the punk rock subgenre that fuses extreme metal with anarcho-punk...
, Pelvic Thrust, Police Bastard and Cain), Brian "Bri" Talbot (guitar; also previously associated with Doom and Pelvic Thrust, as well as Ackworth St. Chaos Front, Metal Motherfuckers from Mars, Bugeyed, Warfear, Woodhouse Rejects, Stalingrad, Blood Sucking Feaks, Devils and Virtual Reality). The band were vehemently opposed to what they saw as commercialism with the hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene, and used ridicule to lyrically lambast the likes of Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
, The Sex Pistols, Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
, DRI
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is a thrash metal/crossover thrash band from the United States that formed in Houston, in 1982. The band currently comprises founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bassist Harald Oimoen.D.R.I...
, OLD
OLD (band)
OLD was a grindcore / industrial metal band from Bergenfield, New Jersey, signed to Earache Records...
, Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht (band)
Wehrmacht is an American thrash metal/hardcore punk band, that was formed in Portland, Oregon in 1985. After releasing two albums on New Renaissance Records, the band split up. Later, both albums were re-issued on one CD....
and SOD
Stormtroopers of Death
Stormtroopers of Death, better known as S.O.D., was a crossover thrash band formed in New York in 1985. They are commonly credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes called "crossover thrash." The song "March of the S.O.D.," from their 1985...
. Other lyrics mocked Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and the straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
movement.
The band's first release was the Aural Butchery demo in 1987, and like other early releases such as the 42 track Death to Capitalist Hardcore EP (1987) and the Noise Annoys demo (1988) consisted largely of raw, sub-one minute blast of grindcore noise; Death to Capitalist Hardcore was later ranked number 14 in Terrorizer
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...
s list of essential European grindcore albums. After signing to the Manic Ears label in 1988, Sore Throat released their debut album, Unhindered by Talent, which continued the trend, albeit with a number of more traditional, Discharge
Discharge (band)
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...
-style numbers. Their second album, Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid on Earache
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
, showed even more diversity, incorporating distortion, blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...
s, screams and grunts, and sound samples. However, whilst the A side of the album consisted of the band's patented noisecore, the B side contained more doom
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
-inspired crust punk, along the lines of Amebix
Amebix
Amebix are an English crust punk/heavy metal band. Formed as "The Band with No Name," Amebix's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released three EPs and two full-length LPs...
. The band also released the Inde$troy in 1988 under the moniker Saw Throat.
A line-up change resulted in Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw taking over on drums, and Sore Throat released their final full-length album, Never Mind the Napalm... Here's Sore Throat, in 1989, returning to their crust punk roots. A number of other releases followed, including the Soar Throat EP, the And We Don't Care compilation and the Poison Idea / No Handle Beer demo (featuring two Poison Idea
Poison Idea
Poison Idea was an American hardcore punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1980. The band originally dissolved in 1993, but has been playing intermittently since 1998.-Formation, 1980's and 90's:...
covers and one original track), but Sore Throat disbanded in 1990 due to internal conflicts.
Vocalist Rich Walker was already involved with Sludgelord and went on to play in the doom metal band Solstice
Solstice (UK band)
Solstice is an epic doom metal band from England, founded by Rich Walker after the breaking up of his previous hardcore punk / grindcore bands Sore Throat and Warfear...
and epic heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
group Isen Torr, as well as some hardcore bands like Wartorn, Warfear, Discontrol, Nailbomb and Harmony As One, all of whom released records in the early 1990s. He currently runs his own label The Miskatonic Foundation and plays guitar in Solstice
Solstice (UK band)
Solstice is an epic doom metal band from England, founded by Rich Walker after the breaking up of his previous hardcore punk / grindcore bands Sore Throat and Warfear...
. Guitarist Brian Talbot went on to play with doom metal group Khang (latterly Lazarus Blackstar). Bassist John Pickering became a DJ at Radio Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
Original drummer Nick Royles set up an anarchist book mail order service, whilst his replacement Paul Halmshaw founded Peaceville Records
Peaceville Records
Peaceville Records is a British independent metal-oriented record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw in 1987, in Dewsbury, England...
.
First line-up
- Rich "Militia" Walker (vocals)
- Brian "Bri" Talbot (guitar)
- Nick Royles (drums)
- Jon "Doom" Pickering (bass)
Second line-up
- Rich "Militia" Walker (vocals)
- Brian "Bri" Talbot (guitar)
- Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (drums)
- Jon "Doom" Pickering (bass)
Official releases
- Aural Butchery demo (1987)
- Death to Capitalist HardcoreDeath to Capitalist HardcoreDeath to Capitalist Hardcore is an EP by English grindcore band Sore Throat. It was originally released on 7" vinyl by Acid Rain Records in 1987 to a pressing of 1000 copies, and has been bootlegged multiple times since.-Track listing:...
EP (also known as self-titled EP) (1987) - Noise Annoys demo (1988)
- Unhindered by Talent LP/cassette (1988) (Meantime Records)
- Disgrace to the Corpse Of Sid LP/CD (1988) (earache Records)
- Inde$troy LP/CD (1989)(Manic Ears) (the band went under Saw Throat for this release) (LP rerelease on Epistrophy Records and Skuld releases in 2006, CD rerelease in 2006 on s.o.a.)
- Never Mind the Napalm... MLP/cassette (European edition: 60 tracks, USA edition: 16 tracks) (1989)
- Soar Throat EP (the band went under the name Soar Throat for this release) (1989)
- And We Don't Care CD (1989)
- Poison Idea / No Handle Beer demo (two Poison IdeaPoison IdeaPoison Idea was an American hardcore punk band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1980. The band originally dissolved in 1993, but has been playing intermittently since 1998.-Formation, 1980's and 90's:...
covers and one original track) (1989) - Death to Capitalist Halmshaw (featuring all Sore Throat demo tracks, the Death To Capitalist Hardcore EP and rare live material and unreleased material) (2006)
- Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid & Unhindered By Talent CD (re-released) (2010) (Earache Records)
Compilations featuring Sore Throat
- A Vile Peace LP (Peaceville)
- Spleurk LP (Meantime)
- Grindcrusher LP (Earache)
- The Hysterical Years CD (Manic Ears)
- Six Ways 7" LP (Komist-A))
- Summertime Sampler 7" flexi (Skateboard magazine)
- Volnitza LP (1 In 12 Records)
Bootlegs
Aside from their official discography, Sore Throat have been heavily bootlegged. Rich Walker commented that bootlegging of T-shirts has been especially prevalent. All Sore Throat albums have also been bootlegged on both CD and vinyl; some examples include:- Abraham's Ear 7" EP (Aural Butchery demo released with bonus live tracks)
- Death To Capitalist Hardcore EP (bootlegged 3three times with red/black sleeve)
- Death To Capitalist Grindcore LP
- Death To Capitalist Thrashcore LP
- F.O.A.D. studio/live LP (first half of this release is Walker's post-Sore Throat band Sludgelord)
- Algo Que Nunca Fue CD
- Encerrado En El Trago CD