''Grave New World'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band Discharge, released in 1986 by

Clay Records Clay Records was an independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 and based in a record shop in Stoke-on-Trent, England. History Clay's first signing was local Stoke punk band Discharge who released the ''Realities of War'' single in ...

. The album marks a radical stylistic change, with the band abandoning their previous

style for a softer, and more accessible

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

sound. The band split up in 1986, shortly after the album's release, but would end up reforming in 1990.

Content

The album sees the band move away from their previous style, by turning towards heavy metal, and particularly to a softer and more accessible

sound. Vocalist Kelvin "Cal" Morris also switched from his previous shouting vocals to falsetto ones for this album. Morris later blamed his rediscovery of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

for this decision. The tempos also became much slower, and a higher-quality sound took place in the recording. In order to promote the album, Discharge started the Grave New World tour in the UK, USA and Canada, but it would soon prove to be unsuccessful, and even disastrous for the band. By the time the group were playing in New York City, the fans were so outraged that the concert nearly turned into a riot. For instance,

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

frontman

H.R. Paul D. Hudson (born February 11, 1956), known professionally as H.R. (Human Rights), is an American musician who leads the hardcore punk band Bad Brains, and is an instrumental figure in the development of the genre. His vocal delivery has b ...

, got onto a balcony and started dumping ice on the musicians while they were playing. The album soon turned out to be a commercial failure. Discharge disbanded shortly after the tour.

Critical reception

The album received mostly mixed to negative reviews from professional music critics;

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Eduardo Rivadavia called it a "baffling and disheartening fall from grace" for the band, and also remarked that "it really might as well been credited to a different band." In a retrospective piece for The Pensive Quill, Christopher Owens described the record as "...a classic case of ambition over ability..." but still praised it for its more progressive moments.

Track listing

#"Grave New World" - 4:10 #"In Love Believe" - 4:54 #"D.Y.T. / A.Y.F." - 4:08 #"We Dare Speak (A Moment Only)" - 5:42 #"Time Is Kind" - 4:17 #"Sleep in Hope" - 5:54 #"The Downward Spiral" - 15:09

Personnel

*Kelvin "Cal" Morris – vocals *Garry Moloney – drums *Roy Rainy Wainright - bass *Stephen "Fish" Brookes – guitar

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Discharge (band) albums Glam metal albums Albums produced by Mike "Clay" Stone