1942. Napalm was developed in a secret laboratory at Harvard University in Massachusetts.  The name is a combination of the names of two of the constituents of the gelling agent: naphthenic acid and palmitic acid. The napalm fires can create an atmosphere of greater than 20% carbon monoxide and firestorms with self-perpetuating winds of up to 110 km/h (70 m/h).

1944. The first recorded strategic use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the USAAF on Berlin on 6 March.

1980. United Nations declared to use napalm against civilians is a war crime, but the international law does not prohibit the use of napalm or other incendiaries against military targets.

1981. Napalm Death was founded at a little village in heart of England by Nicholas Bullen (vocals, bass) and Miles Ratlidge (drums). They were around 14 then and listen to too many punk music.

1981-87. Constant line-up changes. There were 15 members during this period. The first album was recorded in two parts in 1986 and 1987 by two different line-ups, only the drummer Mick Harris is same on both side of the „officially” first grindcore album ever. Both founders left the group, Ratlidge in ’85, Bullen in ’86 together with Justin Broadrick, because they were discontented with the direction of the band. After the B-side recordings Shane Embury who was drummer in death metal bands joined as bass player.

1989. Lee Dorian (vocal) and Bill Steer (guitar) left the band due to musical differences. Dorian rather to found one of the first doom metal bands Cathedral; Steer rather to want concentrate to his own band Carcass. They were changed by Mark Greenway (vocal) from the death metal Benediction, and a Mexican born American guitarist, Jesus Ernesto Pintado Andrade from Terrorizer. Jesus stayed until 2004.

1991. Another American guitarist in the band. Mitch Harris arrived from Righteous Pigs. About this time he had a common project with Mick Harris: Defecation. After the third album Mick Harris left Napalm Death, because it became too death metal for him. He was replaced by an American drummer Danny Herrera.

1994. Napalm Death remixed a song of a British hardcore-rap crew, Gunshot.

After and beside Napalm Death

Miles Ratledge (1981-85: drums) living in Aarhus, Denmark where he runs an Ashtanga Yoga school.

Nicholas Bullen (1981-86: vocal, bass) studied English Literature and Philosophy. In 1991 he joined Mick Harris brand new project, Scorn, left it in 1995, and gained another university degree in Computer Science. He is occupied with avant-garde electronic, ambient, experimental music, sound art and 8mm film making.

Mick Harris (1985-91: drums) while was in Napalm Death also played for Doom and Extreme Noise Terror. 1991 he has formed an electronic metal-industrial dub band Scorn with Bullen, and Broadrick also appeared in the early recordings, but today he is the sole member. In the same time of founding of Scorn he joined John Zorn and Bill Laswell’s jazzcore band Painkiller. He had also dark ambient and drum and bass projects.

Justin Broadrick (1985-86: guitar) grew up in a hippie commune. He was about 8 when he heard Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music at first. After Napalm Death he was influenced by 80s hip-hop sound and acid house. His bands: Final (power electronics, dark ambient, founded in 1982),  Godflesh (industrial metal, 1988), Techno Animal (industrial hip-hop with Kevin Martin from GOD, 1991), Jesu (post-metal, 2003), Pale Sketcher (“shoegazy dream-pop that’s almost techno”, 2010) and more

Some Shane Embury’s side-projects:
– Meethook Seed (industrial metal, 1992) with Mick Harris and Obituary members.
– Brujeria (as Hongo with ND guitarist Jesus Pintado as Cristo de Pisto) with Jello Biafra, Fear Factory and Faith No More members and more.
– Venomous Concept (grind-punk, 2004) with Danny Herrera, and Buzz Osborne (Melvins). Buzz was replaced by Dan Lilker (Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., Brutal Truth)

Napalm Death on euro tour with Hatebreed
Budapest  Feb 25  at Barba Negra