Defecation "Purity Dilution" (Nuclear Blast 1989)

"Purity Dilution" is the first album released by Defecation, and the only release of the two to have Mick Harris on it. It was released in 1989 on Nuclear Blast Records, and was issued in four different versions.   

Track listing

"Intro-Megaton" – 1:55

"Vestige Of Earthly Remains" – 3:00

"Life On Planet Earth Is Fucken Cancerous" – 1:26

"Contagion" – 2:08

"Predominance" – 1:40

"Recovery" – 2:23

"Side Effects" – 2:15

"Mutual Trust" – 2:21

"Focus" – 2:18

"Popular Belief" – 2:03

"Scrutiny" – 2:52

"Underestimation" – 2:21

"Granted Wish" – 3:36 - Bonus track; only on the 1992 release and the 2000 digpak release. 

Line up: 

Mitch Harris - Guitar, Bass, Vocals

Mick Harris - Drums, Vocals

Mitch and Mick Harris definitely have a pretty good record when it comes to grindcore. Both of them coming from Napalm Death, it doesn’t surprise me that this album is really good grindcore. Why I think this album is different from Napalm is because they mix more death metal influences into the music. Where Napalm is pretty much straight grind in their first two albums, this album incorporates some death metal. 

The songs themselves have a lot of the standard stuff you would expect from a grindcore band. Lots of blast beats, lots of punk influenced riffs, and guttural-ish vocals. Now I think this album does incorporate some death metal, but not enough to call it straight death metal. It is mostly still grindcore, but some of the riffs are very heavy and are reminiscent of bands like Gorguts or Cannibal Corpse (“Recovery”). The vocals are a pretty far step from grind bands such as Carcass and Napalm Death but are more like deeper Repulsion vocals. Now I’m not sure who does the lead vocals but whoever does is a great grind singer.

Production on this album is pretty good. The guitars are clear and heavy. The drums are loud and powerful. Mick Harris definitely has his own style of drumming and it shows heavily on this album, it’s completely grind and works perfectly for this album. Mitch Harris also seems to have his own way of writing riffs and they are all pretty awesome. The bass is my only problem with the production. It’s almost non-existent. You can hear it every now and then if you listen real closely. 

Overall a very good grindcore album. If you like Napalm Death’s early work you should like this. 

Best tracks – “Recovery”, “Popular Belief”, and “Life on Planet Earth is Fucken Cancerous”