Mick Harris’ Scorn: Complete Discography Deep Dive Part 1 — The Earache Years

From industrial hellscapes to minimal dub beats, Scorn’s varied discography is great fun to get lost in.

Scorn is one of my favourite musical projects of all time. From the murky industrial beginnings — channelling the sounds of Godflesh and Swans into a new experimental hell of dub and ambient — through to the minimal and sometimes devastating electronic beats the project would become renowned for, I love it all. So much in fact, that I made a pretty terrible YouTube video about all of it at the beginning of the year. I planned to do more discography deep dive videos, but I don’t think I really did Scorn justice in that format. So in my first article for Medium, I figured it would be best to dive back into Scorn’s work, and lay it all bare properly this time.

Early beginnings — transcending the industrial mire

Scorn formed in 1991 as a project of Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris, who left the band after they began pursuing a more death metal direction in the early 90s. Harris’ drumming was vital to the development of the band’s earlier grindcore sound, which pushed metal and punk to its most polarising extremes, at least in forms of speed and ferocity. In forming Scorn, Harris re-united with fellow Napalm Death luminary Nicholas Bullen, who played with Mick on the seminal Napalm Death album Scum in 1987.

Funnily enough, the duo - as Scorn - were also initially joined by yet another ex-member of Napalm Death, guitarist Justin K Broadrick. This meant that the classic Napalm Death line up that recorded the A-side of the legendary Scum album were now reunited, and the same label, Earache Records, were onboard to release their album. Earache had seen unexpected mainstream success with Scum (especially considering how extreme the sound), and seizing the chance to work with the same musicians again seemed like a no-brainer, I’m sure. However, what ended up coming from the Scorn project, I don’t think anybody really expected.

A black sun is rising — Vae Solis (1992)

“Wait a second….. Is that slow, industrial metal?” — a hardcore kid in 1992, probably.

To anyone who expected Scum II, I suppose it should be of no surprise in hindsight that what they got instead was the exact opposite, at least on the spectrum of speed, what with Justin Broadrick going on to form Godflesh and yet another ex-Napalm member Lee Dorrian going on to form Cathedral, the doom metal band who started their career with an album that was deathly slow and harrowing. Cathedral would later carve their own niche with their unique stoner groove, but ultra-fast grindcore they were not. In a recent Instagram Live video by Al from Earache Records, he explained that a lot of kids in 1992 were simply not down with the slower vibes of Scorn’s Vae Solis.

But is it any good?

So the three Napalmers Anonymous had re-united for a downbeat and drab dirge through meaty industrial music. Or at least, that’s how it seems when you’re listening to the first half, or the first third even, of Vae Solis. Think of the punishing works of early Swans, Justin’s own Godflesh or even less-inspired industrial acts such as Skin Chamber. Vae Solis, with that trademark Broadrick wailing guitar, that Bullen drawn out vocal, and Mick Harris…. well this guy is just a damn genius, full stop.

The record opens up with a spate of industrial metal tracks. The band is tight and the music is robotic and deathly, lifeless and muddy. But that’s not the reason I fell in love with this project, no - things start to change around “Lick Forever Dog” which spreads open, and the tracks become gradually more and more sparse, bizarre, dubby and experimental as the record goes on. It is almost like two records stapled together. “On Ice”, “Heavy Blood” and, actually, the whole ending-third of the album is some of my favourite music of all time.

As Vae Solis unfolds, the tight industrial metal falls away from the bone and we are left with the true Scorn; a paranoid, experimental journey through a world of heavy dub, ambient and oppressive soundscapes.

This was what caught my attention, not the industrial metal, and this is the stuff that I absolutely fell in love with. Despite this, I still rank Vae Solis as an industrial album and it sits there alongside Godflesh’s Streetcleaner or even Swans’ Filth as an vital entry into the world of slow and horrifying music.

Check out: “Lick Forever Dog”, “Hit”, “Heavy Blood”, “On Ice”

Flesh falling away from the bone — Deliverance (1992)

In the same year, Scorn released the Deliverance EP. Its a long record, especially for an EP, and its a tough one to get through, I’ll be honest. Personally, I find it best to view the Deliverance sessions as one long sprawling track, more than as individual segments. The way the the song titles flow kinda encourage this too; “Deliverance Through Dub” or “Delivered”, “To High Heaven”. At first it seems repetitive and annoying, but eventually what Scorn is doing begins to make sense. The band are just breaking down the music, bit by bit, in some perverse subversion of what “dub” means, and turning the music back on itself like folded sheet metal. Deliverance is deep, introspective, murky, horrible dub. There are a few sparks of guitar here or there, but this is a massive step off the deep end from what the band experimented with on the second half of Vae Solis.

The Earache CD reissue of Deliverance also includes three Sabres Of Paradise remixes of the track “Exodus”, which originally appeared on a later Scorn album. This takes the “EP” length to nearly an hour, which is a bit absurd. These “Exodus” remixes are more ambient, with more uplifting and gazing synth work than the deep, dark mires of Deliverance itself.

Check out: “Deliverance Through Dub”

Aural megalophobia — Colossus (1993)

Colossus is a trip, to put it mildly. In only a year since their debut album, their sophomore record showcased the sheer progression that Scorn was making as a project. It would perhaps be lazy of me to say that Colossus continues in the vein of the moody, dubby second half of Vae Solis of which I have spoken so highly of, but truly Colossus is something much more sparse, harrowing and desperate. The songs are lengthy trips, spaced-out and stretched, and the drums are drenched often in reverb. The feel is dense and paranoid, even though the songs are rather minimal.

What is worth noting however is where the future releases would go further into beatwork from drum and bass or even hip hop styles, Colossus stays in rather rigid terrority in regards to its framework, despite the sprawling and experimental nature of the songs in general. There are also a smattering of crushing noisy ambient passages here, that are like Harris’ soundscape project Lull, but on a bad acid trip.

Speaking of acid trips, you could easily compare the music on Colossus to Godflesh on acid. Colossus is probably one of the most claustrophobic dub records you could ever hope to hear. Its like having ants crawling on your skin. If the word “dub” conjures the sounds of King Tubby, Lee Perry et al, prepare to have your face melted off, very, very slowly.

Check out: “Endless”, “Nights Ash Black”

An alternative take — White Irises Blind (1993)

White Irises Blind was released as 10” EP in 1993, leading with the titular single, but Earache released it on CD a few years later, combined with the contents of the Lick Forever Dog 12” single. Its only really worth mentioning because it includes some absolutely stunning remixes of the tracks “On Ice” and “Heavy Blood”, and of course of “White Irises Blind” itself.

The band also released...

Alive and disturbing — Lament (1993)

Another 1993 release, this time a 7” EP consisting of two tracks. The Lament 7” is a noisy little badger; a completists item though, most definitely. “Lament” itself is a disturbing wall of noise recorded live in Italy, and “Soliel Noire” is some sort of live or early version of “Black Sun Rising” or one of its seemingly endless variants from the Deliverance EP. Confused? You oughtta be! All in all, there is nothing new on Lament, but it’s nice to hear these tracks presented in such al noisy and grimy style.

Lament is also worth mentioning because it features creepy artwork by Ruth Collins, who would create the cover art for the next three Scorn records, as well as being the person who did the original Vae Solis cover art.

When the silver rain fell — Evanescence (1994)

This is where, if ever, Scorn enjoyed anything akin to commercial success. Evanescence is probably the most popular by the project and was the most well-received of the early Scorn records. It featured James Plotkin on guitar duties (Old Lady Drivers / Khanate), and was to be the last Scorn album to feature Nicholas Bullen on bass and vocals. From the opener you’ll notice a few things are different here. Hip hop or drum and bass beats are now starting to trickle into the band’s full lengths, but be fooled not; Evanescence is still a dark, moody, haunt of a record.

The leading single, “Days Passed” is as poppy as Scorn would ever get. The tempo is surprisingly quick for a record wallowing in dub, and “Automata” is probably one of my favourite songs of all time. A swinging industrial beat drives the song like a pendulum, which the duo accentuate with unsettling synthesiser work and eery sampling.

“Dreamspace” is a definitive Scorn track, and closers “The End” and “Slumber” are mesmerising, dark and dense. If you have never heard a Scorn record before, Evanescence is a great place to dip your toes in. it is probably the record that defines the early Scorn two piece output and definitely one of the easier ones to get into. But, from here on out, things would start to change more substantially.

Check out: “Days Passed”, “Automata”, “Dreamspace”

Opening the black box — Gyral (1995)

Gyral was Scorn's first studio album without Nicholas Bullen on bass and vocals. If you are listening to the Scorn records chronologically, it becomes wholly apparent that Bullen is missing; that might sound absolutely ridiculous: there is of course a vocal-shaped hole in the music after a while, and Scorn have never been lyrically dense, but those washed out, tired, effect-laden bars were just as much a part of the early works as the big beats and ominous soundscapes.

His absence doesn't necessarily make Gyral boring. It just re-iterates the change of pace. Scorn had minimalist tracks in the past, but the record as a whole is sparse and minimal. Gyral is still sparkling and alive, with ticking beats and meandering synth loops and samples. Couple that with the old, vintage looking artwork, and Gyral seems melancholic, nostalgic almost; its as if it is holding a fractured mirror up at the Scorn of the past, where through the cracks in said mirror, the Scorn of the future is beating its way through…

Check out: “Stairway”

But before we get to that, it’s worth mentioning...

Disassembled and reconstructed — Ellipsis (1995)

Ellipsis is the remix album that accompanied Gyral, which sees some of Scorn’s peers come into the fold to try their hand at a few of their tracks. The result is a bit hit and miss, but there are stand-out contributions from Coil, Bill Laswell, and Autechre. If you’re into vinyl, there is a box set of this available, which looks absolutely glorious..

The big beat manifesto — Logghi Barogghi (1996)

It is worth noting that this album was the final recording that Mick did with any connections to Earache. Therefore, it’s a good as any a point to conclude part 1 of this discography series, as it rounds out a big part of the band’s history.

The album itself was produced and “marketed” by Earache Records, but released by Mick’s own label, Scorn Recordings. Logghi Barogghi is only the second Scorn album after the departure of Nicholas Bullen, and still sounds a bit bare and unsteady on its feet, just like it’s predecessor, Gyral. Although, unlike Gyral, Logghi Barogghi is much more straightforward and was a definite sign of what was to come with Scorn from this point on. Interestingly, the title Logghi Barhogghi came from an instance where Mick overheard an American tourist trying to pronounce the English town of Loughborough.

From start to finish, Logghi Barogghi is a stripped-back affair of clanking percussion and heavy beats. The moody synths and unusual atmospheres are held right back. Logghi Barogghi is all about the beat! On the first few listens through, this took some getting used to. I thought this was a remix album or some sort of experimental spin-off project, but this is a fully-canon Scorn album, despite it’s very basic approach. Some tracks are stompers; heavy programmed percussion looped over and over until your brain just can’t take it anymore, other songs are a bit more laid back; some even barely audible, with just a purring bass line and ticking beat. Every now and then great, fat bass lines come in, scarily pre-dating all this dubstep stuff by well over a decade. That’s f**king incredible.

I will say though the basic beats make this record perfect to work or write to. However, for most folk this Scorn album is definitely going to remain a challenging listen, and sadly will more than likely remain unknown to the festering masses. But, despite its slight awkwardness, Logghi Barogghi is so far ahead of its time.

Check out: “Do The Geek”, “Out Of”

New beginnings?

With Scorn becoming a solo project for Mick Harris the work became more and more minimal, at least originally, in the late 90s and early 00s. In Part 2, coverage of records from this era will take us all the way up to present day, where Mick is still thankfully releasing records under the Scorn moniker (after a bit of a break).

Thank you so much if you’ve made it this far into my first article — you must be a sucker for badly written essays on electronic music! If you want more info on Scorn check out my original YouTube video on this subject. Otherwise, I’ll see you in Part 2.