Defecation was formed in the summer of 1987. The band was a project that consisted of two members, Mitch Harris from RIGHTEOUS PIGS (guitar, bass and vocals) and Mick Harris from NAPALM DEATH (drums and vocals). Despite the coincidence of sharing the same last name, the two are not related. The band came together in Las Vegas, NV during Mick’s first visit to America. Mick and Mitch were pen pals that shared an interest in underground, cutting edge music.
Inspired by their desire to conquer the underground, Mitch and Mick wrote and recorded an entire albums worth of material within a two-week period. The result was raw and in your face! It was released on Nuclear Blast Records. „Purity Dilution“ was one of the early successes for the company and soon became a milestone classic album, gaining cult status. Defecation became a major influence in the explosion of the grindcore underground scene.
Mitch Harris, along with Jesse Pintado (Terrorizer), relocated to the United Kingdom to join Napalm Death after the departure of Bill Steer. They quickly recorded the ND classic „Harmony Corruption“. Mitch and Mick prepared the songs for the second Defecation album, „Intention Surpassed“, scheduled for release on Nuclear Blast. They composed 12 songs of brutal grinding noise, which unfortunately never made it to tape. They proceeded unaware of their new contract obligations to Earache Records, which restricted them for having projects involving other record labels. Earache owner and founder Digby Pearson demanded control of Defecation, but Mitch refused to record for Earache since Nuclear Blast had already covered the expenses for the production of the record.
Mick quit Defecation; he disappeared, panicked, as he did not want to upset Napalm Death Defecation problems. Mitch was understandably angry, because he wanted to record and document the new material, as it was some of his best work. Mitch rebelled by forming Meathook Seed and composed the „Embedded“ album. This opportunity gave him a chance to start fresh and develop some new influences and work with new musicians.
Mitch became deeply involved in Napalm Death and still exists as a member after completing their 10th studio opus. Mick, however, decided to leave Napalm Death in 1991 after the first extensive world tour. He cut off all ties with the band and went into seclusion, exploring different musical genres. Napalm replaced Mick Harris with Danny Herrera and fulfilled their long-term contract with Earache. After much consideration, Mitch eventually agreed to do a second Defecation record, even though it was 14 years since the first album!
Mitch knew it would be impossible to recreate the impact of „Purity Dilution“. He instead decided to return to his roots, while successfully bringing the music up to date. Mitch approached the music cautiously, acknowledging all his early musical influences but adding twists and turns to enhance the overall energy and freshness. Mitch constructed the album again over a period of two weeks. The recording process took longer, as he was busy recording „Order Of The Leech“ at the same time. Russ Russels, a close friend of Mitch’s, handled the recording. He boosted Mitch’s confidence and helped keep the vision clear. Mitch was also happy, as it was his first chance to really experiment with different singing styles, after usually doing backing vocals only. He put his heart and soul into this album; he even laid down drum tracks for the first time. The direction of „Intention Surpassed“ is clear: grinding, cutting-edge, blasting, hard hitting, aggressive, innovative, informative and in your face! A sonic picture with coherent vision! Choice harmonies, slicing guitar, pounding bass, intense drumming, agonizing, screaming vocals, tortured lyrics and creative structure. Straight to the point!
“I can’t wait to see what people think of Intention,” says Mitch, “I’m sure it will get some kind of reaction, and there will obviously be some kind of controversy, backlash and accusations. People have been asking me for a new album for years. I hope they don’t regret saying it. If people take it for what it is, then they should be satisfied to see me get this out of my system. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long, time. It’s easy to criticize when they don’t know the torture of sitting on an idea for 14 years, rebellions, retaliations, and general loss of confidence. It takes a lot of thought to put together something as detailed as this. I will feel much better when this album reaches the right people. Many bands have tried and failed after reforming because things move on, people change, and it’s generally impossible to replicate the first album. It should be logical to use your improved skills to modernize the music as a whole in order to be satisfied within yourself.”
Source: http://www.nuclearblast.de/band_show.php3?action=bio&artist=69
