Aiming to recreate the more raw, primal sound[2] of all former related projects such as The Birthday Party, Grinderman's lyrical and musical content diverged significantly from Nick Cave's concurrent work with The Bad Seeds, whose last studio album, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2004), was primarily blues, gospel and alternative-orientated in stark contrast to the raw sound of the early Bad Seeds albums.

Upon its release, Grinderman received critical acclaim and charted internationally, debuting at number one on Billboard Heatseakers in the United States.

[4] After extensive touring throughout 2005 with The Bad Seeds in support of Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, frontman Nick Cave began writing songs on guitar, an instrument he would rarely play.

"[citation needed] Released on 5 March 2007, Grinderman was acclaimed by critics for its raw power, similar to that of Cave's celebrated post-punk project The Birthday Party.

In 2014, the song "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" appeared in the HBO show True Detective where it was played at the end of the episode "Who Goes There?".

All lyrics are written by Nick Cave; all music is composed by Grinderman"Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" also reached #97 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Best Songs of 2007".