Crust punk

Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily

Lyrics#

Crust punk lyrics generally discuss real-world issues as a means of activism. In particular, they discuss political and social themes such as class struggle, environmentalism, anarchism, and anti-capitalism. Sometimes these themes are hyperbolised to the point of discussing the apocalypse, religious control and nuclear destruction. Many bands also discussed feminism, animal rights and veganism or vegetarianism. In contrast, Amebix’s lyrics sometimes discussed mysticism and Gnosticism.

Instrumentation#

Crust punk is a derivative form of anarcho-punk, mixed with metal riffs. The overall musical sound was described by SFGate writer Loolwa Khazzoom as being “stripped down”. Drumming is typically done at high speed, with D-beats sometimes being used. In Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics, author Gabriel Kuhn referred to the genre as a “blend of 1977 British punk, roots culture and black metal”, with the genre often taking influence from death metal, grindcore and powerviolence.

Etymology#

The original name for the crust punk genre was “stenchcore”, in reference to Deviated Instinct’s 1986 demo Terminal Filth Stenchcore. The term “crust” was coined by Hellbastard on their 1986 Ripper Crust demo. Punk historian Ian Glasper states, in his book Trapped in a Scene, “Rippercrust sic is widely regarded as the first time the word ‘crust’ was used in the punk context, and hence the specific starting point of the whole crust punk genre, although some would attribute that accolade to the likes of Disorder, Chaos UK, and Amebix several years earlier.”

Precursors#

The most prominent influences upon crust punk were Crass and Discharge. Crass introduced the genre’s anarchist ideology and its tattered, militaristic aesthetic, while Discharge introduced its apocalyptic themes and influence from heavy metal, particularly Motörhead. Other metal bands to include the style included Hellhammer and Trouble.

1980s#

Crust punk was established by the bands Amebix and Antisect, who both growing out of the anarcho-punk scene and made use of dark, morbid and post-apocalyptic imagery. Amebix had begun their career playing a style more indebted to Killing Joke, while Antisect began playing simply anarcho-hardcore punk. Amebix first embraced metal influences on their 1983 album No Sanctuary, while Antisect did so on their 1985 EP Out from the Void. These releases were the earliest crust punk releases, with Amebix’s subsequent album Arise (1985) codifying the sound of the genre. Soon, the first wave of crust punk bands was solidified with the formations of Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct and Concrete Sox. From this scene soon originated the Swedish death metal scene, which would be brought to prominence by Entombed. American crust punk began in New York City, in the mid-1980s, with the work of Nausea. The group emerged from the Lower East Side squat scene and New York hardcore, living with Roger Miret of Agnostic Front. The early work of Neurosis, from San Francisco, also borrowed from Amebix, and inaugurated crust punk on the West Coast. Disrupt (Boston), Antischism (South Carolina), Misery and Destroy (Minneapolis) were also significant U.S. crust groups. In the late 1980s, bands including Doom, Excrement of War, Electro Hippies and Extreme Noise Terror began to merge crust punk with the sound of UK hardcore punk, creating the crustcore subgenre. Felix Havoc described Extreme Noise Terror’s segment of the “Earslaughter” split album with Chaos UK as the first album in the genre.

1990s#

In 1994, Orange County, California’s Dystopia released their debut album Human = Garbage which merged sludge crust punk and sludge metal. An important American crust punk band was Aus Rotten from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Crust punk also flourished in Minneapolis, shepherded by the Profane Existence label. In this period, the ethos of crust punk became particularly codified, with vegetarianism, feminism, and sometimes straight edge being prescribed by many of the figures in the scene. Prominent crust punk groups (Driller Killer, Totalitär, Skitsystem, Wolfbrigade, and Disfear) also emerged from Sweden, which had always had a strong D-beat scene. Many of these groups developed in parallel with the much more commercial Scandinavian death metal scene. During this time, crust became prominent in the American South, where Prank Records and CrimethInc. acted as focal points of the scene. The most well-known representative of Southern crust was His Hero Is Gone, whose early material incorporate elements of powerviolence and experimental music. By the band’s final album The Plot Sickens (1998), they had begun to incorporate influence from the Japanese hardcore style burning spirits, to create a more grandiose and melodic take on crust punk. This sound was then continued by three of the members’ subsequent band Tragedy. At the same time, in Spain bands such as Hongo, Das Plague and Ekkaia were merging crust punk with elements of screamo, creating a fusion genre which at the time was called “emo crust”.

2000s#

In the early 2000s, the Spanish emo crust genre and Tragedy–His Hero Is Gone melodic crust style began to merge, leading to the beginning of the neo-crust subgenre. During the mid–2000s, this became the most prominent style in the crust scene, producing subsequent acts such as Fall of Efrafa and From Ashes Rise. By the end of the decade, many international crust punk bands had shifted their style to favour black metal influences.

Crack rock steady#

Crack rock steady is a punk rock fusion-genre, which combines elements of crust punk and ska punk. politics and social issues. Other genres sometimes incorporated in conjunction with the style include hardcore punk Notable bands within the genre include Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack, Morning Glory and Star Fucking Hipsters.

Crustcore#

Crustcore (also known as crusty hardcore), is a sub-genre of crust punk that takes influence from hardcore punk and sometimes thrashcore. Crustcore bands include Extreme Noise Terror, Doom, Disrupt, Neurosis, Baptists, Discharge and Filth.

Neo crust#

Neo crust is a genre that merges crust punk with elements of various extreme music styles including black metal, screamo, post-rock, hardcore punk, death metal, sludge metal and doom metal. The genre makes use of a melancholic tone and a post-civilization aesthetic, often including dead trees and barren landscapes, as well as poetic band names and lyrics. Some bands, such as Cwill and Remains of the Day even incorporate violins into their music. Notable bands include His Hero is Gone, Tragedy, and Fall of Efrafa.

Black metal#

Crust punk and black metal evolved alongside one another, with the members of early crust band Amebix and first-wave black metal band Hellhammer tape trading with one another. Thus, pioneering black metal bands such as Hellhammer, Bathory and Mayhem were inspired by crust punk, and early crust punk bands such as Sacrilege, Amebix and Antisect were influenced by Hellhammer and Celtic Frost.

Blackened crust#

Crust punk was affected by a second wave of black metal in the 1990s, with some bands emphasising these black metal elements. Iskra are probably the most obvious example of second-wave black metal-influenced crust punk; Iskra coined their own phrase “blackened crust” to describe their new style. The Japanese group Gallhammer also fused crust punk with black metal while the English band Fukpig merge elements of crust punk, black metal, and grindcore. Germany’s Downfall of Gaia mix crustgrind and black metal, along with elements of sludge metal, doom metal and post-metal. North Carolina’s Young and in the Way have been playing blackened crust since their formation in 2009. In addition, Norwegian band Darkthrone have incorporated crust punk traits in their mid-to-late 2000s material. As Daniel Ekeroth wrote in 2008,

Red and anarchist black metal#

Red and anarchist black metal (also known as RABM or anarchist black metal) is a subgenre that melds black metal with anarchist crust punk, promoting ideologies such as anarchism, environmentalism, or Marxism. Artists labelled RABM include Iskra, Panopticon, Skagos, Storm of Sedition, Not A Cost, Black Kronstadt, and Vidargangr.

Grindcore#

Crust punk led to the development of the grindcore genre, by bands including Extreme Noise Terror, Napalm Death and Carcass. This early crust punk-leaning grindcore sound is sometimes dubbed “crustgrind”.

Culture#

Crust punks are associated with a DIY-oriented branch of punk garb. Similar to anarcho-punk, most clothing is black in colour. Denim jackets and hooded sweatshirts with sewn-on patches, or vests covered in studs, spikes and band patches are characteristic elements of the crust punk style of dress or pants covered in band patches. Crust punks also sometimes wear dreadlocks and piercings. Members of the sub-culture are generally outspokenly political, possessing anarchist and anti-consumerist views.