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 mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stripped-down anarcho-punk context, however many later bands pushed the genre to be more grandiose, faster or more melodic. Often songs are political, discussing environmentalism, anarchism, anti-capitalism, feminism and animal rights.
The genre originated in the early to mid-1980s with Amebix and Antisect, bands active in the anarcho-punk scene who began to incorporate the influence of heavy metal bands such as Hellhammer, Motörhead and Trouble. The influence of these bands led to the genre's first wave with Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct and Concrete Sox. By the late 1980s, the genre had begun to merge with hardcore punk, typified by Electro Hippies, Extreme Noise Terror and Doom. During the 1990s, this sound was continued by Swedish and Japanese bands including Skitsystem, Driller Killer, Disclose and Gloom, while other areas brought in outside influences such as Dystopia with sludge metal, His Hero is Gone with powerviolence, Choking Victim with ska and Disrupt with grindcore. During the 2000s, the most prominent sound in the genre was the neo-crust style of Tragedy, Fall of Efrafa and From Ashes Rise, which pushed the genre into more metal-influenced but also melodic and post-rock-inspired territory. At the same time, Swedish bands like Disfear and Wolfbrigade were also pushing crust punk into an increasingly melodic direction, through the incorporation of elements of melodic death metal.
Characteristics
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. 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.
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."
History
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. 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. 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". By the end of the decade, many international crust punk bands had shifted their style to favour black metal influences.
Subgenres
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. 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. 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. 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, This early crust punk-leaning grindcore sound is sometimes dubbed "crustgrind". Crust punks also sometimes wear dreadlocks and piercings.
Members of the sub-culture are generally outspokenly political, possessing anarchist and anti-consumerist views.