CRUST PUNK

'Crust punk' is one of the many extreme evolutions of anarcho-punk and styles of hardcore punk. Crust punk was created by combining anarcho-punk with extreme metal and is characterized by guttural or shrill vocals (often in the form of dual vocals) and an unpolished gritty, bass-heavy sound. Crust is very closely related to and influenced by D-beat and anarcho-punk. Grindcore is often influenced by Crust Punk.

Contents

History

Music style

Lifestyle

Fashion

Ideology

The DIY ethic

Subgenres

Outside influence

Crust record labels

Crust punk dance

British use of "crusty"

See also

History

Crust punk evolved out of the early 1980s British anarcho-punk movement. It was founded by the bands Amebix and Antisect, with the ''Arise'' LP and ''Out from the Void'' single, respectively. The term "crust" was coined by Hellbastard on their 1986 ''Ripper Crust'' demo. In addition to incorporating an extreme metal influenced sound onto the existing punk genres of anarcho punk and hardcore, crust punk presented a lyrical shift in focus from the earlier peace punk bands. Unlike the relatively optimistic and idealistic lyrics of bands like Crass, crust punk featured dark, pessimistic lyrics, often lingering on the bleak aftermath of nuclear war.
The musical template created by Amebix was a slow, sludgy sound, much removed from the thrashing speed of most punk. This would lay the foundation for later Stenchcore bands. There are numerous differences between Stenchcore and Crust punk/Crustcore bands musically, Crustcore bands tended to be very influenced by the 80s Scandinavian hardcore scene, taking that sound and adding more distortion, screams and faster tempo, sometimes including blastbeats. Bands like Doom, Excrement Of War, Electro Hippies and Extreme Noise Terror where some of the first bands to have that traditional UK "Crust" sound. The genre of Crustpunk had a enormous impact on grindcore, to the point where Grindcore in its early form was little more than sped up, brutalized crust punk. Arguably, the most influential crust punk bands from America were New York's Nausea and Massachusetts' Disrupt who sounded much like UK's Extreme Noise Terror sometimes being dubbed as "crustgrind", a trend which has been growing in recent years. [1]
The 1990s were a interesting time for crustpunk and several more hardcore punk oriented less metallic outfits came around, most notably Aus-Rotten. Crust Punk continues to remain strong in its own scene into the 2000s and the lyrical content of groups tends to draw heavily on the policies of George W. Bush. Crust punk has seen no interest by major labels and has had no commercial success in the mainstream market. Notable Crust bands in the 2000s are Resistant Culture, Iskra, Behind Enemy Lines, Against Empire, Extinction of Mankind and Tragedy. In recent years there have been a large number of ska- and reggae-influenced crust bands, such as the Toxic Narcotic spin-off Mouth Sewn Shut.
Many elements of crust punk art and imagery can be seen in the peace punk movement from which it evolved. Crust punk art work is typically collage or stark pen drawings that derives much of its apocalyptic imagery from the artwork of Icons of Filth and much of its lyrical direction from Discharge.

Music style

Crust Punk is a derivative form of hardcore punk and anarcho punk mixed with extreme metal riffage. The speed of Crust punk is very often quite high but rarely to the point of thrashcore or grindcore. Vocals are often in the dual form [often male and female] very shrill and/or throaty and guttural belted out at high speed. The duelling male and female vocals are drawn from there use in anarcho punk. The guitar work is typically very gritty, unpolished and bass heavy and very metallic. However guitar solos are seldom used and some groups do not use large amounts of metal in their sound, such as Aus-Rotten. Drumming is typically scandivian influenced drumming done at high speed with blast beats sometimes being used. The lyrical content of crustpunk tends to be very bleak and nililistic and extremely political. Crust punk songs are often about but are not limited to: anti materalism, gay rights, sexism, popular culture, apocalypse, nuclear war, human hating, emotions, religion, the environment, censorship, anarchism, historical events, parody, militarism, peace, war, animal rights, health care, lies, corprate atrcoties, crimes against the innocent, police, an oppressive state, international trade, the media, education, abortion politics, hatred of specific people or leaders etc. Crust punk is one of punk's least recegnizable forms as punk due to metallic elements and extreme vocal style and is at times mistaken as a form of metal. A subnote is that a number of bands exist are not bound by the above definition often having a slow sludgy sound such as Dystopia.

Lifestyle

Crust punk has become almost synonymous with the lifestyles lead by Amebix and Antisect, and subsequently adopted by most crust punks. These bands were known for their large consumption of alcohol and narcotics. This has become a part of the crust punk lifestyle and is a major point of criticism from the wider punk and anarchist movement. In fact crust punks are often blamed by punks of other sects for negative images the mainstream has of punk.
Crust punks are known for their heavily politicized outlook on society and life in general, often showing up at protests rallys and other politically oriented gatherings. Many squat in abandoned buildings and form communes and choose not to seek employment, often begging or selling handmade goods in addition to dumpster diving. However some crust punks do live in homes. This behavior has been equated by some with what Murray Bookchin called lifestylism.
Perhaps the most stereotypical and infamous facet of this lifestyle is the perceived lack of hygiene, as many crust punks seemingly avoid bathing and grooming. Women and men commonly avoid shaving any body hair. Dreadlocks are also popular along with its variant the dreadhawk. There are several stated reasons that include, but are not limited to, disdain for the typical socially accepted image of both sexes, wishing to remain free of the toxins and chemicals in many personal hygiene products, refusal to purchase corporate products like shampoo or body wash, or simply the result of living the squatter lifestyle without the amenities most people are used to. Such beliefs are very similar to, and are based on, social ecology and ecofeminism.

Fashion

Crust punk is a very d.i.y oriented branch of punk fashion and tends to be extremely confrontational due to the presence of nihilistic, anti religious and war related imagery. Many crust punks adopt the all-black militaristic dress of anarcho-punk. They commonly wear camouflaged clothing as well as well as found or second-hand clothing. Many crust punks wear studded black denim vests or jackets covered in band and politically oriented patches and buttons. Many crust punks also wear bullet belts. Traditional leather belts are scorned by crusties due to their use of animal products, as such pants are typically held up by means of rope or hemp. Pants are typically either plaid, bondage or work pants covered in patches. Footwear is typically combat boots or found/second hand shoes. They tend to take the DIY ethic to a farther degree, often refusing to buy any corporate products, screen printing patches and sewing clothing by hand out of found materials, materials specifically bought from other members of the punk community, or local community and small co-ops/companies. Many crust punks including some bands, use dental floss (due to its durability) for sewing on patches and to fit clothing. Naturally found substances such as hemp are often used as jewelery as are commonly found items such as chain.

Ideology

:''See further: Anarcho-punk.''
Crust punk ideology (or perhaps more specifically, the application of said ideology) is a more extreme version of anarcho-punk ideology. Crust punks attempt to live out anarchism as fully as possible, by living in anarchist squatter communities, and trying to avoid taking part in capitalist society as fully as possible.
The ideology prevalent in crust punk can be best seen in their song lyrics. Common themes include: anarchism, anti-oppression, current events, financial/emotional depression, environmentalism, veganism/vegetarianism/Freeganism, racial equality, squatting, non-conformity, feminism and abolishing sexism, religious control, Homophobia, censorship and nuclear destruction.
Crust punk can be credited as one of the social phenomena which pushed modern anarchism towards lifestyleism along with its forbearer peace punk.
Crust punks are even more militantly opposed to religion than their anarcho-punk forebears. Many crust punks are atheist and inspired to live by the ideal of "No Gods, No Masters" (an anarchist slogan popularized by Amebix). However, some crust punks adopt Pagan spirituality due to its connection to nature, the Earth, and the environment, specifically forms of North American native spiritualism are becoming more common in crust punk culture even to point of bands adopting native American music into their style,a prime example is the LA group Resistant Culture.
The traveller/new age movement has had some influence on the modern crust punk movement, however this is met with much disdain by some members of the crust community. The Hippie counterculture is a very significant influence as well, coming through anarcho-punk.
The hippie influence manifests its self in a variety of ways, from the street activism to communes to the connection with the earth. The use of hippie cultral elements in crust is often one of main reasons for the dislike more traditional punks have of crust.

The DIY ethic

Main articles: DIY ethic

Crust punk bands have taken on what is known as a DIY ethic: that is, "do it yourself." In this way one can bypass the traditional recording and distribution routes, with material often being made available in exchange for "a blank tape plus self-addressed envelope". The anarcho-punk and crust punk movement also has its own network of zines which disseminate news, ideas, and artwork from the punk community. Again, these are very much 'DIY' affairs, produced in runs of hundreds rather than thousands (in most cases), printed on photocopiers or duplicator machines, and distributed by hand at shows or gatherings.

Subgenres

Early Crust punk was often known as stenchcore, a term coined by Deviated Instinct's "Terminal Filth Stenchcore" demo. Examples of stenchcore bands would be Antisect, Amebix, Axegrinder, early-Hellbastard, and early-Bolt Thrower. Modern examples of stenchcore bands are Instinct Of Survival, Filth Of Mankind, Hellshock and Extinction Of Mankind.
"Crasher Crust" is an adaptation of the early "Noisecore/Fuzzcore" Japanese hardcore scene, the term itself was coined by Japanese band Gloom. The style is influeced by early Japanese hardcore bands like Confuse, GAI/Swankys and Dust Noise who were influeced by the likes of UK hardcore bands like Disorder and Chaos UK.
Crustgrind is a crust punk/grindcore fusion genre, typified by Disrupt and Extreme Noise Terror and carried on today by the band Phobia.

Outside influence

Grindcore is often a direct influence, as the extreme tones and brutal nature of grindcore can be similar to those of crust. Crust was affected by a second wave of influence in the 1990s, with some bands being influenced more by early black metal; Iskra for example, are probably the most obvious modern example of black-metal-influenced crust punk. Iskra coined their own phrase "blackened crust" to describe this new style. Earlier examples could be found in Black Kronstadt(especially the "Free Spirit" LP). Blackened crust is however generally discounted by fans of black metal, as they argue that because it is political it isn't black metal.
Many crust punks with acoustic guitars have found inspiration in "outlaw country" and the progressive leaning folk music of the 1960s and '70s, as well as a huge influence specifically from Woody Guthrie as well as traditional Irish music. This meld of crust and folk is commonly referred to as folk-punk. This is more prevalent in the "train-hopping" set, however then in crusties living in large cities.
In the early 1990s, members of the crust/grindcore band Disrupt formed a band called Grief. Grief's depressed slow blend of punk and doom metal inspired the burgeoning sludge metal genre, along with bands like Dystopia and Eyehategod.
Another footnote to know is that the early Crust Punk bands from the early 1980s influenced thrash metal bands that became popular during the late 1980s. However it should be noted that their influence on the genre was in no way as pervasive as the hardcore punk bands that existed at the same time

Crust record labels

★ Profane Existence

★ Deep Six Records

★ Rodent Popscicle Records

★ Tragedy records

★ Threat to existence records

★ Prank records

★ Life is abuse records

★ Moshpit Tragedy Records

Crust punk dance

See hardcore dancing

British use of "crusty"

Another British usage of crusty is somewhat different. It applies to pop-oriented bands that achieved a small level of success at about the same time as the crust punk bands. These bands were labeled crusty, the strictly correct term being grebo, because of their image and its similarity to crust punks. Many of the bands had grungy, ratty hair (usually dreadlocks) and wore sloppy, often unwashed clothing. Live, they were not showmen, instead concentrating on the quality of their playing. In this way they were similar to the shoegazing bands of the time.
They also toured in transit vans, playing literally hundreds of gigs each year but selling few records apart from the rare Top 20 hit single. Pop Will Eat Itself gave the term "grebo" its first widespread airing with their single "Grebo Guru". Other crusty bands included Zodiac Mindwarp, who shared certain image elements with the parallel Filthcore, death metal and Industrial scene. The Crusty scene also found fertile expression in the dance scene, with bands like the Thee Psychick Warriors ov Gaia and clubs such as Planet Dog, whose zenith was marked by the release of the Feed Your Head compilation.
Both strands of crusty achieved a brief period of chart success during the very early '90s. The crust punk bands achieved their success mainly because of their devoted following. However, the success of the crusty bands like Senseless Things was mainly due to much coverage (some would say hype) in the ''NME'' and the ''Melody Maker''.
Due to the crusty scene and the shoegazing scene emerging at almost exactly the same time, the Melody Maker referred to both scenes as "The Scene That Celebrates Itself", typified by bands such shoe-gazers as Lush, Slowdive and Ride. This is because many of the London based shoegazing and crusty bands (as well as London based proto Brit-pop bands like Blur) went to each other's gigs leading to cross fertilisation.

See also

★ List of crust punk bands

★ Anarcho-punk

★ Crusties

★ Scandinavian hardcore

★ Grebo