Rise of Crust: Felix Explains What is Crust Punk
Reprint of the classic article Rise of Crust by Felix von Havoc
The following article, focused entirely on the first wave of crust punk, was written around 2002 for Profane Existence #40 by Minnesota hardcore punk veteran Felix von Havoc, following some heated discussions on the now-defunct PE message board. Felix was a columnist for both Profane Existence and Maximum Rocknroll, the founder of Havoc Records, and widely known for bands such as Code 13, Destroy!, and Damage Deposit.
What Is Crust Punk?
Crust is an extreme offshoot of hardcore punk that originated in the UK in the mid-’80s through a collision between the hardcore punk and metal of the time. Think Discharge and Disorder + Celtic Frost and Motörhead = crust punk.
Among the earliest crust records are the 1984 and 1985 recordings by Amebix and Antisect, which were then taken to a whole new level of intensity and speed by the likes of Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct, Concrete Sox, Sacrilege, Axegrinder, Electro Hippies, Extreme Noise Terror, Doom, and Japanese bands such as Acid, Macrofarge, Asbestos, and S.D.S. In its early days, the style was known as stenchcore, a term coined by Deviated Instinct, but later evolved into crust with Hellbastard’s landmark 1986 Ripper Crust demo tape.
Rippercrust 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 crustcore genre, although some would attribute that accolade to the likes of Disorder, Chaos UK and Amebix several years earlier. Similar debates have raged about terms such as mosh, hardcore and thrash-metal, of course, and whilst such speculation is ultimately futile, it’s interesting to see when such concepts solidified themselves in the cultural id.
“A lot of people say we started the crust-punk genre, but whatever,” says Scruff dismissively. “If they wanna say that, I don’t mind, but I’m certainly no Malcolm McLaren, claiming I invented something I didn’t. We all knew something was up though, when [teeny-bopper pop mag] Smash Hits had this free sticker booklet with it one week, and one of the stickers said, ‘No crusties allowed’!”
“I remember we’d just got a new rehearsal place, up above a pub in Felling, Gateshead. We were up there one rainy Sunday afternoon, and as usual my HM1 Boss [distortion] pedal was running out of battery power — I was sick of spending all this money on decent batteries and the fucking thing used to eat them! Anyway, it ran out, and my guitar sound went all dry and cakey… all the chunk had gone from it, it was horrible… and I just said, ‘Listen to that guitar sound, it’s so fucking crusty! It’s disgusting!’ And we started putting stuff like ‘Twelve tracks of ripper crust’ on the little hand-outs we used to photocopy to sell our rehearsal tapes. Then, when we recorded Rippercrust, the last song, ‘And Now…,’ ends with basically loads of our mates gathered around a microphone, screaming — and the last word was ‘Rippercrust,’ which was echoed in the mix by the guy upstairs… ‘Crust! Crust! Crust! Crust!’ So we called the demo Rippercrust!”
— British author Ian Glasper interviewing Hellbastard for his book Trapped in a Scene: UK Hardcore 1985-1989
“Rise of Crust” by Felix von Havoc
Historical Context
By the late ’80s, hardcore in the US was pretty beat up. With the exception of straight edge youth crew, most bands were playing bad metal or indie rock. I had been really into the early ’80s UK bands such as Discharge, Conflict, and Icons of Filth, and it was toward England that my ears were turned in the late ’80s. I was in the “import” section of the record store every week, looking for the latest from Heresy, Concrete Sox, Disorder, Napalm Death, Ripcord, and Legion of Parasites.
However, I was not a participant in the scene in England and experienced the rise of crust vicariously through fanzines, pen pals, and tape and record trading. So any errors, omissions, and half-baked opinions result from me being so far removed from the action. The Profane Existence letters column in the next issue will be filled with scathing letters from people who were in England in the ’80s telling me I got it all wrong, I’m sure. I don’t feel, however, that crust started with just one band. It was a number of influences coming together at the same time, colliding briefly before each process of musical progression continued on its course.
Undeniably, crust punk started in England. It took much of its politics, lifestyle, and ethics from the early ’80s peace punk/anarcho-punk movement. Musically, however, it borrowed heavily from both American and British metal, US hardcore, and Brazilian, Scandinavian, and Japanese hardcore. Ironically, much of the music that influenced early crust was itself influenced by early UK punk and hardcore bands such as Discharge, Disorder, and Chaos UK.
I think the most important influences on the more metallic crust were bands such as Antisect, Anti-System, Sacrilege, Amebix, and the final Varukers LP, One Struggle One Fight. These were bands that started in the peace punk scene but played more of a hardcore style. As metal influence started to grow in hardcore around 1984–1985, many of these bands took on a distinct metal influence.
Of course, this was also when American bands such as DRI, Dr. Know, and Corrosion of Conformity were “crossing over” into metal territory. One principal difference was that the political stance stayed with the UK bands, while the American bands dropped most of their politics and embraced the music industry. This was a critical point in the development of what would today be called DIY ethics. Metal pioneers such as Motörhead, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and Trouble also certainly had their influence in the heavy riff and rhythm department.
Amebix & Antisect
I think Amebix and Antisect were the first true crust bands. Both bands, however, started out playing in a different style and, by their later releases, had evolved into the new sound that became known as crust. Amebix’s first two 7-inches, Winter and Beginning of the End, were more influenced by bands such as Killing Joke and UK Decay.
The aesthetic, though, was dead on: post-apocalyptic, dark, and morbid. Life in a nuclear winter, a scarred and barren earth, the cold embers that the meek would inherit after mankind wasted the planet. With the No Sanctuary 12-inch, we begin to hear their dark hardcore sound developing into what we would think of as crust today. The titanic 1985 Arise LP really codified that sound: a dark, grinding mix of early anarcho-punk, dark hardcore, and Motörhead influence. The final LP, Monolith, is a little too metal and overproduced for my liking, but it’s most people’s favorite. Here, Amebix really turned up the metal and Motörhead influence to create one of the definitive crust LPs in music history.
Antisect’s self-titled 1983 LP is powerful, dark anarcho-punk and hardcore, but to me it’s not really a crust record. The Out From the Void 7-inch, released in 1985, however, is pure crust genius, a genre-defining record in terms of both style and music. There were also some demos recorded during this period, in 1985 and 1986, that I think really set the tone for bands emerging at the time, such as Deviated Instinct and Hellbastard.
Hellbastard & Deviated Instinct
First, Hellbastard. Their 1986 Ripper Crust demo was the first time I remember hearing someone use the term crust. Hellbastard’s first two demos, Ripper Crust and Hate Militia—Ripper Crust was later bootlegged on vinyl—along with the LP Heading for Internal Darkness, are among my favorite early crust releases. If I had to pick a record, band, or sound to define what I think of as “true” crust, I would choose this early Hellbastard material. There is also an early Hellbastard 7-inch, They Brought Death, released by the German label Temple of Love Records.
Hellbastard’s later material is pretty predictable metal, but the early stuff has all the elements of truly great crust: gruff, usually reverb-drenched vocals, grinding and churning metal-edged riffs, pounding bass, and wicked but brief leads.
Along with Amebix, Antisect, and Hellbastard, the most “true” early crust band, in my opinion, is Deviated Instinct. Their two demos, Tip of the Iceberg and Terminal Filth Stenchcore, were followed by the 1987 EP Welcome to the Orgy on Peaceville, the label whose name will forever be linked with the rise of crust. Welcome to the Orgy was followed by the 1988 LP Rock and Roll Conformity, also on Peaceville.
Deviated Instinct had the grinding metallic riffs that really defined the more metallic side of crust: that chug, chug, chug, wail; chug, chug, chug, wail, with the stops and starts accentuated and some double bass beneath the surface. They also had the look down, with black-and-white record covers featuring a bizarre mix of Celtic motifs and metal-looking ghouls and demons, somehow tied into anarcho-punk politics.
Concrete Sox
Concrete Sox were one of the first UK bands to drift heavily from hardcore into metal territory. Their 1985 LP, Your Turn Next, featured some blazing metal leads and chugging metal riffs. I always felt that the early Concrete Sox material was more influenced by thrash metal bands such as Metallica and Kreator than by traditional UK crust influences such as Antisect and Discharge, though I think a lot of people would want to argue that point with me. Suffice it to say that this is more thrash-influenced crust, as opposed to Amebix’s more Motörhead-influenced crust. Perhaps it’s just the guitar tone that makes me think metal, as I don’t think Concrete Sox were tuned as low or produced to maximize the bass quite as much.
Bolt Thrower & Sacrilege
Two bands I think are very important to metallic crust, but don’t strike me as truly being crust bands themselves, are Bolt Thrower and Sacrilege. I’d have to classify both as hardcore- and crust-influenced, but pretty much metal. The first Bolt Thrower LP, In Battle There Is No Law, certainly has elements of crust and hardcore and appealed to a crust audience.
Likewise, Sacrilege started out playing fast, metal-influenced hardcore, especially on the Sacrilege tracks from We Won’t Be Your Fucking Poor and the Angelic Scrape Attic flexi. By their first LP, however, they were already pretty deep into metal territory, and both Bolt Thrower and Sacrilege were full-on metal by their second LPs, as was Hellbastard, I should note. That said, Sacrilege’s Behind the Realms of Madness and the first Bolt Thrower LP are two absolute classics, near-perfect mixes of metal and hardcore.
Axegrinder, Anti-System & Legion of Parasites
Axegrinder played a grinding form of crust very reminiscent of Amebix and Antisect. Their Grind the Enemy demo is much rawer and more Antisect-sounding. A year or two later, the Rise of the Serpent Men LP was released on Peaceville. It was recorded in 1988, though I don’t think it came out until 1990. This LP is probably the last of the truly great early crust records from England. Its production leans a little more toward a professional-sounding metal LP, but it’s crisp compared with some of the muddy early crust material. Axegrinder are probably the only band to come close to Amebix at playing dark, heavy crust.
Some other bands that I think were influential to the early crust sound were AOA, Anti-System, and Legion of Parasites. AOA played more straightforward hardcore in the Crucifix/Discharge style. They released an LP and a split LP with Oi Polloi, both of which are excellent. Anti-System started out closer to the Discharge/Icons of Filth style but added an increasing degree of metal influence to their sound. They released the In Defense of the Realm 7-inch, the LP No Laughing Matter, a split 7-inch with Morbid Humor, and a final LP, A Look at Life. Personally, I think their earlier, more straightforward hardcore material is the best. Legion of Parasites’ 1984 LP Unexpected Guests is more straightforward hardcore punk, but their second LP, Prison of Life, brings in some crust influence, while their final 1987 LP delves into metal territory rather unsuccessfully.
Electro Hippies & Napalm Death
Electro Hippies were another critical early crust band that mixed fast thrash with metallic crust. I first remember hearing them on the Digging in Water compilation. They recorded two demos, Killing Babies for Profit and Killing Babies Is Tight. These were followed by the split LP with Generic, then the Only Good Punk Is a Dead One LP. Also recommended is the Electro Hippies Peel Sessions LP. There are two later live LPs, but personally, I’m not too into live hardcore records.
Also very important to early crust, but not really a crust band, are Napalm Death. Napalm Death also started out playing more traditional anarcho-punk on the Hatred Surge demo, but the lineup soon changed and they headed into uncharted territory, pretty much jump-starting the grindcore scene. Granted, they were influenced by fast hardcore bands such as Lärm and Pandemonium, as well as metal bands such as Repulsion, but Napalm Death really put all the pieces together to create the brutal, fast grindcore sound imitated ever since. The Scum LP was so incredibly ahead of its time in speed and ferocity and, in my opinion, is a genre-defining record that has never been, and can never be, equaled. Still, I wouldn’t really consider Napalm Death to be crust, but they were certainly influential during the rise of crust.
Extreme Noise Terror & Doom
Crusty hardcore, or crust-core, is the other “wing” of the crust movement. I would differentiate crust-core musically as being more influenced by fast hardcore and thrash than by metal or Motörhead. Aesthetically and politically, though, crust-core is almost exactly like the more metallic crust. In my opinion, the two definitive crust-core bands are Extreme Noise Terror and Doom. As alluded to above, these bands drew heavily from Japanese, Brazilian, and Scandinavian hardcore bands of the ’80s. Ironically enough, Discharge, Varukers, Chaos UK, and Disorder had influenced those bands. I think the “gruff” vocal style comes mainly from the Brazilian bands. A lot of the early ’80s Brazilian hardcore singers had really gruff, gravelly vocals. The speed and fast-paced stops and starts, however, certainly come from Japanese bands such as Systematic Death, Gauze, and Lip Cream. Likewise, the brutal dis-core sound of Doom seems like Discharge filtered through Sweden and bands such as Anti Cimex, Shitlickers, Bombanfall, and Crude SS.
The first true crust-core record, in my opinion, is the Extreme Noise Terror side of the Earslaughter split with Chaos UK. This was a totally mind-blowing record when it came out. Chaos UK were playing balls-out thrash, and ENT were in a league of their own with those devastating vocals and fast, crushing riffs. The only things I remember being this intense around 1986–1987 were the Thrash ’Til Death compilation and Napalm Death’s Scum LP.
ENT followed this up in 1989 with Holocaust in Your Head, an incredibly powerful crusty hardcore assault. There are also several John Peel sessions and a live bootleg LP from this period. The last of the critical early ENT records was the split LP with FilthKick, In It for Life, which should be every true punk’s motto.
Doom are probably my all-time favorite crust-core band. I probably like them so much because Discharge and the Scandinavian bands that imitated them are my all-time favorites. Doom took the dis-core style, tuned it down even lower, made it more brutal, and then threw in sick thrash parts and gruff vocals for the ultimate crust brutality.
The 1988 War Crimes LP ripped a page from the Discharge book aesthetically, featuring images of war victims and casualties of bomb attacks. This is played out today, but at the time it was a breath of fresh air to see a band going back to the roots instead of trying to play metal or indie rock. We’ll cover dis-core bands such as Disaster and Discard some other time.
In 1989, Doom returned with a split LP with No Security from Sweden. This LP had even faster, roaring riffs that only intensified the brutality. Soon after came the Police Bastard 7-inch, which has been pressed numerous times in the UK and the US and remains a crust classic. There is also an LP of Doom’s Peel Sessions from this era that is pretty boss.
Atavistic, Heresy & Ripcord
Atavistic were another early crust band that really turned up the speed. In fact, their speed approaches grindcore levels, but they weren’t really tight and precise enough for me to consider them grind. They were more like a crust-core wall of noise. They released two critical 7-inches, Life During Wartime and Equilibrium, as well as a demo, From Within. I thought their LP on Profane Existence was rather disappointing. I hope I don’t get fired for saying that.
Two bands that were important to UK hardcore at the time but weren’t really crust were, of course, Heresy and Ripcord. They played more traditional ’80s-style hardcore, but at much higher speeds. I think those bands are more like ’80s Italian or Dutch hardcore—which in turn was influenced by US bands; note the flannels and bandanas—than the UK crust bands.
Essential Compilations & the US Connection
Some important early crust compilations are the Vile Peace LP on Peaceville, the Hiatus compilation on Peaceville, and both volumes of Hardcore Holocaust, which featured Peel Sessions material. Also cool were the Grind Crusher compilation, which was more metal than crust, and Digging in Water, which has a lot of straightforward punk material too but, at least to me, was pretty influential in exposing some new bands.
I think that just about covers all the important early UK crust bands. As I mentioned above, there was an eager audience for this new material in the US. You could argue that bands such as Nausea, Disrupt, Apocalypse, Glycine Max, A//solution, Antischism, Confrontation, and Destroy! were imitating the UK sound of the time, or that the music was developing simultaneously on both continents. But that is a story for another time.
