Egg Punk vs. Chain Punk
What is Egg Punk / Chain Punk?
Are you an egg punk or a chain punk? The comparison between Egg Punk and Chain Punk refers to a series of memes circulating on Instagram that illustrate opposing characteristics in sound, artwork, and aesthetics within the DIY punk scene. While the precise definitions of these terms (which some people began to refer to as subgenres) may be somewhat ambiguous, “chain punk” typically denotes hardcore punk with a traditional, raw, and aggressive style, whereas “egg punk” conveys a milder, more experimental, and nerdier approach to punk rock. Whether “egg punk” and “chain punk” are valid subgenres of punk or just a silly internet meme from the 2010s is open to interpretation.
Origins of Egg Punk vs. Chain Punk Meme
The first Egg Punk vs. Chain Punk meme was posted on 7 August 2017 when an Instagram user named @memelifecrew posted a four-panel image based on the well-known Peter Parker’s Glasses meme. This meme highlighted recurring elements found in the artwork, merchandise design, and aesthetics of modern DIY punk bands.
Chain Punk: Medieval clubs, skulls, chains, BDSM accessories, barbed wire, roses, and prison-style tattoos. ⛓🦂🎱🔒☯️🕸
Egg Punk: More peculiar pastel colors and goofy artwork representing unorthodox (and nerdy) punk bands. 🤡🍳🎭🏁♥️♣️
Another notable instance occurred on 10 July 2018, when Instagram users @_xanaxl_rose_2000 and @wingdings_911 created a hand-drawn chart featuring the names of various hardcore punk bands, placing them on two wide spectrums: “chain punk” and “egg punk” (with some bands overlapping).
Chain Punk ⛓️
According to the chart, “chain punk” encompasses modern bands that combine elements of traditional NYHC and Boston-style hardcore with influences from Discharge, Anti-Cimex-style d-beat, and classic Japanese hardcore. This category includes bands like Perdition (named after an EP by the influential UK band Disorder), Krömosom (Australia), Inferno (Sweden), Inmates (Cleveland, Ohio), Omegas (Canada), Creeping Dose (NYC), and numerous other like Warthog, Cülo, Blazing Eye, Sadist, Green Beret, Urchin, Devil Master, Subversive Rite, Ajax, Slimy Member, PMS84, Blotter, S.H.I.T., Eel, plus the Massachusetts-based band HOAX (their video from a recycle plant show is legendary), often regarded as “the chain punk band for egg punks.”
“Chain punk” is commonly associated with record labels like La Vida Es Un Mus, Static Shock, Toxic State, RoachLeg, Beach Impediment, Bunker Punks, Hardcore Holocaust, Iron Lung Records, as well as festivals like K-Town Hardcore Fest in Copenhagen, A Varning From Montreal in Montreal and Chaos in Tejas in Texas.
Egg Punk (Devocore) 🥚
So WTF is egg punk? Taking cues from the 1970s new wave band Devo, egg punk typically showcases vocals that are high-pitched and nasal, paired with whimsical and often satirical lyrics. It’s characterized by its snappy rhythms, standout bass lines and synth sounds made by cheap keyboards.
Egg punk found its roots in 2013 in Northwest Indiana. It was largely a response to the “chain punk” bands in the local DIY circuits who were perceived as taking their music and message too seriously. Many bands in this Midwestern egg punk milieu had the influential punk rock musician Mark Winter as a member, whose contributions were instrumental in propelling the subgenre from a local to a broader scale, particularly through the success of The Coneheads.
Other important bands of the mid-2010s with a lo-fi recording style and satirical tone, such as Uranium Club and Lumpy and The Dumpers, gained increasing attention. Lumpy and The Dumpers’ own label, Lumpy Records, in conjunction with Erste Theke Tonträger, has been instrumental in spreading the egg punk microgenre through their cassette releases.
What egg punk bands to check out? The “egg punk” spectrum on the OG Instagram meme chart represents bands such as Beta Boys (Olympia, Washington, originally from Kansas City), The Coneheads (Indiana), Urochromes (Massachusetts), and other notable acts like Lumpy & The Dumpers, Q, BiB, VCR, Condominium, Mystic Inane, Gag, Gas Rag, Hank Wood, La Misma, Crazy Spirit, Bad-Noids, mommy, and the NYC-based band Dawn of Humans, known as “the egg punk band for the chain punks.”
Besides Devo, egg punk draws influences from other weirdos like Flipper and genres ranging from basement punk to garage punk, indie, minimal wave, synthpunk, free jazz, post-punk, and various experimental music. Often characterized by satirical themes and accompanied by poorly drawn MS Paint or childlike pastel artwork styles, many egg punk bands can be considered anti-genre artists or often referred to as “devocore” (due to their Devo influences).
Where to Find Egg Punk & Chain Punk Records Online?
Many niche punk recordings find their way onto YouTube channels. Channels such as RICKVARUKERSPUNX, No Punks in K-Town, and No Deal typically host “chain punk” content, while “egg punk” is commonly linked to the channel Jimmy.
Following the original post, a wave of memes and charts related to the topic flooded Instagram and Reddit. Online forums are now ripe with conversations about the nuances of these two styles and curated playlists spotlighting “chain punk” or “egg punk” bands.
Chain Punk Bands
Tons of modern “chain punk” bands not mentioned in the “original” chart include Exit Order, Hologram, Nosferatu, Scarecrow, Bootlicker, Physique, Enzyme, Concealed Blade, Bloodkrow Butcher, Armor, Jackal, Proton, Chain Whip, Primitive Blast, Electric Chair, Loose Nukes, Sniper Culture, Septic Yanks, Spy, L.O.T.I.O.N., Orden Mundial, Tupperware, Blood Pressure, Canal Irreal, Vile Gash, Skeleton, Sex Pill, Vaaska, Khiis, Cesspool, Fatal, Axe Rash, Larma, Protocol, Glue, Gel, SIAL, Impalers, The Anarchy, The Annihilated, Kaleidoscope, Reek Minds, Heavy Discipline, GUNN, Haram, Krimewatch, Skitklass, Sect Mark, Geld, Oily Boys, Lasso, Klonns, along with the New Wave of British Hardcore bands like Arms Race, Violent Reaction, The Flex, Obstruct, True Vision, The Chisel, Big Cheese, Rat Cage, Stiff Meds, and others.
Egg Punk Bands
Similarly, modern “egg punk” bands not mentioned in the “original” chart include Prison Affair, Powerplant, Alien Nosejob, Dollhouse, Smirk, Imploders, Spread Joy, Erik Nervous, Spewed Brain, Uranium Club, Cherry Cheeks, Satanic Togas, Lysol, Neo-Neos, C.C.T.V., GAZM, Ooze, Gee Tee, Vintage Crop, Warm Bodies, Cereal Killer, The Noids, Loomer 69, Straw Man Army, Nag, Stuck, Skull Cult, Lithicks, Kowabunga! Kid, Soda Boys, HOTMOM, Aborted Tortoise, Sid Eargle, Antibodies, Yonic South, Clorox Dream, Mesh, Toyota, Booji Boys, Grump, Razorbumps, Big Hog, The Fritz, Pisse, Das Das, Jonny Kurt und die Hühnerficker Kombo, Sad Neutrino Bitches, Gulag Beach, Wonder Bread, Stinkhole, Pigeon, and other bands associated with Lumpy Records in the US, as well as German labels Phantom Records, Erste Theke Tonträger, and Mangel Records.
