Neocrust

What is Neocrust?

The origins of neocrust can be pinned back to various musical directions within the 1990s hardcore punk and crust scene. Japanese burning spirits hardcore bands like Insane Youth and Bastard also played an important role.

North American amalgamations of crust with emo, screamo, black metal, and sludge, exemplified by bands such as His Hero Is Gone, One Eyed God Prophecy, and Union of Uranus, were also important contributors. Furthermore, the ’90s Swedish d-beat genre, represented by bands like Wolfpack (later known as Wolfbrigade), and the influential Belgian band Hiatus, especially their 1993 release El Sueño De La Razon Produce Monstruos/The Brain, also significantly shaped the current neocrust sound.

Presently, the genre is represented by any band mirroring the style of iconic groups like Tragedy, Remains of the Day, and His Hero Is Gone.

Emocrust vs Neocrust

In a conversation with author Zachary Lipez about the origins of Neocrust, Stadium Crust, and Emocrust, Alex CF (Fall of Efrafa, Morrow, Light Bearer, etc.) explains that the term emocrust actually came about earlier, as a precursor to the genre known today as neocrust. It was initially used to describe heavy, melodic, emotional crust-punk bands like Ekkaia, Madame Germen and Remains of the Day.

Emocrust or emo crust was the progenitor to what would later be known as neocrust or neo crust. In early reviews and descriptions of the genre, the term “emo crust” was the phrase used to describe heavy, melodic, emotional crust punk. I myself first saw it attributed to bands such as Ekkaia, Madame Germen and Remains of the Day.

The genre is defined by melodic, minor chord lead guitars, d-beat and screamo-esque blasts and stabs, crushing slow segues and mournful acoustic passages. Like emoviolence, the term speaks of its influences. Emoviolence borrowed from both powerviolence and ’90s French emo/screamo influenced hardcore bands like Anomie and Amanda Woodward.

Emo crust shares these connections, and was most definitely influenced by experimental crust bands such as His Hero Is Gone, whose later albums veered towards incorporating more melodic minor chord progressions into their doom laden, powerviolence influenced crust. They also shared a member with notable emoviolence band Union of Uranus, which would also act as an influence in the genre. Yet like so many genres, the roots lie in different scenes and cultural influences. The fusion of these disparate music genres, under radical left political ideologies, sharing tours and shows, and released under particular labels helped form a coherent sound, drawing both melody and overall aesthetic from the broader anarchopunk/post-punk and crust scene.

Overall the imagery and artwork followed the bleak aesthetic of crust but often in a far more pensive, poetic way, again, in some way sharing elements with DIY screamo; the dead trees and barren landscapes, names often (but not exclusively) derived from more elegant words. Lyrics followed the anarchopunk/anarchist/post-civilisation ideologies, with lyrics focused on radical left politics, animal rights, etc.

In the late ’90s, Spanish crust band Ekkaia (formerly Icon) emerged, and would establish a particular sound that in part was influenced by the aforementioned early screamo and d-beat hardcore, yet rooted in the DIY crust scene. This was adopted later by many bands within the Spanish scene, (Hongo, Das Plague, Madame Germen, Blünt, etc.) who both shared members and influences. This sound would become very prominent within this community. Simultaneously, Portland, Oregon’s Tragedy, who shared most of its members with His Hero Is Gone, began to carve out a niche of heavy, melodic d-beat hardcore with crust influences, taking much of the sound they forged in their former band but borrowing from the dramatic moodiness of bands like Amebix, ‘burning spirits’ hardcore, such as Paintbox—this dark crust/hardcore sound was adopted by other notable bands such as From Ashes Rise, who also shared a member with Tragedy. Portland has a rich tradition of heavy brooding punk, and their sound wasn’t far removed from their peers.

It is important to distinguish these sounds from each other, the emergence of this dark melodic crust influenced hardcore on different continents was perhaps a coincidence, yet the DIY scene was rich with international labels and tape/CD exchanges, and eager punks seeking new sounds. The styles developed noticeable differences, but as with the emergence of new genres, often the sound is the result of individuals bringing distinct sounds to their respective bands, or bands touring together, and those similarities are eventually grouped together under genres. Other countries produced influential and unique voices within this sound—this was true of styles specific to emo crust—perpetrated by bands such as longstanding crust band Cwill and later in Remains of the Day, who incorporated violin into their music, which added to this melancholic, post civilisation aesthetic—although not unique to punk (many anarchopunk bands have incorporate strings,) the use of stringed instruments would become one of many idiosyncrasies indicative of the genre, alongside the slow dark and doom laden passages, reminiscent of bands like Amebix and Neurosis, and a post punks ethereal quality.

It is notable that many bands, including Ekkaia’s overall sound dropped the frantic screamo-esque high vocals and blasts and adopted lower vocals and a more straight forward melodic crust sound similar to Tragedy on their second album after touring together in the early 2000s, and this was indicative of the scene in general, as the lines between these similar styles of dark, melodic crust would eventually blur. The sound became very popular in the early to mid 2000’s, with specific labels releasing many notable albums. The term Emo crust was largely replaced by the term “neocrust” or “neo crust”—coined by Timo of Alerta Antifascista records, who was responsible for releasing many bands of this genre (Ekkaia, Madame Germen, Schifosi, Fall of Efrafa)

Terms such as “epic crust”, “stadium crust” and “lounge crust” and “dark hardcore” were used to describe the genre. The genre largely died down over the following decade. A lot of bands that played melodic crust/neocrust later incorporated post metal influences and then blackened/black metal influences and moved away from the emo crust sound.

Often the screamo blasts of earlier emocrust/neocrust bands are incorrectly associated with black metal. Despite a number of bands active at the beginning still being active today, the genre has had something of a resurgence of late, harking back to earlier emocrust, with many active bands rekindling the sounds and adopting the moniker of “emo crust.”

—Alex CF (Fall of Efrafa, Morrow, Light Bearer, etc.)

Neocrust Bands

• Notable neocrust bands: His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, The Dagda, Madame Germen, Ekkaia, Derrota, Cop On Fire, Hongo, Ictus, Okban, Destierro, Heroïna, Blünt, Down To Agony, This Thing Called Dying, Severed Head Of State, The Holy Mountain, Artimus Pyle, Cwill, Nux Vomica, Kakistocracy, Garmonbozia, Pazahora, Hark! It’s A Crawling Tar-Tar, Defacto Oppression, November 13, Ashkara, Anopheli, Lies Feed The Machine, Personkrets 3:1, Mind Pollution, Drip of Lies, Easpa Measa, Bacchus, Öroku, Remains of the Day, (early) Fall of Efrafa, Morrow, Schifosi, Axidance, Gattaca, Alpinist, Masakari, Ambulance, Finisterre, Geraniüm, Nagasaki Nightmare, Deszcz, Habak, Lagrimas, Svdestada, Sarabante, Procrastinate, Rană, and many others.

Regardless of one’s personal opinions regarding the genre’s name and origins, there are currently numerous bands worldwide that produce exceptional music in the vein of the aforementioned groups. Some bands infuse their own distinctive flavors into the mix, resulting in a few genuinely original compositions.