Crust punk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hardcore punk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Punk rock |
| Cultural origins: | Early 1980s North America |
| Typical instruments: | Vocals - Guitar - Bass - Drums |
| Mainstream popularity: | Little to none during the careers of the bands, but has been gaining popularity in recent years. |
| Derivative forms: | Alternative rock - Grunge - Emo - Post-hardcore |
| Subgenres | |
| Christian hardcore - Crust punk - D-beat - Grindcore - Melodic hardcore - Powerviolence - Skate punk - Thrashcore - Youth crew | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Crossover thrash - Funkcore - Metalcore | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Australia - Brazil - Canada - Europe: Italy - South Wales - Scandinavia: Umeå - Japan - USA: Boston - California - Chicago - Detroit - Minneapolis - New Jersey - New York - North Carolina - Phoenix - Seattle - Texas - DC | |
| Other topics | |
| Hardcore dancing - Straight edge - DIY punk ethic - List of bands | |
Crust punk (sometimes called crustcore or stenchcore) is one of the many extreme evolutions of anarcho-punk. Crust punk was created by combining anarcho-punk with elements of extreme metal. Crust punk 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, anarcho-punk, thrashcore and grindcore.
Contents |
[edit] History
Crust punk evolved out of the early 1980's British anarcho-punk movement. It was founded by the bands Amebix and Antisect, with the releases Arise!LP and Out From The Void single respectivly. In adition to incorporating an extreme metal influenced sound onto the existing punk genre, crust punk present a lyrical shift in focus from the earlier peace punk bands. Unlike the realitivly optimistic and idealistic lyrics of bands such as Crass, crust punk featured dark, pessmistic lyrics, often lingering on the bleak aftermath of nuclear war.
Many proto-typical elements of crust punk can be seen in the peace punk movement from which it evolved. Crust punk derive much of it's apocaliptic imagery from the artwork of Icons of Filth and much of it's lyical trajectory from Discharge. The dueling male/female vocals commonly used in crust punk is taken from the longstanding use of such vocals in anarcho-punk.
The musical template created by Amebix was a slow, sludgy sound, much removed from the thrashing speed of most punk. However, Extreme Noise Terror were hugely influential on crust punk, as they inspired many bands to play faster. The term "crust" originates from the band Hellbastard, 1986 "Ripper Crust" demo. Up until this point the sub-genre had widely been known as "stenchcore". Argueable the most influential crust punk band from America was New York's Nausea. Disrupt were the first band to fuse a grindcore sound onto crust punk (nick-named by fans as "Grind-Crust"). This is a trend which has been growing in recent years.
[edit] Lifestyle and Fashion
Crust punk has become almost synonymous with the lifestyles lead by the Amebix and Antisect, and subsequentialy 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.
Crust punks are known for their heavily politicied outlook on society and life in general. Many squat in abandoned buildings and choose not to seek employment. Dumpster diving is commonly practised by crust punks. This can be equated to what Murray Bookchin has called "lifestyle anarchism".
Perhaps the most stereotypical and infamous facet of the lifestyle is the lack of hygiene, as many crust punks seemingly avoid bathing and grooming and women commonly avoid shaving of any body hair. Dreadlocks are also popular. There are several stated reasons for such activity that include, but are not limited to, disdain for the typical socially accepted image of both sexes (or persons in general), wishing to remain free of the toxins and chemicals in many personal hygiene products, simple laziness, a desire to remain filthy contrary to social norms, refusal to purchase corporate products such as shampoo or body wash, or simply the result of living the squatter lifestyle without the accommodations most people are used to. Such beliefs are very similar to, and possibly based on, social ecology and ecofeminism.
Crust punks adopt the all-black militaristic dress of anarcho-punk but has also taken that movements 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 [for sewing, as it's quite durable], and other cheaply bought materials from thrift stores or found. Naturally found substances such as hemp are often used as jewellery. Seemingly many older crustys have naturally decreased emphasis on sewing and instead adopted a more haggard look.
It should be noted that the Disorder punk band lived an extremely similar lifestyle to this, and interacted a great deal with Amebix but have never played music that could be described as crust punk, nor have ever been considered crust punks.
[edit] Ideology
See Anarcho-punk main article.
Crust punk ideology (or perhaps more specifically, the aplication of said ideology) is a more extreme version of anarcho-punk ideology. Crust punk attempts 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 prevelant in crust punk can be best seen in their song lyrics. Common themes include: anarchism, anti-oppression, current events, financial/emotional depression, environmentalism, racial equality, squatting, non-conformity, feminism and abolishing sexism, animal rights, veganism/vegetarianism, religious control, and nuclear destruction are common themes.
Although these ARE common things, there are many people who do not believe or follow them.
Crust punk, (as with peace punk before it, but perhaps to an even greater extent) can be credited as one of the social phenomena which pushed modern anarchism towards lifestyleism.
Crust punks are even more militantly opposed to religion than their anarcho-punk forebearers. 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 may 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.
The traveller/new age movement as had a considerable influence on the modern crust punk movement. The Hippie counterculture is also a significant major influence as well, coming through anarcho-punk.
[edit] The 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.
[edit] 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 often argue that because it is political it isn't black metal. Of course that is because it is crust punk and not black metal. Other bands that have a blackened crust sound are Martyrdöd and Riistetyt.
Many crust punks with acoustic guitars have found inspiration in "outlaw country" as well as 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.
In the early 1990s, members of the crust/grindcore band Disrupt formed a band called Grief. Grief's depressively slow blend of punk and doom metal gave inspiration to the burgeoning sludge metal genre, along with bands such as Dystopia (band) and Eyehategod.
Another footnote to know is that the early Crust Punk bands from 1977-the 1980's influenced thrash metal bands that became popular during the 1980's.
[edit] 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 labelled crusty, the strictly correct term being grebo, because of their image and its similarity to the aforementioned 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 such bands as the Thee Psychick Warriors ov Gaia and clubs such as Planet Dog, whose zenith was market 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.
[edit] See also
| Punk rock |
|---|
| 2 Tone - Anarcho-punk - Anti-folk - Art punk - Celtic punk - Christian punk - Cowpunk - Crust punk - Dance-punk - Deathcountry - Death pop - Deathrock - Electro rock - Emo - Folk punk - Gaelic punk - Garage punk - Glam punk - Gothabilly - Hardcore punk - Post-hardcore - Horror punk - Jazz punk - Mod revival - Nazi punk - New Wave - No Wave - Noise rock - Oi! - Pop punk - Post-punk - Psychobilly - Punk blues - Punk Pathetique - Queercore - Reggae rock - Riot Grrrl - Scum punk - Ska punk - Skate punk - Streetpunk - Synthpunk - Taqwacore |
| Other topics |
| Protopunk - DIY ethic - First wave punk musicians - Second wave punk musicians - Punk subculture - Punk movies - Punk fashion - Punk ideology - Punk visual art - Punk dance - Punk literature - Punk zine - Rock Against Communism - Straight edge |
