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Crust punk
Stylistic origins:	Anarcho punk Hardcore punk Extreme metal
Cultural origins:	Mid 1980s United Kingdom
Typical instruments:	Vocals - Guitar - Bass - Drums-Other instruments occasionally used
Mainstream popularity:	Underground
Derivative forms:	Grindcore

Crust punk or Crustcore is a style of hardcore punk. It is an extremely underground form of music and is one of punk's least recognizable forms^{[citation needed]}, however fans of the style are found worldwide and is one of the many extreme evolutions of anarcho-punk and hardcore punk.

Contents 1 History 2 Music style 3 Fashion 4 Ideology 5 The DIY ethic 6 Outside influence 7 Crust record labels 8 See also

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 were some of the first bands to have that traditional UK "Crust" sound, sometimes the lines between more D-beat centered bands and Crustcore bands is often blurred. The genre of Crustpunk had an 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 an interesting time for crust punk and several more hardcore punk oriented less metallic outfits came about, most notably Aus-Rotten. However crust punk in the 1990s in Minneapolis (where it had a long history with bands such as Misery, Destroy, and several others) and the West Coast incubated and gave birth to a huge crust explosion that influences hundreds of bands and continued the heavy metallic influences stated above. Dystopia and the record label Life is Abuse was a crucial element along with very early 90's so-cal bands, Apocolypse, Glycine-Max, and Mindrot to name a very few. Up in Oakland bands like Skaven started a strong crust scene in 1994 along with El Dopa and several if not dozens of bands that were influenced and (if lucky) recorded by the big brother band Neurosis. Oakland continues as one of the strongholds of the crust punk scene. (This information can be found through Life is Abuse record label website.) 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, Against empire, Behind Enemy Lines, 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 and San Diego's Basura.

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.

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 dueling male and female vocals are drawn from their 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 Scandinavian-influenced drumming done at high speed with blast beats sometimes being used. The lyrical content of crust punk tends to be very bleak and nihilistic and extremely political. Crust punk songs are often about but are not limited to: anti materalism, gay rights, sexism, popular culture, apocalypse, nuclear war, misanthropy, emotions, cycling, religion, the environment, censorship, anarchism, historical events, parody, militarism, peace, war, animal rights, health care, lies, corporate crime, 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 recognizable forms due to metallic elements and extreme vocal style and is at times mistaken as a form of metal. A sub-note is that a number of bands exist are not bound by the above definition often having a slow sludgy sound such as Dystopia.

Crust punk is a very DIY oriented branch of punk fashion. It is also very confrontational due to the presence of war related and nihilistic imagery. As many punk genres do, crust punk fashion includes band and political t-shirts in the abundance. An element of crust punk fashion that is fairly well known is the use of denim jackets or vests covered in studs, spikes and band patches. Crust punk patches are typically political as well. Some crusties, as they're called, screen print their own patches at home or in squats. Another common element of crust is use of dental floss to sew fabric together due to its durability. Pants tend to be bondage pants, work pants or stretch jeans covered in patches. Bum flaps, displaying political slogans or band names are also common. Bullet belts are also seen often on crust punks. Jewelry varies greatly, it ranges from hemp bracelets to spiked wristbands to lengths of chain secured with padlocks or carabiners. Footwear tends to be either combat boots or second hand/salvaged shoes, typically beat up Converse Chuck Taylor's. Hair is done in a number of different ways, mohawks dyed bright colors are common, dreadlocks are also common along with its variant the dread hawk. Large numbers of piercings and tattoos are also common with many being done by crusties at home.

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.

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, Anti-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 itself 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.

Main article: 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.

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.

• Profane Existence
• Deep Six Records
• Rodent Popscicle Records
• Tragedy Records
• Aborted Society Records
• Threat to Existence Records
• Prank Records
• Life is Abuse Records
• Moshpit Tragedy Records
• Havoc Records

• List of crust punk bands
• Anarcho-punk
• Crusties
• Grindcore
• Scandinavian hardcore

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