Crust punk: Difference between revisions

'''Crust punk''' (also known as '''stenchcore''', and commonly shortened toor simply '''crust''')<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cunha |first1=Ricardo |title=Crust: the other side of the coin |url=https://whiplash.net/materias/biografias/283768.html |access-date=30 June 2018}}</ref> is a subgenre of [[punk rock]] influenced by the English punk scene as well as [[extreme metal]].<ref name="Rise of Crust">{{cite web|last=Von Havoc |first=Felix |title=Rise of Crust |publisher=Profane Existence |date=1 January 1984 |url=http://www.havocrex.com/press/article/3/83 |access-date=16 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615163312/http://www.havocrex.com/press/article/3/83 |archive-date=15 June 2008 }}</ref> The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England,<ref name="In Crust We Trust">{{cite web |title=In Crust We Trust |url=http://souciant.com/2013/06/in-crust-we-trust/ |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills. The term "crust" was coined by [[Hellbastard]] on their 1986 ''Ripper Crust'' demo.<ref name=Glasper>Glasper 2009, 185</ref>

Crust was founded by the bands [[Amebix]]<ref name=swedish>Peter Jandreus, ''The Encyclopedia of Swedish Punk 1977-1987'', Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2008, p. 11.</ref><ref name="Amebix">{{cite web|url=http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1225/11817/.html |title=The Gauntlet |publisher=The Gauntlet |date=29 February 2008 |access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> and [[Antisect]].<ref name="Rise of Crust"/> The term "crust" was coined by [[Hellbastard]] on their 1986 ''Ripper Crust'' demo.<ref name="Rise of Crust"/> In his book ''Trapped in a Scene'', punk historian Ian Glasper said "''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 crust punk genre, although some would attribute that accolade to the likes of [[Disorder (band)|Disorder]], [[Chaos UK]], and Amebix several years earlier.<ref name=Glasper /> In the same book, he quoted the group's vocalist and guitarist Malcolm "Scruff" Lewty "A lot of people say we started the crust punk genre, but whatever. If they wanna say that, I don't mind, but I'm certainly no [[Malcolm McLaren]], saying I invented something I didn't."<ref name=Glasper /> However, in ''Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics'', author Gabriel Kuhn Punk stated that the name of the genre came from the "crusty" appearance of the genre's practitioning bands.<ref name="Kuhn">{{cite book |last1=Kuhn |first1=Gabriel |title=Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/soberlivingforre00kuhn |url-access=registration |date=2010 |publisher=PM Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/soberlivingforre00kuhn/page/n16 16]|isbn=9781604860511 }}</ref> journalist Felix von Havoc contends that [[Doom (UK band)|Doom]], Excrement of War, [[Electro Hippies]] and [[Extreme Noise Terror]] were among the first bands to have the traditional UK "crust" sound.<ref name="Rise of Crust"/> Additional subgenres of this style began to develop. [[Deviated Instinct]], from Norwich, created "stenchcore", bringing "both the look and sound — dirty and metallic, respectively — to their natural conclusion".<ref>Glasper 2009, 284</ref> Initially an anarcho-punk group, they began to take increasing influence from metal. As vocalist Julian "Leggo" Kilsby comments "We were very much a part of the anarcho scene, to start with, very politically motivated... all the way through the band's existence, really, although it got less obvious as time went by. But I never really liked the straightforward 'War is bad...' lyrics that were so prevalent at the time, so as my writing skills improved I wanted to add more depth to our lyrics and make them more metaphorical; I'd always been into horror films, so that started to manifest itself in the imagery I was using."<ref>Glasper 2009, 286</ref>

An important American crust punk band was [[Aus Rotten]]<ref name=ausrotten>"[http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A22082 Crust-punks Behind Enemy Lines release One Nation Under The Iron Fist of God] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128114625/http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A22082 |date=2011-11-28 }}</ref> from [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Crust punk also flourished in Minneapolis, shepherded by the [[Profane Existence]] label.<ref name=grindcrust2/> In this period, the ethos of crust punk became particularly codified, with [[vegetarianism]], [[feminism]], and sometimes [[straight edge]] being prescribed by many of the figures in the scene.<ref name=grindcrust2/> The [[powerviolence]] scene associated with [[Slap-a-Ham Records]] was in close proximity to crust punk, particularly in the case of [[Man Is the Bastard]] and [[Dropdead]].<ref name=terrorizer>"Powerviolence: The Dysfunctional Family of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrgghhh!!." ''Terrorizer'' no. 172. July 2008. p. 36-37.</ref> Crust was also prominent in the [[American South]], where [[Prank Records]] and [[CrimethInc.]] acted as focal points of the scene. The most well-known representative of Southern crust was [[His Hero Is Gone]].<ref name=swedish/><ref>Andrew Childers, "Kick in the South: A Look Back at Prank Records and the Southern Crust Scene." 5 April 2008. [http://grindandpunishment.blogspot.com/2008/04/kick-in-south-look-back-at-prank.html] Access date: 21 June 2008</ref> Prominent crust punk groups ([[Driller Killer (band)|Driller Killer]], [[Totalitär]], [[Skitsystem]], [[Wolfbrigade]], and [[Disfear]]) also emerged from Sweden, which had always had a strong D-beat scene. Many of these groups developed in parallel with the much more commercial [[Scandinavian death metal]] scene.<ref>Ekeroth, p. 107, 266.</ref>

Some notable crust bands in the 2000s include Iskra,<ref name=iskra/> [[Behind Enemy Lines (band)|Behind Enemy Lines]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07032/758295-42.stm |title=Pittsburgh Calling: A capsule look at Pittsburgh bands making news |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=1 February 2007 |access-date=1 August 2010 | first=Scott | last=Mervis}}</ref> and [[Tragedy (band)|Tragedy]]. The Spanish city [[A Coruña]] has a crust scene which includes bands as Black Panda, Ekkaia and Madame Germen.<ref>[[:es:Crust punk#D.C3.A9cada de los 90s.2F00s .28Portland.2C Suecia.2C Espa.C3.B1a.29]]</ref> In 2017, [[Bandcamp|Bandcamp Daily]] wrote that [[Fluff Fest]], held in Czech RepublicCzechia since 2000, has become a "summer ritual" for many European crust fans.<ref name="bandcamp">{{cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/09/20/czech-diy-list/|title=The Sincere and Vibrant World of the Czech DIY Scene|publisher=Bandcamp|first=Jacopo|last=Sanna|date=20 September 2017|access-date=7 October 2017}}</ref>

Crust punk was affected by a second wave of black metal in the 1990s, with some bands emphasizingemphasising these black metal elements. Iskra are probably the most obvious example of [[Black metal#Second wave|second wave black metal]]-influenced crust punk;<ref name=iskra>[http://iskra.ws/interviews.html Iskra Interviews] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615141533/http://iskra.ws/interviews.html |date=15 June 2006 }}.</ref> Iskra coined their own phrase "blackened crust" to describe their new style. The [[Japan]]ese group [[Gallhammer]] also fused crust punk with black metal<ref>"Hard of Hearing", ''Terrorizer'' no. 171, June 2008, p. 56.</ref> while the English band Fukpig has been said to have elements of crust punk, black metal, and grindcore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://supersonicfestival.com/event/fukpig/|title=Fukpig|date=22 October 2010|website=Supersonic Festival|access-date=24 March 2019}}</ref><ref>"C: Do you think that FUKPIG has founded a style of his own? Misery: Nah its just d-beat crust, with added horror C: and then What difference to FUKPIG from the rest of the bands? Misery: We add more black metal / horror influences, but are still inspired by the same things C: Is Necro-Punk your style? Misery: Yeah, necro in the black metal style playing crust punk, so yeah Necro Punk." [http://www.clandestinemetalzine.cl/interviews/interview_fukpig.html Interview: Fukpig] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110010121/http://www.clandestinemetalzine.cl/interviews/interview_fukpig.html |date=10 November 2013 }}</ref> Germany's [[Downfall of Gaia]] has been described as mixing crustgrind and black metal, along with elements of [[sludge metal]], [[doom metal]] and [[post-metal]].<ref name="NCS">{{cite web|title=Downfall of Gaia: "''Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay''"|url=http://www.nocleansinging.com/2014/12/04/downfall-of-gaia-aeon-unveils-the-thrones-of-decay/|last=Weber|first=Austin|publisher=[[No Clean Singing]]|date=4 December 2014|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref> North Carolina's [[Young and in the Way]] have been playing blackened crust since their formation in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zorgdrager |first1=Bradley |title=Young and in the Way When Life Comes to Death |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/young_in_way-when_life_comes_to_death |website=[[Exclaim!]] |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> In addition, [[Norway|Norwegian]] band [[Darkthrone]] have incorporated crust punk traits in their mid-to-late 2000s material. As Daniel Ekeroth wrote in 2008,

Crustcore (also known as crusty hardcore), is a sub-genre of crust punk that takes influence from [[hardcore punk]] and sometimes [[thrashcore]]. [[Havoc Records|Felix HavokHavoc]] described [[Extreme Noise Terror]]'s segment of the "Earslaughter" split album with [[Chaos UK]] as the first album in the genre. Crustcore bands include Extreme Noise Terror, [[Doom (British band)|Doom]], [[Disrupt]],<ref name="Rise of Crust"/> [[Wolfbrigade]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=LUEDTKE |first1=CHRISTOPHER |title=Album Review: WOLFBRIGADE Run With The Hunted |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/reviews/wolfbrigade-run-with-the-hunted |website=Metal Injection |date=15 May 2017 |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> [[Neurosis (band)|Neurosis]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Kim |title=Thrash 'n burn: why 1985 was metal's defining year |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=14 August 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/14/heavy-metal-thrash-1985-defining-year-metallica-anthrax-slayer |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> [[Baptists (band)|Baptists]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Gregory |title=Ladyhawk Celebrate 10th Anniversary with "Decade of Passive Aggression" Canadian Tour, Outline New Album Possibilities |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/ladyhawk_celebrate_10th_anniversary_with_decade_of_passive_aggression_canadian_tour_outline_new_album_possibilities |website=[[Exclaim!]] |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> [[Discharge (band)|Discharge]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Gregory |title=Discharge Sign with Nuclear Blast for First Album in 8 Years |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/discharge_deliver_end_of_days_through_nuclear_blast |website=[[Exclaim!]] |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref> and [[Filth (band)|Filth]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=White Fence – "Today's Lesson" (Filth Cover) |date=30 October 2013 |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1545882/white-fence-todays-lesson-filth-cover/news/ |access-date=2 January 2019}}</ref>

Crust punk had a major impact on [[grindcore]]'s emergence. The first grindcore, practicedpractised by the British bands such as [[Napalm Death]] and [[Extreme Noise Terror]] emerged from the crust punk scene.<ref name="Rise of Crust"/> This early style is sometimes dubbed "crustgrind".<ref name=grindcrust/>

{{redirectHatnote|Crust"Crusties" redirects here. For punks|the groupsimilar describedsubcultures sometimes also known as "crusties," insee British slang|[[New Age travellers]] and [[gutter punk]]. For "eye crusties," see [[rheum]].|}}