Crust Punk

Despite having the word “punk” in its name, crust punk is often considered to be a subgenre of heavy metal. Many grindcore, sludge metal and black metal bands frequently choose to meddle with crust punk music, so it has become more associated with heavy metal than with hardcore punk.

By definition, crust punk is the combination of anarcho-punk, hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style began in the 1980s in England, and is known for its dirty musical nature. Crust punk is usually very bass-heavy and fast, though some bands have been known to make it slower and sludgy. The vocals of the subgenre consist of shrieks, shouts, grunts and growls. The lyrics of the subgenre are similar to those of anarcho-punk, which are usually politically motivated.

The first crust punk bands were based out of England. The leaders of this first movement were Amebix, Antisect, Hellbastard, Doom and Extreme Noise Terror. Hellbastard coined the term “crust” with its demo, Ripper Crust, which was released in 1986. Several of these initial crust punk bands eventually moved on to help pioneer grindcore. Toward the late 1980s, crust punk made its way to the US. Nausea, Disrupt, Destroy and Neurosis (the latter of whom later served to be instrumental in developing sludge, post and modern doom metal) helped to bring crust punk from the UK to the US. 

In the 1990s, crust punk reached its height of popularity. In the US, the scene became associated with powerviolence, which helped create a crossover between fans. Meanwhile, the subgenre began to gain popularity in more of Europe than just England. The scene particularly gained momentum in Sweden. Aus Rotten, Dystopia, Disfear and His Hero Is Gone were some of the popular crust punk groups at this time.

Today, crust punk is alive and well, but it is frequently combined with other heavy metal subgenres. Notably, Darkthrone, who is an extremely influential Norwegian black metal group, changed its style from black metal to crust punk and released Circle of Wagons in 2010 to major critical acclaim. There are also plenty of grindcore bands that currently incorporate crust punk influences into their sound. In fact, the band Early Graves, who was recently in Athens to support Skeletonwitch in a show at The Union, has become one of the most notable current grindcore bands to take major influence from crust punk. Crust punk is a dirty and aggressive subgenre that has certainly managed to stand the test of time.