Out From the Void Into the Digital Age: CRUST in the 2010's

Alright, I am back. So to speak because I did not actually go anywhere this summer as a thing called "work" prevented me from enjoying something called "life". But I am back in the sense that this post will bring closure to the massive undertaking that started in early 2022, namely an exploration of crust in the recent years. As my mate Paul often says between the fourth and the fifth pint, time is a constantly moving thing and I cannot really keep writing about contemporary crust from the 2010's for eternity, my shrink was quite clear on that part. Overdosing on crust is rare but not unheard of. 

So in order to wrap things up I decided to embark into an even bigger mission by creating compilations that illustrate what 2010's crust music was all about, like I did with the 90's and 00's. Except I ended up with an insane amount of bands. While I managed to deal with the previous decades with series of three compilations, it quickly became evident that there were just too many bands for the 2010's. So I switched from three to five compilations (and if I'm being honest I probably could have gone to six) with almost 150 bands. Does this discrepancy imply that there are more punk bands now than before? Or does it just suggest that with all 2010's bands having an internet presence to some degree they are much easier to find and their material is far more accessible? It might also have to do with the fact that it has become so much easier and affordable to record nowadays thanks to digital recording so that there could be more recordings and more studio projects but not necessarily more bands per se. In any case, a lovely project became quixotic and a little overwhelming at times. Did I have nightmares where I was persecuted by haunted crust pants? Yes I did.

You already know the noble principles of such compilations. They are meant to describe the crustscape of a given period from an international point of view. I already did specific Japanese crust compilations - with one about the 10's - so that I left out some Japanese bands to avoid repetitions. I tried to focus on crust as a whole and not just on so-called stenchcore or cavemen crust (the fanatical Doom-lovers). First because I wanted to bring at least a little diversity to the selection and second because even I would struggle to listen to 90 minutes straight of growling metal crust (or would I?) and if you want a compilation to captivate your audience, you have to include changes of paces, of vibes, have some tunes, some excruciating distorted moments and so on. It has to tell a story. A 90 minute long crust song is fine but it does not really exemplify or illustrate in a relevant fashion what the 2010's produced. So of course, all the gruff stenchcore units are there as well as the touching Doom/Sore Throat wannabes, but I also threw some heavy crust-flavoured käng hardcore, blownout distorted noizy crusty hardcore for interludes and bands flirting heavily with death-metal or grindcore. But don't worry, all the songs are crust-pants proof. 

The international perspective is crucial to these comps as it highlights the dynamics of crust. In this decade Italy and Russia were strong and bands like Cancer Spreading and Fatum (both still active) confirmed that they were at the top of the vegan food chain. Instinct of Survival morphed into something different and fascinating and demonstrated that crust could be a moving thing. Philadelphia and Halifax proved to be insanely brilliant strongholds. Swordwielder and Xaotiko Telos recorded the bast album of the decade. Portland and Poland are still there. South Korea, Argentina and Belarus appeared on the crust map. And even France had its crust bands (no less than three French bands here, fuck me). Old-timers kept doing what they had always done, newcomers unleashed the fury. Ridiculous amounts of punk records were released. I had to sell my gran's kidney to indulge in my addiction to crust. Tough times. 

As I pointed out with the previous compilations the decade-based format may not be the most relevant (but they are the most time-consuming) and scene-oriented compilations are better. You will find here bands like Axewield that stopped playing in 2010 and others like Warkrusher that pretty much started in 2019, two very different times but with both bands having recorded between 2010 and 2019, they had to be included. What international compilations are great at is the potential for discovery. Of course, I forgot some bands, exhaustivity is impossible and one has to keep a degree of subjectivity in the selection process, especially for punk compilations. But on the other hand I included bands that you probably have not heard of or never really listened to and hopefully it will prompt people to dig deeper afterwards. It is like a Royal Rumble, not every wrestler is brilliant but you always get to discover obscure new talents. 

I did my best sound-wise using my own rips or downloading the best versions I could find (I just did not have the energy to rip every song as it would have taken far too much time) but of course levels vary a lot, not to mention the productions and the overall clarity. So it is what it is (a meaningless phrase I'll grant you that). But what did you expect from a crust compilation anyway? 

These were fun to do and I believe they work well and are not boring. If you feel I missed some crucial bands, which is unlikely but possible, please comment. And if you know of solid local crust bands that I am unaware of, please feel free to write about them too. It is a work in progress. Play loud of course, grab your filthiest crust pants, your most derelict jacket, your stinky biker boots, grab some cider and enjoy.    

      

OUT FROM THE VOID INTO THE DIGITAL AGE: CRUST IN THE 2010's

VOLUME ONE:

01. ALEMENT "Seas of consequence" from Onward 12" EP, 2019 (U$A)

02. BRAINCËLL "L.C.D (Liquid Crystal Deep - Sleep)" from S/t split EP with ZYKADE, 2019 (Malaysia)

03. PHYSIQUE "Weaponized faith" from The Rhythm of Brutality 10", 2019 (U$A)

04. KERETIK "Unelma kostosta" from Terra Mater LP, 2017 (Finland)

05. CONSTANT STATE OF TERROR "Throne of blood" from Speak Truth to Power LP, 2020 (recorded in 2014) (England)

06. WOJNA "Stołkowe Kurwy" from S/t split EP with Social Crisis, 2018 (Poland)

07. EXTINCT EXIST "Scourge Amazonie" from Cursed Earth LP, 2016 (Australia)

08. DEFUSE "Cry of roar" from Cry of Roar EP, 2017 (Japan)

09. STEP TO FREEDOM "Злая Молитва" from The Rotten Era tape, 2019 (Russia)

10. DECOMP  "Grim" from S/t EP, 2019 (U$A)

11. AMHRA "Reflejos" from Más Allá LP, 2019 (Spain)

12. WARPATH "Nel dilagare della follia" from Origini D'Odio / Nel Dilagare Della Follia split EP with NIS, 2011 (Italy)

13. COELACANTH "You deny" from S/t cdr, 2013 (U$A)

14. BLACK TERROR "Prince of lies" from Born Again tape, 2013 (Singapore)

15. TERMINAL CONQUEST "Lifeless pariah" from S/t tape, 2017 (U$A)

16. MASSGRAVE "Lack of control" from Absurdity of Humanity LP, 2016 (Canada)

17. DÖDLAGE "Genocide" from Hostile Regression LP, 2019 (U$A)

18. CONTAGIUM "Poisoned filth" from S/t EP, 2012 (Canada)

19. AXEWIELD "Fault segment" from Wisdome of Doom 12", 2010 (Japan)

20. RUINAS "Silenciar" from S/t LP, 2017 (Argentina)

21. HELLISHEAVEN "16" from S/t split EP with DISSENT, 2012 (Poland)

22. VISIONS OF WAR "King of swines" from King of Swines LP, 2013 (Belgium)

23. POLICEBASTARD "Sick sick system" from Confined cd, 2013 (England)

24. LASTLY "A look at the now" from Crazy Fucked Up Deadly Local EP, 2014 (Japan)

25. ABSURD SOCIETY "Society Which Collapses" from S/t EP, 2013 (Japan) 

26. ΧΕΙΜΕΡΙΑ ΝΑΡΚΗ / XEIMERIA NAPKN / HIBERNATION "Πριν ακόμα / Before Even" from In the Years of Desolation LP, 2018 (Greece)

27. REPRESSION ATTACK "Дотла / Down to the ground" from Алтарь Разрушения / Altar of Destruction EP, 2013 (Russia)

28. FEMACOFFIN "Dismal twilight" from S/t EP, 2014 (U$A)

CRUST 1

VOLUME TWO:

01. ΧΑΟΤΙΚΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ / XAOTICO TELOS / CHAOTIC END "Χαμένος / Lost" from Υπόσχεση LP, 2017 (Greece) 

02. INFEKCJA "Inkubatory" from S/t EP, 2011 (Poland)

03. AVVIKELSSE "1945" from S/t EP, 2016 (Japan)

04. AGNOSY "Eternal winter" from Traits of the Past LP, 2014 (England)

05. DEATHRAID "Your turn to suffer" from Eternal Slumber LP, 2015 (U$A)

06. VERSKLAVEN "Baptism of fire" from S/t LP, 2014 (U$A)

07. AGE "Survive" from Survive EP, 2010 (Japan)

08. NIHILDUM "Verso il nulla creatore" from Verso Il Nulla Creatore tape, 2012 (Italy)

09. VOIDFILLER "The weight" from S/t LP, 2016 (Sweden / Belgium)

10. RUINEBELL "The hermit" from Embers' Grave 12" EP, 2015 (Spain / Finland)

11. DÖMESTICRUST "Aftermath" from ...Aftermath... demo, 2017 (Indonesia)

12. SISTEMAS DE ANIQUILACION "Tierras devastadas" from Guettos del Sur EP, 2014 (Peru)

13. RELIEF "Consumed" from S/t demo tape, 2016 (U$A)

14. GRIND THE ENEMY "The war of the poor" from Conform!!! split CD with WAR/SYSTEM, 2011 (England)

15. ASMODEUS "An abortion" from Life? tape, 2016 (Japan)

16. GEIGER COUNTER "Execution" from S/t LP, 2017 (U$A)

17. ATRAMENT "Sunken reign" from Eternal Downfall LP, 2016 (U$A)

18. SLAVERY "Smrtihlav" from OutSide V Wojcieszów compilation LP, 2017 (Czech)

19. CLAUSTROPHOBIA "Enajenadxs" from Sobre las Ruinas de la Civilizacion CD, 2013 (Argentina)

20. DEFORMED EXISTENCE "Commodified lies" from Hate With Patriotism tape, 2019 (Japan)

21. DEATH DUST EXTRACTOR "Intro storm + lost" from Make a Noise or Not at All split EP with RETURN, 2013 (Japan)

22. MORBID SCUM "Under vacuum" from S/t split tape with ASCIDIE, 2019 (France)

23. CEASELESS DESOLATION "Jutro" from Nicość LP, 2013 (Poland)

24. KÄRZER "Крысы / Rat" from  Howl tape, 2016 (Russia) 

25. RADIOACTIVE "Past mistake" from S/t demo CD, 2017 (Japan)

26. KALBRUCHING ACIDEATH "Mentality disorder" from S/t split LP with ZYGOME, 2019 (Japan)

27. MISERY "We are man" from From Where the Sun Never Shines 2xLP, 2012 (U$A)

28. ZYGOME "The other" from S/t split LP with KALTBRUCHING ACIDEATH, 2019 (Canada)

CRUST 2

VOLUME THREE:

01. NOCTURNAL SCUM "Danger and Hell" from Danger and Hell LP, 2018 (Germany)

02. FRAGMENT "Abandoned surrounded" from S/t demo EP, 2016 (Canada)

03. CÖTARD "Delirio de negacion" from S/t demo CD, 2018 (Mexico)

04. BETON "Súmrak" from S/t / Misleader split EP with SKELETON, 2012 (Slovakia)

05. PSYCHOTIC MIND BATTLE "Guerilla warfare" from S/t demo, 2013 (Germany)

06. I.C.B.M. "계급 전쟁 / Gyegeup Jeonjaeng / Class war" from S/t tape, 2010(?) (South Korea) 

07. ALEHAMMER "Fermented death" from Barmaggedon LP, 2013 (England)

08. ASOCIAL TERROR FABRICATION "Folly of wisdom" from Under the Dark Force EP, 2010 (Japan)

09. Помрачение / POMRACHENIE / OBSCURITY "помрачение" from S/t demo tape, 2019 (Belarus)

10. AHNA "No one survives" from Perpetual Warfare 12", 2015 (Canada)

11. KRUSH "War = business = war" from S/t LP, 2010 (Netherlands)

12. RAW NOISE "Greed" from System Never LP, 2010 (England)

13. ZYANOSE "Condemn racist" from Putrid Sick Society CD, 2014 (Japan)

14. SCUMRAID "통제사회" from Control LP, 2018 (South Korea)

15. SOCIAL CRISIS "Ja Też" from split LP with WOJNA, 2018 (Poland)

16. URSUS "Una ostia tras otra" from S/t LP, 2010 (Spain)

17. BAKOUNINE "Polizia di mierda" from S/t LP, 2013 (France)

18. STASIS "Progress" from Progress demo tape, 2015 (Italy)

19. VASTATION "Don't uphold their law" from S/t / Omnia Mutantur split LP with MUTABO, 2017 (U$A)

20. NEVERENDING MINDWAR "Anguish" from Demonstration II demo tape, 2018 (U$A)

21. REVÖLT "Pogrom" from Pogrom EP, 2016 (Japan)

22. ZATSUON "No messiah" from Violent Nois Life EP, 2012 (U$A)

23. CONTRAST ATTITUDE "Mind of devil" from S/t split EP with ASPECTS OF WAR, 2014 (Japan)

24. KONTRASOSIAL "Kabar Dari Negeri Drama" from Filthy Scum EP, 2019 (Indonesia)

25. SUMMON THE CROWS "The burning" from S/t split EP with DEVIATED INSTINCT, 2012 (Norway)

26. DOOM "Thatchercide" from Corrupt Fucking System LP, 2013 (England)

27. HOLY EXTERMINATION "They need blood" from S/t split EP with BURN THE CROSS, 2013 (Poland)

28. FILTHY HATE "Hatred stench corpse" from Mentally Parasite... Bloody Predator tape, 2014 (Japan)

29. NAPALM RAID "No law" from Wheel of War LP, 2017 (Canada)

30. LIFE "River of filth" from Polluted Water Drainage Wreck Of Culture / Genosida Populasi split EP with ZUDAS KRUST, 2017 (Japan)

31: ΠΑΡΟΞΥΣΜΟΣ / PAROKSISMOS "Οι Θεοί Της Λήθης" from Οι Θεοί Της Λήθης EP, 2013 (Greece)

32. SKUNK "Critical death" from S/t split EP with EXISTENCH, 2015 (Canada)

33. HUFF RAID "Insect" from Euro Tour Tape tape, 2017 (Poland)

34. DISTURD "Darkness" from Dark cd, 2015 (Japan)

35. INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL "What will you do?" from Call of the Blue Distance LP, 2014

CRUST 3

VOLUME FOUR:

01. EXTINCTION OF MANKIND "Reap what you sow" from Reap What You Sow / S/t split EP with APOCALYPSE, 2017 (England)

02. PARASIT "The new disease" from Välj Din Egen Bödel LP, 2013 (Sweden)

03. UNARM "歪んだ秩序" from The Voice From Forced Silence EP, 2018 (Japan)

04. DEATH CRUSADE "Godzinę Stąd" from Rakieta///Bomba LP, 2017 (Poland) 

05. APPALACHIAN TERROR UNIT "Black sands" from Black Sands EP, 2012 (U$A)

06. SCUM SYSTEM KILL "Conscience of humanity" from Scandinavian Tour tape, 2018 (England)

07. HOSTILITER "Nell'abisso" from A New Dawn For Lost Mankind CD, 2016 (Italy)

08. HELLSTORM "All shall perish in flames" from S/t / Διαίρει-Και-Βασίλευε split LP with ΠΑΝΙΚΟΣ / PANIKOS, 2013 (Greece)

09. LAST AGONY "Agony" from S/t demo tape, 2018 (Canada)

10. ROXOR "Obraz doby" from Obras Doby! LP, 2013 (Slovakia)

11. ZIKADE "Collapse of a depraved society" from S/t split EP with BRÄINCELL, 2019 (Japan)

12. SUBLIMINAL DARKNESS "Construction" from 2nd Demo CDR, 2013 (Japan)

13. PHOZGENE "Ignore their pain" from S/t tape, 2017 (Canada)

14. JUVENTUD PODRIDA "Pandemonio" from S/t split EP with SISTEMAS DE ANIQUILACION, 2015 (Panama)

15. AKRASIA "The observer" from Observe the Darkness EP, 2019 (Norway)

16. LUST FOR DEATH "Ghost in a maze" from Demons LP, 2017 (France)

17. VOID FORGER "Pointless media" from Ruined demo CDR, 2012 (Romania)

18. ĐORNATA "Blah" from Simple, Fast and Good + So What LP, 2014 (Slovenia)

19. PUTREFACTION "Welcome death" from Scavenger EP, 2015 (Ireland)

20. WARKRUSHER "Epitaph" from S/t tape, 2019 (Canada)

21. MASSGRAVE "Presidents dick" from You Are Freaks too... tape, 2010 (Japan)

22. ZUDAS KRUST "Genosida populasi" from Polluted Water Drainage Wreck Of Culture / Genosida Populasi split EP with LIFE, 2017 (Indonesia)

23. D-CLONE "We make next generation" from Creation and Destroy LP, 2012 (Japan)

24. ΠΑΝΙΚΟΣ / PANIKOS "Το Ξ​ύ​π​ν​η​μ​α Α​π​ό Τ​ο​ν Λ​ή​θ​α​ρ​γ​ο" from Awakening From Lethargy LP, 2011 (Greece)

25. WAR PLAGUE "Crusher" from On a Darker Dawn LP, 2012 (U$A)

26. SEITAN "Krossa våldspatriarkatet" from Krossa Våldspatriarkatet LP, 2021 (recorded in 2012) (Sweden)

27. SWORDWIELDER "Cyborgs" from System Overlord LP, 2019 (Sweden)

28. CANCER SPREADING "Insomnia" from Insomnia / S/t split EP with FATUM, 2014 (Italy)

CRUST 4

VOLUME FIVE:

01. LAST LEGION ALIVE "Holy thrones" from Burning Eutopia split LP with CANCER SPREADING, 2013 (Belgium)

02. WARCOLLAPSE "As they decide" from Desert of Ash 12", 2019 (Sweden)

03. BLINDED HUMANITY "Nasi not nazi" from Mind Control EP, 2019 (Singapore)

04. INSTINCT? "Pray to death" from Pray to Death tape, 2019 (U$A)

05. WASTELAND "Killers" from ?, 2012 (Slovenia)

06. SOW THREAT "War is tragedy" from Hate and Love LP, 2019 (Japan)

07. ΑΠΝΟΙΑ / APNOIA "Διχόνοια" from Θρίαμβος Του Μίσους tape, 2018 (Greece)

08. OILTANKER "Coma" from The Shadow of Greed LP, 2011 (U$A)

09. NONPRESIDENT "Smacznego" from S/t split LP with MITRĘGA, 2015 (Poland)

10. NIS "Felicità" from Origini D'Odio / Nel Dilagare Della Follia split EP with WARPATH, 2011 (Italy)

11. WEALD "Black bloc" from Demo 2011 tape, 2012 (U$A) 

12. DROPEND "Grief" from Distortion Hell EP, 2013 (Japan)

13. AMBUSH "Ghastly remnants" from 4 Track flexi, 2014 (U$A)

14. CARNAGE "Final debt" from 342341n-1322717e tape, 2017 (Portugal)

15. LOS REZIOS "Izquierdismo (es mierda!)" from Clarificacion LP, 2011 (Peru) 

16. ROÄC "Beware" from Rites of Ostara tape, 2016 (U$A)

17. DEVIATED INSTINCT "End times" from S/t split EP with SUMMON THE CROWS, 2012 (England)

18. VITRIOLIC RESPONSE "Linge d'arret" from Dark Wings Spread / Your Life is Fucked split EP with SYSTEM SHIT, 2014 (England)

19. POLLEN "Demoralize" from Fear of Another War EP, 2017 (U$A)

20. KRANG "The Earth was blue but there was no God" from Sounds of Death LP, 2012 (U$A) (was supposed to be included on the youtube video but for copyright issues cannot. It is however included on the version you can download)

21. ZAY "The question of silence" from Silence and Clamor cdr, 2015 (Japan)

22. GENOGEIST "Systemic shroud" from 5 Track Demo tape, 2018 (U$A)

23. DEATH DEALERS "Starvation sells" from Files of Atrocity LP, 2010 (England / Sweden)

24. FATUM "Падение На Снег / Falling on snow" from Время Уходит Во Тьму / Time Passes to the Dark CD, 2012 (Russia)

25. LIFELESS DARK "Outcry" from Who Will Be the Victims? tape, 2018 (U$A)

26. ULCER "Vandalism" from Vandalism LP, 2017 (Japan)

27. RIGOROUS INSTITUTION "Penitent" from Penitent EP, 2019 (U$A)

28. MORTAL WAR "Slave to darkness" from Gates of Hell tape, 2017 (U$A)

CRUST 5

Still Believing in ANOK: Cress "Monuments" Lp, 1995

This is the final part of Still Believing in ANOK and I hope the reads were fun and at least a little informative. If you need to show off on social media or indeed shine on online dating website, some details included in the write-ups (or, shall I say, the columns) can be used effectively as pick-up lines. Questions like "Did you know that the singer of Avaricious was Greek?" or "How many Enola Gays do you know?" are bound to impress, win hearts and make you look suave, sophisticated and, let's get real, weak-in-the-knees level irresistible. Do not hesitate to use them on a first date. The first time I met my wife, we talked about Polish hardcore bands form the 80's Rejestracja and Insekty Na Jajach so anything's possible.

To wrap up the series about the legacy of the 80's anarchopunk sound, let's talk about a band whose name means: "any of various plants with small, green leaves, used especially in salads". Yes indeed. Cress. The hippiest anarchopunk band from the 90's (and the 2010's). Not only is the band named after a plant instead of a warplane or some other cool punk shit, but they have a keyboard and a drum machine, used strobes, weird lights, a smoke machine, looked like soap-dodging versions of Jesus leaving one unsure if they are going to spread peace, love and riffs or if they are going to ask for a fiver so they can buy herbs. I even remember them screening political films while they were playing somewhere in Scotland, as if punks could concentrate on pogoing to the music AND focusing on a film at the same time. And yet, they are absolutely brilliant. Ian Glasper suggests in Trapped in a Scene that "had it been released in the Eighties, it (the Monuments Lp) would doubtless be heralded an anarchopunk classic today" and I cannot disagree. Of all the records I have been reviewing in the series, Monuments is the one that can objectively be called a genuine 90's classic the most. Beside being a famous work (even people who have never actually heard it know about it or at least can safely pretend to and if you feel the need to lie about knowing a record, it is already saying something about its status), I have never really read bad reviews. The Lp is unique because Cress are unique and I cannot really think of anything similar before and even after.

"But when, Grand Führer of the Perfect Punk Taste, did you first bump into Cress?". Well, I downloaded one mp3 file from a British website (I can't remember the name, it was in the early 00's) that offered songs from many quite a few bands of the era. Because internet connections were slower than an avant-garde French movie, there was only one song per band (I am aware that it must sound like the Dark Ages for Gen Z's who think youtube is as old as electricity) and it took about an afternoon to download two minutes of music. I think songs from the likes of Chineapple Punks, Riot/Clone or Ex-Cathedra were available. The Cress song was "TV screen" and I must confess that I did not like the song as it reminded me of the Ramones for some reason and I have always disliked them. To this day, I feel weird listening to this particular number and I cannot help imaging the Ramones with Northern accents playing their songs on shrooms and cider with a man playing the didgeridoo in the background. Which does not sound so bad after all. Some time after this precious mp3, I had the chance to visit a great punk record store in Bochum, Germany, and they had the Cress discography which, I was told, was much better than the Recharge Lp I was also coveting. I ended up buying both (I mean there was a free patch in the Recharge Lp) and got heavily into Cress, not so much that I grew a beard, which I have never been able to anyway, what with looking like an eternal teenager, but I did stop showering for a couple of weeks. 

But what makes Monuments so special? Well, if you know a little about the history of alternative rock music in England, the cover depicting Stonehenge certainly indicates that the music and the band may have some sort of connections, literal or in inspiration, with the free festivals. Namely inventive psychedelic rock music, libertarian politics and the involvement of some anarchopunk bands in the 80's. Cress were not the first punk band to play with trippy psychedelic influences and atmospherics and 80's bands like Smartpils, Freak Electric, Hippie Slags and even The Mob claimed such influences. Later on in the late 80's/early 90's, Zygote, Bad Influence or Contropotere (and later on Iowaska), in their own specific way, also used psychedelic elements in the songwriting but none of these bands went as far as integrating a keyboard in the equation. A bold move that, interestingly, could also be found first in old-school crust bands like Amebix or Axegrinder, but also Χαοτικό Τέλος/Chaotic End or Counterblast, and although they used it differently the intent still had to do with creating a particular ambiance and atmosphere. Cress however went further as Monuments relied significantly on those long atmospheric passages providing narrative spaces and an epic ark for the story the album aimed to tell. It is beyond punk-rock and for all the apparent simplicity of the songs, and a lot of them are simple punk songs in the best Crass sense of the term, there are additional layers and textures and quieter trippier moments to widen the scope.

Monuments can thus appeal to different crowds. If you are fond of dynamic, tribal, anthemic anarcho punk-rock, or of Hawkwind-inspired rocking atmospheric punk music, or heavy crusty punk, Monuments has something to offer you, as long as you take acid beforehand. Often reduced to a Crass-like act (for the danceable directness of the riffs and some beats and the bloody name), Cress can also be defined as a heavy and dark band and I can hear Antisect influences in some of the mid-paced moments and of course in the vocal style and tone and anger of the two vocalists (In Darkness There is no Choice era) so that it is not surprising that they also appeal to crust lovers (the dreads and the scruffy look also help). This album works is versatile enough to work for all kinds of mood as well. It is Sunday morning, you are in a good mood because you only drank eleven pints the night before and you are looking for some UK punk-rock with tunes: Monuments. It is Monday night, it is pouring rain and work is killing you, you are looking for something heavy, snotty and angry: Monuments. You are on holiday and for the first time since April, you look up to the sky and, fuck me, these are stars, ain't they: Monuments. 

The lyrics on the album are solid and tackle a wide array of subjects, some classic anarchopunk rants about progress, ecology or the capitalist class, other are more original "Monuments" is about the free unrestricted access to Stonehenge (the monument in question) and our common heritage, "Fear" is about the omnipresent fears that we have in society, fear of being unloved, alone, ignored, irrelevant, it is a great topic, genuinely personal and political. And apparently Cress don't like the police either for some reason. The album was released on Flat Earth Records (one of my favourite labels from that period) and the band recorded a split with Doom and an Ep before taking a break. Cress came back in the late 00's and since then have released a split Ep with Burnt Cross, a benefit Ep for the hunt sabs and a very solid split Lp with fellow psychedelic anarcho punks Buff from Manchester.    

My copy was second-hand and there is some surface noise on a couple of songs so that you can enjoy the full - lesser - Terminal Sound Nuisance experience. Did I mention that one of the members was barefoot when I saw them in Paris in June. How many punk points does that make you lose?

Monuments to cress        

Still Believing in ANOK: Kismet HC / Αρνητική Στάση "Love is our strongest weapon" split Lp 1991

My mate Paul often says that doubt is the origin of wisdom, which is pretty sensible. But he also argues that reptilians once raided his weed stash so I suppose it is safe to examine his philosophical stance in context. Can Love is our Strongest Weapon, beside sounding like an R&B song recorded for a charity against world hunger, be considered as an anarchopunk release as far as the 80's legacy goes? In terms of politics and aesthetics, the split Lp is without a doubt a relevant anarchopunk record but, in a series that focuses on those 90's works that specifically built on the foundational sound of the original anarcho waves, does it belong? What would Paul do (or smoke)?

I realize such intellectual hair-splitting considerations may look very trivial but, in my quest to be viewed as sophisticated, they have become the basis, if not the raison d'être, of Terminal Sound Nuisance. Reflecting on records or bands few people give a fuck about (I could be wrong about this one but I very much doubt it) and on how they fit or don't fit with certain pre-defined categories, how they challenge them or on the contrary embrace them and how such processes are intentional or unintentional. But yeah I offer lossless files and clean scans for printing shirts for your Etsy shop as well. Of course, aforementioned questions are meaningful in retrospect when it comes to 90's bands, a time when bands did not try to replicate specific schools or bands quite as much (the then novelty d-beat wave being a crucial exception musically but not conceptually). You had bands influenced by Wretched, but not bands who thrived to sound just like Wretched. Throughout the series, we saw that bands like Counter-Attack or Wlochaty certainly loved Conflict to death and a large part of their sound relied on their musical and structural influence but they did not sound "just like" Conflict. The question remains: how influenced by the original anarchopunk wave were Kismet HC and Αρνητική Στάση/Arniki Stasi? Alright, you can think about it for a couple of days before reading what's next.

Kismet HC, from Stoke-on-Trent (yes, just like...), is a band that I have known for a very long time. For some reason I cannot quite remember how I was able to get hold of a copy of their very strong cd-only 2001 album Our Message is of Anger... Our Voices are of Pain (I may have ordered it from Active Distribution). I have to admit that I absolutely loved (and I still do as a matter of fact) the title of the album although I seem to remember reading that it was not the original choice of the band and that one of the labels basically decided for them. Some animosity was involved. Perhaps one of the labels was run by a reptilian, who knows? In any case, that album is brilliant (if you have not heard it, imagine top notch female-fronted unhinged anarcho hardcore thrash with plenty of energy and versatility, quite original) and I really got into them and was even able to see them live in Manchester in 2004 (I think). While KH are often associated with the frantic, powerful vocals of Zanne, she only joined the band afterwards. In 1991 the vocals were shared between Fluff and Dave (I think? So many unanswered questions, so many...), providing the music with a vintage classic dual vocal hardcore attack. Their side of the split indicated to an extent what they would eventually become, 10 years after (why such a break between records? Yet another question...), but you could almost argue that 1991's KH and 2001's KH were two different bands and today we are going to focus, with determination, dexterously, perilously even (I may fall off my chair and injure meself like that one time I dozed off during math class), on the early period of the band and see how close they were to the traditional anarchopunk sound.

Well, their side does open with a poem entitled "Piggy overdose" about animal exploitation and the production of meat so that definitely sets the tone in terms of politics and of course these are issues that are inherent to classic anarchopunk and have even almost become synonymous with it. After all, having an animal rights number for an anarcho band was pretty much compulsory up until the mid/late noughties. Failure to provide a specimen could result in the members having their anarchopunk membership cards cancelled and, worse, being exposed as posers in public. We don't have such problems nowadays, fortunately. Just post a picture of yourself with a vegan cupcake on Insta with the proper trendy # and you're good to go. Why even bother mentioning animal rights in a song anymore now that we have Beyond Meat and get vegan food at the supermarket? Vegan sausages were the ultimate goal, right? 

Like the poem and some spoken parts, there are other softer, tuneful moments in the music reminiscent of the 80's school, like the Omega Tribe-ish opening of the brilliant "Honour Mother Earth" but on the whole KH was very much a high energy post-anarcho hardcore thrash band. They kept the politics and the fierce DIY non-profit of anarchopunk but were first and foremost a hardcore band musically (such a comment applies to most of the early crust bands). I see the first era of KH in the same light as other late 80's British fast anarcho hardcore like Generic, Electro Hippies and Active Minds in terms of creative intent to which you could add a healthy slice of late Anti-System and filthy spoonfuls of Mortal Terror. Raw and direct snotty hardcore. I really like the energy and the drive and unsurprisingly, what with me being a sucker for early Britcrust and UK hardcore, I think the music is bloody brilliant and makes the heart beat. Undeniably, it is more relevant to think of 1991's KH as a powerful illustration of the classic mid/late 80's UK hardcore sound rather than a draft of what they would be doing 10 years later. Very good and rather unappreciated. 

The other side of Love is our Strongest Weapon comes from Athens, Greece, with the band Αρνητική Στάση/Arniki Stasi. If you have already read my glorious prose on the blog, you will have noticed, quite certainly, that I dearly enjoy the specific brand of dark punk-rock that Greece has produced since the 80's. I even made an introductory compilation if you are interested (and you should be, knowledge of the classic Greek punk sound could help you triumph over your opponents on trivia nights). Like most people outside of Greece - beside initial followers of KH I presume - I first heard of Αρνητική Στάση through their connection to Profane Existence with whom they worked on the release of the Spectators of Decadence Ep in 1993. I distinctly remember getting the 15-year anniversary issue of Profane Existence in 2004 that included a retrospective compilation that had ΑΣ among many other bands that I was not familiar with at the time like One By One or State of Fear. The Greeks did not really sound like the other bands on the compilation (they kinda stuck out, almost as much as Karma Sutra) but their song was anthemic, dynamic and had a cracking chorus. And well, they were from Greece, that was very unusual for me at the time and the peculiar tonalities and flow of the language were challenging but also memorable and enticing. Different but good, I craved for more, the polar opposite of the time I first heard ethereal shoegaze and I ended up vomiting in the paper bin because there was already someone in the toilets. That the ΑΣ Ep is nowhere to be found on its own on youtube is ridiculous. 

As I progressively grew into a maniacal Greek crust fan (one of my favourite sub-sub-subgenres), my focus shifted toward ΑΣ's classic 1993 album Άγγελοι Του Ψεύδους, a work that blended the heavy metallic Greek crust sound with the classic dark punk sound, not unlike an orgy between Ολέθριο Ρήγμα/Olethrio Rigma, Ναυτία/Naytia and Γενιά Του Χάους/Genia Toy Xaoys. It is a great inventive album that does not totally fit into preconceived categories and it comes highly recommended if you are into 90's hardcore punk. This split Lp is totally crust-free on AE's side and their progression between 1990 and 1993 is impressive. At the start of the decade, ΑΣ epitomised what Greek dark punk is all about: melancholy but energetic, desperate but bellicose, suicidal but fighting to live, deceptively simple, always on the verge of crashing, catchy and tuneful but not really melodic, it just has a specific feel. On this side, they excel at using all the songwriting tricks popularized by Γενιά Του Χάους, Ex-Humans or Γκούλαγκ/Gulag with a simple clear sound and production, almost minimal at times but the intensity and sincerity emanating from the songs themselves are enough. ΑΣ jump from psychedelic rock, to moody mid-paced anarcho-tinged punk, fast hardcore punk or depressed, trippy yet raging dark punk and yet it never sounds like a random aggregate of songs, they really work and flow together in a very natural fashion and the overall trippy atmosphere and sonorities help the songs coalesce and echo with each other. ΑΣ are hypnotic on this record. A full discography of the band was released last year so you know what to do.

In terms of lyrics, ΑΣ was a political animal with words about fighting back against the police, resisting oppression and even an animal rights number. So they were clearly an anarchist dark punk band but assessing the influence of the early UK anarcho wave on their songwriting (or on Greek punk in general) is trickier. In addition the obvious local culprits, without context, you could definitely find parallels with British bands like The Mob, Conflict even, Karma Sutra, Two Fingered Approach or Null & Void. It could just be out of a common mood and similar desires and ways to express things rather than a conscious decision to use such influences to create your language. It could be neither or, maybe more likely, it could be both. The Greek style is not identical to its British counterpart, there are other influences going on and meeting and merging with one another, it easily stands on its own two feet, but to my ears the connections in terms of mood and content and atmosphere are obvious. They are like cousins if you like. That Bluurg Records released Ex-Humans' demo tape in 1984 cannot have been a coincidence.         

Love is our Strongest Weapon is classic because KH and ΑΣ both exemplified a specific time, place and genre and original because such a pairing was unique and the combination of a British anarcho hardcore thrash band with an angry hypnotic Greek dark punk makes a lot of sense. It is meaningful and it offers a wide array of emotions and vibes while the two bands share essential common beliefs. The cover is unusual. I'm being diplomatic here as the first thing you notice is that there is a mulleted hippie with his cock out right in the middle. It is not badly executed as the psychedelic shroomy aesthetics are not irrelevant considering the bands and you still have the reassuring figures of a nazi police officer and a crazy vivisector to indicate that it is indeed an anarchopunk record. In fact, I quite like it. But still: cock out. The Lp also comes with a poster depicting an angry-looking crucified Jesus... with his cock out! And there are two other crucified cocks, fully erect, in the background. The artist responsible for the poster is one Mike Diana who was apparently the first artist to receive a criminal conviction for obscenity in the U$ of A. Thanks for that Wikipedia. 

A delightful minor classic.

Punk is our strongest weapon