Interlude: Ελληνική κρούστα's apocalyptic crust epics

Alright then, this is not the next post of the "Ashes to ashes, crust to CRUST" series but more of an interlude, a creative break.

I had been toying with the idea of doing a classic Greek crust compilation for a while now and finally got to it. The purpose of this modest compilation is twofold. First, it makes for a bloody amazing crust compilation; second, through its making, I intended to select songs that embodied and epitomized the specific characteristics of the Greek crust sound, so that after you listen to it, you can have a clearer picture of the defining traits of the genre. Because it is a proper crust genre. "Greek crust" does not merely refer to a particular geographical area, it is not just "Crust from Greece", it must actually be understood as a particular subgenre, with its vibe, its patterns, its recurring motives and themes, its aesthetics, its language and its own referential schemes.

Undeniably, Greece was - along with the British initiators and the Californian scene - a crucial, pivotal spot in crust history. Although a lot of the Greek bands remained quite little-known and obscure, the quality and the prolificity of crust there is breath-taking and I do hope that the renewed interest in Greek crust along with old bands reforming and recording again (with great results, let me tell you) will lead to more reissues, articles and, of course, new bands.

There are 22 bands with 22 songs on the compilation, all recorded between 1988 and 2003 as I felt a 15-year span was enough for a panoramic retrospective glance (and besides, an 84 minute comp is fine). I have often heard people complaining that the Greek alphabet is too complicated thus rendering the discovery and memorization of Greek names more difficult so I have included romanized versions of the names as well as English translations (but it makes more sense to try pronounce it correctly, right? After all, punx can pronounce Suomi monikers - badly, I'll give you that). Some of the recordings are a little rough but keep in mind that these were DIY operations. Whenever possible, I used my own rips of the songs and I did try to find the best ones for the other. Anyway, es lo que hay.

The tracklist:

1.Χαοτικό Τέλος (Chaotikó Télos / Chaotic End) « Επιτάφιος Για Νεκρές Συνειδήσεις », taken from  « Πέρα Από Τα Τείχη Της Σιωπής » demo tape, 1991

2.Ρήγμα (Rígma / Rift) « Κρυφή Επιθυμία », taken from « Ο Τελευταίος Αιώνας » Lp, 1994

3.Πνευματική Διάψευση (Pnevmatikí Diápsefsi / Spiritual Contradiction) « Σκέψεις Άγνοιας », taken from « Ανεξίτηλα Σημάδια » demo tape, 1995

4.Απολίτιστοι (Apolítistoi / Uncivilised) « Γενοκτονία », taken from « Η Ώρα Του Κυκλώνα Δυο » compilation tape, 1996

5.Ανθρωπινος Ληθαργος (Anthropinos Lithargos / Human Lethargy) « Οι Ασκοι Του Αιολου », taken from « S/t » demo tape, 1992

6.Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία (Viomichanikí Aftoktonía / Industrial Suicide) « Η Ζωή Του Θανάτου », taken from « demo # 3 », 1990

7.Μι-άσμα (Mi-ásma / Miasma) « Το Πιο Βρώμικο Παιχνίδι », taken from « Διατάραξη Οικιακής Ειρήνης » compilation Lp, 1996

8.Ανάσα Στάχτη (Anása Stáchti / Ashen Breath) « Κελιά Ανυπαρξίας « , taken from « S/t » Lp, 1994

9.Ανατέλλων Τρόμος (Anatéllon Trómos / Rising Terror) « Μια Ριπή Στο Μέλλον », taken from « Ο Παιδικός Μας Πόλεμος » cd, 2001

10.Ναυτία (Naftía / Nausea) « Συνθετική Εμπειρία », taken from « The Ναυτία Kinky Horror Show » split Lp w/ Graue Zellen, 1994

11.Μάστιγα (Mástiga / Scourge) « Δηλητηριασμένη Γενιά », taken from « Σύνδρομο Άγνοιας » tape, 1992

12. Ψύχωση (Psýchosi / Psychosis) « Ο Δρόμος Της Σφαγής », taken from « Unreleased cd », 1994

13.Ατομική Σχάση (Atomikí Schási / Nuclear Fission) « Τα Σύμβολα Του Μίσους », taken from « Ακροβάτες Στο Κενό » demo tape, 1995

14.Υποταγη (Ypotagi / Submission) « υποδουλωση του αυριο », taken from « Καθοδικη Πορεια » demo tape, 1998

15.Ξεσπασμα (Xespasma / Outburst) «  Μέλλον », taken from « S/t » demo, 1998

16.Σαρκασμος (Sarkasmos / Sarcasm) « αιώνια τιμωρία”, taken from “S/t” demo, 1990

17. Ξεχασμενη Προφητεια (Xechasmeni Profiteia / Forgotten Prophecy) « Οι Αλυσιδες Σου », taken from « All Hail Discordia » promo tape, 1990

18.Πανικός (Panikós / Panic) «  Όλα Για Το Χρήμα », taken from « Όλα Για Το Χρήμα » Ep, 1995

19.Αρνητική Στάση (Arnitikí Stási / Negative Stance) « Έρημος », taken from « Άγγελοι Του Ψεύδους » Lp, 1993

20.Αρνηση (Arnisi / Refusal) « Στερεοτυπη Απαντηση », taken from « Το Ψωμι Να Βγαινει » tape, 1988

21.Πυρηνικός Χειμώνας (Pyrinikós Cheimónas / Nuclear Winter) « Πύργος Καταιγίδων », taken from « S/t » cd, 1997

22.Χειμερία Νάρκη (Cheimería Nárki / Hibernation) « Εφιάλτες », taken from « Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης » Lp, 2003


Because we're becoming lazier with the progress of technology and because for some, downloading a file and clicking four times are apparently colossal tasks that have no place in 2017, I have uploaded the compilation onto youtube (so just the one click). The download link with the wav version is at the bottom of the post.

I hope you enjoy this slice of heavy, apocalyptic, atmospheric crust music as much as I enjoyed compiling it. TRIGGER WARNING: there will be synth parts.

Ελληνική κρούστα