I first learnt about the label Extreme Earslaughter in 2017 when I read about a coming discography of Industrial Suicide (or Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία as they are known in the non-posing world), that classic Greek band virtually unknown outside of Greece and of the crust elite. Of course, excitement grew exponentially at the Terminal Sound Nuisance headquarter. A very limited run of a tape including rough late 80's recordings from a gruff metallic crust band with a grim name is the equivalent of a holy miracle in these quarters, if not the proof of the existence of God. Further investigations indicated that the man behind this operation was none other than Vagelis from the excellent Παροξυσμός, a band I was already following closely. It basically all made sense.
Readers of the blog are well aware that Greek crust is definitely my thing and I have written about this localised take on the old-school crust genre - whose unique defining specificities, I would argue, make it an actual subgenre - on numerous occasions and the band Ατομική Σχάση (aka Atomikí Schási meaning Nuclear Fission) gloriously ticks all the boxes. If I were a judge at the Crust Olympics I would give them a 10 for sure. I knew this 90's Athens band before this reissue through the enigmatic Same Old Madness blog (it's been inactive since 2017, sadly) that was bent on archiving all the Greek punk bands that ever existed with absolutely no information about any of the bands beside the names and dates. Needless to say I spent hours exploring that rich but ultimately rather inhospitable place, discovering absolute gems in the process, among which Ατομική Σχάση. That Extreme Earslaughter in 2018 decided to resurrect this 1995 demo, Ακροβάτες Στο Κενό, is a selfless gift to the world. And that's what I love about this label and about this tape: it's what they represent. This humble tape, with only 100 copies made, is a labour of love, passion, dedication, of the immortal DIY spirit in the face of the commodification and the artificialisation of our culture. This tape is the opposite of the online crust pants contests and of bands constantly promoting themselves, it is for the genuine lovers of crust, and I would argue that this applies to Greek crust as a whole itself, it is how you identify the trve kvlt. If I was the bouncer of an exclusive crust nightclub I would ask people who want to get in what their favourite Greek crust band is and if they are unable to answer then it's back to the cheap neocrust club down the road.
Fortunately I don't have the gatekeeping mentality (and I am far too much of a wimp to be a bouncer, even at a kids party) and Terminal Sound Nuisance is all about sharing and loving so here is your opportunity to show off and feel superior with a delicious if little-known metal crust band. Details about Ατομική Σχάση are scarce to say the least. The band formed in 1993 in Athens, only self-released this demo in 1995, the bass player Haris also played in the first lineup of Ρήγμα (I reviewed the excellent first Lp here) and that's about it I'm afraid. Stylistically, the music is pure old-school crust with that characteristic Greek sound and songwriting. It is very epic with a dark melancholy atmosphere enhanced by keyboards (Greek crusties just love their synth don't they?) very much in line with what Χαοτικό Τέλος. The band blends heavy mid-paced metallic crust like the aforementioned forefathers as well as Axegrinder, Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία or Misery (clearly) but they also tread into faster and thrashier territories reminiscent of Ναυτία, Anti-System or even Hiatus. Apocalyptic synth stenchcrust at its very best. I particularly love the sense of narration and storytelling in this recording with the band taking a genuine breath with an instrumental acoustic song in the middle. You can tell that they really cared about the atmosphere they wanted to create and about the tools they could create it with. The sound is pretty raw compared to today's bands and I guess that with a more polished production this would have easily deserved to be released on Lp at the time but it what it is. I don't mind it at all, if anything it conveys an even more organic vibe.
Fantastic stuff, great label, love music, support the scene and all that.
Χαοτικό Τέλος's Υπόσχεση Lp is the best crust album of the 2010's. Well, along with Swordwielder's System Overlord Lp. I don't think I can decide, they are both equally brilliant and outstanding in their own unique way, the one difference being that I will not be writing about Swordwielder's masterpiece in Live by the Crust, Die by the Crust (but on a side note do try to focus on living by it) because I already tackled the Swedes and their 2014 demo tape five years ago. Maybe one day I will write about System Overlord as, make no mistake about it, this is by far the band's best work and a crust milestone.
Χαοτικό Τέλος (Chaotic End in English) are from Athens and belong to the category of "legendary bands". You could argue all day over the actual requirements and characteristics that define a legendary band. It is not an easy question especially since the hegemony of youtube and music streaming and the subsequent decontextualization of punk bands from the past which turned pretty much all 80's hardcore bands into "legends", even when they only played seven drunken gigs and recorded two demos in 1982. But I personally agree with the statement that Χαοτικό Τέλος is a legendary band, as epic and hyperbolic as the term might be, it is difficult not to. If you need some background about the band and its story, I recommend you read the great interview that DIY Conspiracy did with them especially as it saves me the hassle (#lazy).
So then why should they be seen as a legend? I think that the phrase "genre-defining classic" might be more accurate when it comes to the band since Χαοτικό Τέλος basically pioneered a style: Greek crust. Now when I say "Greek crust" I don't just mean that they played crust music and were from Greece, although they were obviously. Greek crust is a genuine subgenre that only grows locally - even if its influence can be felt here and there outside of the country - and can be defined by specific traits like OC crust, Swedish crust or Japanese crasher crust for example. Or horrible French oi if you have poor tastes. I have already written about it several times in the past because I am an obsessive geezer but, to put it simply, what I call Greek crust, as a theorized subgenre, is the reworking of the founding mid/late 80's UK stenchcore crust wave of Amebix, Axegrinder, Antisect with an emphasis on heavy atmospherics and synth-driven part, a heavy apocalyptic sound, some relentless pummeling crustcore phases and a dark and hopeless but still angry vibe. It is definitely old-school metallic crust but with its specific characteristics and lyrics in Greek which, because of the scansion, accentuation and general flow of this peculiar language, clearly helped shape and cement Greek crust as a genre (a similar process took place with Greek dark punk).
Χαοτικό Τέλος were not the only purveyors of gruff apocalyptic hardcore crust in the very early 90's (the wave was still very much brewing in the late 80's although some bands, like Χαοτικό Τέλος, were already active with a different style) and fantastic bands like Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία/Forgotten Prophecy, Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία/Industrial Suicide, Ρήγμα/Rift or Πανικός/Panic among others were also active and delivered quality. All those bands, at that particular time and place contributed to the creation of what is now know as Greek crust. Not unlike OC crust, it cannot be said to be a very widely known style (although it does have its hardcore fans) and many crust lovers might be largely unaware of most Greek crust bands - or even that it is a distinct style of crust music for that matter - in spite of my passionate personal quest to promote it at all cost. But if you had to know just one typical Greek crust band - I don't know why you would but let's you had to for the sake of the argument - it would be Χαοτικό Τέλος as they truly are the basic definition of this sound. But if you are not a lazy bum or, worse, a poser, you can also listen to that brilliant Greek crust compilation I did. It is basically a crash course in the art of Ελληνική κρούστα's apocalyptic crust epics.
However, they were not the first Greek crust band I heard, as it was, of course, Χειμερία Νάρκη/Hibernation when I got the cd Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης when it came out in 2003 or 2004 because, being released by Skuld Releases and Power-It-Up, it was well distributed and because I read somewhere that it sounded a bit like Nausea (which it does I suppose). Fortunately for me - and by extension for you since this work of Greek crust made a massive impression on younger me and arguably drove me years later to start writing and teaching about it with my usual arrogance - the first Χειμερία Νάρκη album (reviewed with my usual biting wit here) might be the best crust albums of the 00's so I clearly was lucky on that one. As I mentioned in the review of Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης I had no idea that Χειμερία Νάρκη belonged to the grand Greek crust dynasty and were but the next logical step of the glorious genre. I was clueless that there were others proud specimens of that sound or indeed that it was even a specific sound to begin with. It took a few years for me to formulate the idea that there might be a Greek crust school and it was through Χαοτικό Τέλος's first album Μπροστά Στην Παράνοια.
I used to order often from Hardcore Holocaust in the mid/late 00's as it was a great resource in d-beat/crust and I really enjoyed the selection and there was a small second-hand section that I droolingly checked sometimes. One day Μπροστά Στην Παράνοια was added, I had never heard of it and yet, to my disbelief, it was described as "probably the best crust album of all time" or something along these lines. It is often said that people change with time but I haven't really, I was as pretentious and smug as I am today only I feel, wrongly I presume, it is now a somewhat sensible way of life. But then that I somewhat did not know and had never heard of an album that the Hardcore Holocaust guy - who clearly looked like he knew his shit - called "probably the best crust album of all time" felt like a slap in the face and was a little humiliating. I would not go as far as saying that it taught me some humility but it was close enough. I was in disarray. Determined to check if it was indeed what he said it might be (it was before music streaming, blogs and high internet speed at home), I bought the record, a bit pricy to be honest but nowhere near what it is worth now, and was in awe. Hardcore Holocaust was not wrong as you could very well make the case that Μπροστά Στην Παράνοια is the best crust album of the 90's. I realize there are a lot of "best album of the decade" claims in this writeup and that my passion for Greek crust may somewhat distort my sharp ability to think critically but there is enough quality in this 1993 album to back such a claim.
Fast-forward to the mid-2010's. The growing success of Terminal Sound Nuisance is making me the undisputed king of crust (like a crust Kenny Omega if you like but with less injuries) and I am renowned, and even feared throughout the crustdom, for my incredible wealth of knowledge in the dark arts of Greek crust. It is an unpaid gig and no one at the job centre really understood what "Professor in Crust Studies" meant on my resume but it still is something although my mum would disagree. At that point in time, social media, some excellent music blogs and music streaming certainly made the concept of Greek crust more widely known and easier to explore, document and synthesize, but it still very much remained a genre for the crust initiates. And then I read that Χαοτικό Τέλος were playing again. Fuck me. I know many people tend to complain about old bands reforming and not being as good as they used to be and so on but just take a look at Deviated Instinct's recent live performances and releases and you will see that a reformed classic band can be as relevant and brilliant as they used to be. In the case of Χαοτικό Τέλος, it has to be said that Αλέκος, who also plays in Χειμερία Νάρκη, kept being active in the scene, that the bass player Στέφανος is an original member and that younger and supremely skillful drummer Βαγγέλης is the brain behind Παροξυσμός and tons of other bands and behind the label Extreme Earslaughter. So it was difficult to go wrong. And finally 24 years after their first album, Χαοτικό Τέλος self-released in true DIY fashion their second album: Υπόσχεση (Promise).
I am starting to realize that I haven't actually talked about the music: Υπόσχεση is a perfect crust album. Or rather, it is both a perfect Greek crust album and a perfect crust album. I would not change a single thing to Υπόσχεση which is not something I say very often. Or rather the only thing that could be improved is the artwork, not that it looks ugly or irrelevant - there are enough classic crust signifiers with a reaper, desolation and skulls and for the listener not to get lost - but such a brilliant work would have probably deserved something more original and evocative, something that would have made it stand out visually as much as it does sonically. The 2010's version of Χαοτικό Τέλος is as potent and genre-defining as the 1990's one. The band offer a new version of their original sound, not so much an improvement per se but more like a seamless continuation of similar roots. Χαοτικό Τέλος have not really changed and their Greek crust recipe is as effective as ever. Of course, the sound itself is different. While Μπροστά Στην Παράνοια had that typical 90's eurocrust production, Υπόσχεση sounds like a modern old-school crust album (amazingly they don't have the exact same instruments and amps than in the early 90's). However, while many bands tend to update their sound through overproduction and departure from what made them great and loved in the first place, Χαοτικό Τέλος just sound like their good old selves at the peak of their creativity in a contemporary studio with contemporary gears (not unlike Misery's From Where the Sun Never Shines, another serious contender for the best 2010's crust album). The main difference is that the drumming is more technical, precise and provides a wider range of possibilities.
Χαοτικό Τέλος lovingly grind heavy slow apocalyptic synth-driven UK crust like Amebix and Axegrinder as well as American crust heroes Misery, unleash fast dark and aggressive Doom/Hiatus-style freight train 90's eurocrust and demonstrate an incredible sense of narration and storytelling which is truly what has always characterized Χαοτικό Τέλος' - and by extension Greek crust's - peculiar greatness. Through smart and inspired eerie introductions, evocative parts, transitions, beautiful layered epic moments followed with intense thunderous climactic bits, changes of pace and beats, some of the angriest, most passionate and expressively anguished gruff vocals you are likely to hear, they manage to tell a whole story from the first to the last minute, from the introduction to the melancholy conclusion, no mean feat considering it is a 42 minute long album as the band take their time and rightly so and never let the listener even take a break to go to the bathroom. The magnificent first song, "Αγκάθια", an 8 minute epics exemplifies all the narrative crust tricks better than any word. Not many bands can do this as brilliantly (Counterblast's Balance of Pain comes to mind here even if they tell a different story, they tell it with a similar gusto). What does Υπόσχεση tell us then? What is the story? It is a journey of anger and passion, beauty and suffering, Υπόσχεση sounds like the wind blowing over the land and it could be the last day of mankind just as the first day of a new hope. Perhaps it is both. It is a shout in the dark, in darkness, it is a call to action, it is the pain of living in such a disgusting world and the possibility of making it a beautiful one. And it is a crushing crust punk album that will have you play air guitar in the bathroom (do close your windows though, it cannot be iterated enough).
Absolutely class album that is still available so support the band and get a copy. In fact if you were to buy just one crust album this year, go for that one (or for System Overlord). In pure DIY anarchopunk fashion the band self released this masterpiece and you even get a poster and a sticker with the vinyl.
It took me fucking hours but here it finally is: my 00's crust compilations. I suppose it does not come as a big surprise since the 90's got the same treatment and, after all, it's my job to keep crust punk elite (I have been known as the Fat Mike of crust in some quarters, although I would like to point out that I am much slimmer and have better tastes in music).
You know the drill by now as far as Terminal Sound Nuisance's homemade compilations go but, because I care about newcomers to this blog, I am going to provide some sort of guide to my compiling genius. This time around my focus was on 00's crust music from an international perspective and as you can expect it was a monstrous undertaking. If I have often referred to the 90's as the preeminent crust decade because the genre exploded during that period, there were probably more crust bands - in the broadest sense of the term - in the decade that followed. This can be explained by the growing ramifications of the genre with the strengthening and solidification of subgenres (like stenchcore and crasher crust) combined with the fissiparous creation of new subdivisions (like neocrust or blackened crust), both phenomenon strongly influenced by new punk trends. Logical developments I suppose.
The selection is, as usual, subjective and reflects my definition of crust music (aka the official party line). Matters of space, time and personal taste led me to exclude so-called the neocrust bands (or melodic crust or epicrust or tragicrust whatever) from the compilations. Boundaries are often difficult to draw but, when I felt a crucial line was crossed, when bands transgressed too radically crust's immemorial unwritten laws (meaning the 80's), I decided to leave them out. This said, I would be interested - though not exactly glad - to listen to a "best of 00's neocrust" selection so if you are brave enough to take on the challenge you know what to do. This said, you will find a couple of bands influenced by His Hero Is Gone on the compilations but that were still infected enough with the crust virus. Similarly, crusty bands that sounded too close to death-metal or thrash-metal did not pass, not because I dislike them but because I did not see myself working on a fourth volume. Basically I gave Stagnation a pass because I wanted a all out Bolt Thrower-type band but War Master did not make it pretty much because they all had long hair.
To think about music in terms of decades may not be the most relevant method. Indeed, the early 00's saw the last valorous efforts of classic 90's crust bands like Homomilitia, Axiom or Policebastard while a brand new generation of crust bands - Last Legion Alive, Cancer Spreading or Contagium - was only emerging by the end of it and such crusty congregations went on to achieve legitimate expectations in the 2010's. Iconic crust immortals Warcollapse, Doom, Misery and Extinction of Mankind kept delivering the goods at their own pace, unhindered by the passing of time, and of course many great bands lived and died during the decade, soap-dodging fragile transient angels like After the Bombs, Stormcrow or Lost. As a result, bands from different waves and from both ends of the decade coexist in the compilations and I will admit that anthologies using more precise and narrower selection methods focused on stylistic content rather than chronology would perhaps have been more relevant, but then the comprehensive and thorough blog reviews deal with this more cerebral side of things. Let's just see these compilations as a general look at the different styles and waves of crust bands that evolved in the 00's and, well, as hopefully fun listens.
I had chosen to divide my compilations about 90's crust in terms of style and pace. Two volumes dealt with metallic stench-y crust bands while the third one was all about cavemen crustcore. For the 00's I decided to apply a cross-disciplinary approach, a deceptively fancy term which sonically translates as a massive, primitive but differently-paced brawl between the various crust schools, united in their intent to provide a seriously angry bollocking to the listener while also showing their belief in the coming apocalypse. You will find the obvious stenchcore revival heavyweights (the most significant event of the decade), Japanese crasher crust, metallic eurocrust, epic Greek crust, grinding crustcore, cavemen crust, some more progressive crust acts and even a couple of bands toying with "neocrust" influences. The scope is more international than on my previous efforts and, although 00's crust has often been described as redundant, you will realize that, when one - in a heroic effort - actually dares to dive into the depths of the dark abyss of crust music, one can find little-known gems. Therefore, crust stalwarts such as Hellshock, Dystopia or Effigy rub shoulders with the very obscure and rather sloppy Esporrro, Relics of Future or Axebastard (the kind of bands you would only know if you actually played in them if you know what I mean). This was an important point of the compiling process as I intended to show that DIY crust was not just about tight, proficient and well-recorded 00's North American bands (that would take whole compilations in itself) and that it also welcomed rough, messy, puerile and savage bearlike noizy bollocks from the periphery (if you so happen to be a scholar, you might say it is akin to a decentering of the enunciative subject but that would make you sound like a massive twat). Also, I left out many Japanese crust bands because of I already tackled their 00's wave thoroughly last year.
In the end, the inclusion of Crow in those new compilations might be the most surprising of all, especially since I didn't invite them to the aforementioned Japanese feast. Of course Crow were never an actual crust band. Still, while it did not seem to make sense to add a Crow song to the 00's Japanese crust selection, it did feel necessary to pick an extract from Bloody Tears for inclusion on the global one. Perhaps because this album makes more sense as a 00's crust work than one abiding by the rule of Japanese crust. I don't lose sleep over it but I did think hard about the issue which, if anything, proves that the lockdown really has to end quickly.
I ripped as many songs as possible from my record collection and tried to find decent music files for the rest but sound quality - not to mention musicianship - does vary from a song to the other. Still I feel it is the best I could do given what I had to work with and the time and effort it took to see that through. There you go then, enjoy those three compilations and feel free to comment and point out bands I might have forgotten or you consider should have been included.
But no more tergiversating. Let's bloody 'ave it!
Part one:
01. Effigy « Stark moon », from From Hell Ep, 2003 (Japan) 02. Stormcrow « Enslaved in darkness », from Enslaved in Darkness Lp, 2005 (U$A) 03. Infekcja « Stupor », from Przegrani Lp, 2003 (Poland) 04. Raw Noise « Pain and gain », from Scum Will Rise to the Top Ep, 2009 (England) 05. Αιώνιο Σκότος « Κραυγές Αγωνίας », from Σ Ένα Θρόνο Προπαγάνδας cdr, 2005 (Greece) 06. Berserk « Eclissi », from Apocalypse demo cdr, 2006 (Italy) 07. Hangover Overdose « Ainut kristitty », from S/t split cdr with Noittus, 2007 (Finland) 08. Dažd « Императив Последњег Доба », from S/t Lp, 2009 (Serbia) 09. Sharpeville « The wound aren’t going to heal », from At the Late Hours Before the Dawning of our Abundance Lp, 2000 (Finland) 10. Axiom « This isn’t life », from Apathy and Privilege Lp, 2000 (U$A) 11. Bio Crisis « Perdido en la mentira », from S/t split Ep with Slaktattack, 2009 (Mexico) 12. Dirty Power Game « Ethnic war », from Figli Della Vostra Catastrofe cd, 2004 (Italy) 13. Sickness « GxC party », from S/t Ep, 2000 (France) 14. Extinction of Mankind « Man’s last breath », from Northern Scum Lp, 2007 (England) 15. Χειμερία Νάρκη « Χειμερία Νάρκη », from Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης Lp, 2003 (Greece) 16. S.O.L. « Game over », from S/t split Lp with Pack, 2004 (Germany) 17. Deceiving Society « Achieve », from Detonation Cruster cd, 2009 (recorded in 2001) (Japan) 18. Dread 101 « Ústa Plná Krve », from S/t split Lp with Social Insecurity, 2002 (Czech) 19. After the Massacre « A future discarded », from A Future Discarded to the Bonepits cd, 2006 (England) 20. Acursed « Escape », from Livet Är Den Längsta Vägen Till Helvetet cd, 2003 (Sweden) 21. AGE « Plunderer », from Four Wings Lp, 2001 (Japan) 22. Bärrikäädi « Crust warriors », from S/t split cd with Esporrro, 2009 (Brazil) 23. Axebastard « Bastard (militaristic gear) », S/t demo cdr, 2009 (Finland) 24. Desobediencia Civil « Slave to convention (Doom cover ) », from No Hay Libertad sin Desobediencia cd, 2001 (Mexico) 25. Scorned « Never question », from S/t split Ep with Hellbound, 2000 (U$A) 26. Cancer Spreading « Marcia funebre / L'era del niente », from S/t split Lp with Disköntroll, 2009 (Italy) 27. Hellshock, « Last sunset », from S/t Ep, 2003 (U$A) 28. Contrast Attitude « You’re not free », from Sick Brain Extreme Addict Ep, 2003 (Japan) 29. Death Dust Extractor « Slave in chains », from Slay Your Masters or Slave in Chains Ep, 2008 (Japan) 30. Stagnation « Interceptor », from S/t Ep, 2008 (U$A) 31. Alehammer « Slowburn », from Mine’s a Pint of Crust 10’’, 2007 (England) 32. Another Oppressive System « Population control », from S/t split Ep with Human Waste, 2004 (U$A) 33. Deskarga Etílíka « Esta sistema não resulta », from Apunkalipse Now cd, 2003 (Portugal) 34. Disgusting Lies « Bez wyboru », from No Choice No Way / Non Cè Limite Al Peggio split Lp, 2005 (Poland) 35. Bumbklaatt « Debil o fuerte », from S/t Ep, 2003 (Mexico) 36. Man the Conveyors « Paralysis », from Cheers! Cd, 2008 (U$A) 37. Devastated Goes… « Distinction », from Devastation demo car, 2007 (Japan) 38. Detritus « Distorted sureness », from S/t Lp, 2009 (recorded in 2005) (Belgium) 39. Warprayer « The night takes the pawn », from S/t split Lp with Morne, 2009 (England) 40. Anguish « Nighted silence », from Within the Darkness Ep, 2009 (U$A)
01. Acrostix « Filth chain », from Crust Night 2002, the War Begins for Them compilation cd, 2002 (Japan) 02. Giuda « Il ritorno del terrore », from Decadenza Lp, 2008 (Italy) 03. Coaccion « Vacio », from Invertebrado cd, 2004 (Mexico) 04. Mind « Nothing », from …Your Own Business Lp, 2001 (Poland) 05. Policebastard « Sweatin’ green », from Cursed Earth Ep, 2002 (England) 06. Summon the Crows « Wind of chains », from Scavengers Feast Lp, 2006 (Norway) 07. Uncle Charles « Värdighet kostar pengar », from In Crust we Trust 10’’, 2004 (Sweden) 08. Esporrro « Extinção », from S/t split cd with Bärrikäädi, 2009 (Brazil) 09. Χημική-Επιδημία « Πνοή Θανάτου », from Στην-Πόλη-Του-Χάους cd, 2003 (Greece) 10. Fight Back « Working class attack », from Crust is Dead compilation tape, 2001 (Croatia) 11. Agree To Differ « Void of humanity », from S/t demo tape, 2001 (?) (Japan) 12. Last Legion Alive « Tomb of dirt », from S/t demo cdr, 2009 (Belgium) 13. Skunk « Animals in pain », from S/t tape, 2008 (Canada) 14. Monuments to Ruins « Sleep rite », from Under the Guise of Progress… the Rise of Deceit Lp, 2005 (U$A) 15. Hellisheaven « Napalm parson », from S/t split Lp with Creeping Corrupt, 2009 (Poland) 16. Blowtorch Serenadę « Skull attack », from unknown recording, 2008 (?) (England) 17. Dischord « Amargo existencial », from S/t split Ep with Čad, 2002 (Brazil) 18. Disturd « Life », from Darkness…Faint Gleam… tape, 2007 (Japan) 19. Warcollapse « Defy! », from Defy! cd, 2007 (Sweden) 20. Cop On Fire « Solo », from S/t split Lp with Visions of War, 2005 (Spain) 21. M.V.D. « Armut », from War Species Lp, 2009 (Germany) 22. Flyblown « Intimidate and the eradicate », from The Fear and the Fury Lp, 2005 (England) 23. Against-Empire « Stop the torture », from The Ones who Strike the Blows Forget… The Ones who Bear the Scars Remember Lp, 2005 (U$A) 24. Sanctum « Overthrown », from S/t split Lp with Stormcrow, 2006 (U$A) 25. Atroz Destrucción « Libro infernal », from Falsas Promesas cd, 2009 (Mexico) 26. Lost « Cykl ludzkości », from Fear-Strach Lp, 2003 (Poland) 27. Defector « Punk system destroy », from パンクシステムデストロイ(Punk System Destroy) Ep, 2003 (Japan) 28. Human Waste « Avsky », from I Skuggan Av Erat Sverige Ep, 2001 (Sweden) 29. NIS « Condannato all’estraneità », from Presagi di un’Insulsa Rovina demo cdr, 2008 (Italy) 30. After The Bombs « Black wind of fear », from Relentless Onslaught Lp, 2007 (Canada) 31. Consume « Like father like son », from S/t split Lp with Born/Dead, 2003 (U$A) 32. Zyanose « Media », from Loveless Ep, 2008 (Japan) 33. Abraham Cross « End of time »,from Tokyo Sound System 1+2=3 2xcd compilation, 2007 (Japan) 34. Intoxicate « Amen », from Toxic Years cd, 2006 (Croatia) 35. Visions of War « Nailed conscience », from S/t split Lp with Olho de Gato, 2002 (Belgium) 36. Dödsfälla « Nightmare shadow », from Death Future Lp, 2009 (U$A) 37. Filth of Mankind « Obłędna Rzeczywistość », from The Finał Chapter Lp, 2006 (recorded in 2000) (Poland) 38. T.R.I.B.E. « Rise! », from Nation, State and Liberty split cd with Ruin, 2007 (Scotland) 39. Phalanx « To tame a land », from S/t Lp, 2002 (U$A) 40. Doom « Just another day », from World of Shit Lp, 2001 (England)
01. Campus Sterminii « Non c’e’ limite al peggio », from Life is a Nightmarish Struggle Lp, 2009 (Italy) 02. Limb From Limb « Relentless torment », from Death.Famine.Plague Lp, 2007 (Canada) 03. Hermit Prose « Dissolving soon », from Down Beat Sect Ep, 2006 (Japan) 04. State of Filth « Filth », from S/t split cd with Anarchy Spanky, 2003 (England) 05. Pack « Booze for future », from Booze for future Ep, 2005 (Switzerland) 06. Nulla Osta « Horizonti », from Omnia Morituri Sumus split Ep with Campus Sterminii, 2007 (Croatia) 07. Los Rezios « Ellos nos odian », from Destroy the Guetto…!!! Split Ep with Battle of Disarm, 2007 (Peru) 08. Hellstorm « Going to an end », from S/t one-sided Lp, 2010 (recorded in 2009) (Greece) 09. Battle of Disarm « Liberate Earth », from Destroy the Guetto…!!! Split Ep with Los Rezios, 2007 (Japan) 10. System Shit « Lost control », from S/t split Ep with Bloody Phoenix, 2006 (Canada) 11. Drunkard « What about », from S/t split Ep with Cornucopia, 2000 (Australia) 12. Dystopia « My meds aren’t working », from S/t Lp, 2008 (U$A) 13. Crow « 絶叫 », from Bloody Tears Lp, 2006 (Japan) 14. Roxor « Sluby », from S/t tape, 2008 (Slovakia) 15. Svart Aggression « När Världen Sakta Ruttnar Bort », from Tänk Själv Ep, 2006 (Sweden) 16. Gurkha « The weight », from R’n’r Engine / Drinking From the Skulls of Dead Gods split cd, 2006 (England) 17. Massakro « Infanticidio », from S/t cd, 2003 (Mexico) 18. Minus « Extinct population », from Singapore Punk Holocaust compilation cd, 2007 (Singapore) 19. Hellbound « Negative outlook », from S/t split cd with Despite, 2002 (Canada) 20. Affect « Proof of life », from Darkness Silence cdr, 2004 (Japan) 21. React « His children play with knives », from Deus Ex Machina cd, 2000 (U$A) 22. Relics of Future « Dark age », from S/t demo cdr, 2008 (Germany) 23. Proof of Existence « Religious terror », from Scriptural Disaster Lp, 2003 (U$A) 24. Mass Mierda « Que es lo que esperabais », from El Olor a Extinción cd, 2005 (Spain) 25. Kontrovers « Livlös », from S/t cd, 2002 (Sweden) 26. Massgrave « Corruption of innocence », from S/t split Lp with Stormcrow, 2008 (Canada) 27. Misery « Fine day », from S/t split cd with Path of Destruction, 2007 (U$A) 28. Disdomestic Violence « War crimes », from Tokyo Sound System 1+2=3 2xcd compilation, 2007 (Japan) 29. Behind Enemy Lines « Army of god », from The Global Cannibal cd, 2003 (U$A) 30. Nuclear Death Terror « In the shadow of the gallows », from S/t Lp, 2006 (Denmark) 31. Mass Genocide Process « Inner circle of fear », from S/t split Lp with Visions of War, 2005 (Czech) 32. Revölt « Conquest or liberation », from Gate of Holocaust Lp, 2007 (Japan) 33. Krush « Zero tolerance », from What is Wrong with this Picture? Split Ep with Gritos de Alerta, 2004 (Netherlands) 34. Horror Humano « Horro humano », from S/t cd, 2008 (Argentina) 35. Reduction « Social disorder », from Social Disorder Ep, 2002 (Japan) 36. Instinct of Survival « Winter in my mind », from Winter in my Mind Ep, 2006 (Germany) 37. Contagium « Cold mind », from S/t Ep, 2009 (Canada) 38. Homomiltia « Pomysl O Tym », from S/t Lp, 2020 (recorded in 2000) (Poland) 39. Zoe « Be celled and be chain of master », from The Last Axe Beat Lp, 2004 (Japan) 40. Morne « Twilight burns », from Demo 2008 Lp, 2009 (U$A)
Let's all welcome 2021 and cheer happily for Terminal Sound Nuisance's brand new series: How Crust Survived the New Millennium. As its title unequivocally suggests, from my usual refined diachronic perspective, the series will deal with crust music recorded between 2000 and 2009 and how, as a genre, it evolved stylistically and quantitatively after what can be rightly regarded as the apex of crust music, namely the 90's. The tried and tested analytical recipe, really. But, for your greatest enjoyment, the prism will also be synchronic as fuck as I selected twelve records that, beside telling something meaningful and relevant about the evolutionary state of crust, also showcases what the decade had best to offer, records that, their creative context notwithstanding, can be considered both as classic 00's crust works and timeless crust classics. Serviceable stuff. I suppose the twattish saying "go big or go home" would apply to this incredibly ambitious undertaking but then, we are all pretty much home because of the pandemics anyway.
The conception of a selection aimed at providing the masses, especially the unwashed ones, with "the best of 00's crust music" is a tricky endeavour indeed and one is faced with a number of serious problems (even when, it pains me to say, one is as intellectually gifted as me). First of course, I have already written about noughties crust music on several occasions and there seems to be little point in repeating myself, for all our sakes. Some previously tackled crucial and influential 00's crust bands had to be removed from the list as a consequence, like Acrostix, Hellshock or Filth of Mankind, although you could very well argue that the two latter bands did release some of the most potent crust albums of the decade. Another issue you have to think of is the objective worth of a given crust work. There are some records that I found breathtakingly tremendous and certainly overplayed when they came out in 2006, works that I claimed to anyone who would listen (basically two or three friends) were bound to become undisputed classics but that, with the benefit of hindsight, are just solid, perhaps very good even, but cannot be deemed as classics, although more often than not they were very much classic, knowhatimean? Finally, my customary open-mindedness led me to choose records that illustrate the variety of crust in terms of style and origins. I could very easily have only picked bands from the so-called stenchcore revival - undoubtedly that decade's glorious pivotal moment for the genre - but decided against it for the sake of diversity and because I could not imagine myself writing five articles about American bands trying hard to apply a d-beat to Bolt Thrower songs (not that there is anything wrong with such a programme in essence). It also made sense to select bands from different countries or regions so as to be able to emphasize local crust idiosyncrasies. Twelve bands seems like a good enough number of bands and we will see how I manage to get on with it what with my nine children and my thriving wrestling career to cope with.
And let's start right away with an album that could conceivably be considered as the best crust album of the 00's: Χειμερία Νάρκη's Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης. Since most of us are not Greek speakers (although I did take some highly unsuccessful classes in Ancient Greek when I was in middle school), the record I am alluding to is Into the Silence of Eternal Sorrow by Hibernation. It does not take a genius to notice that I am a massive fan of Greek crust as I have reviewed records pertaining to the genre on several occasions and even compiled a Greek crust anthology (Ελληνική κρούστα's apocalyptic crust epics) which, even for a constantly smug bastard like myself, I am especially proud of. If you ask me, the long-running Greek crust school still does not really get all the credit and recognition it deserves and, not unlike a modern day Sisyphus, with less athleticism but a similar determination and far more Discharge shirts, I shall fight until my dying breath to right this wrong and make rectitude triumph.
Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης is the best Greek crust album of the 00's, by which I mean that it is both the best crust album coming from Greece and the best album of "Greek crust" to be understood as a proper branch of the crust genre and not just a geographical indication. If you have never come across the notion of "Greek crust", my first instinctive reaction would be to slap you in the face and yell "Sort your life out!" but since I am a peaceful person with anarchistic tendencies, a strong believer in mutual aid, always keen on sharing knowledge, not to mention neither good at fighting nor running, I suppose the pedagogical way sounds far more reasonable. By 2003, Greek crust was certainly not a new ecosystem and it makes sense to see Χειμερία Νάρκη's Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης as a continuation of all the magnificent works of the 90's rather than the coming of a new generation. Hot on the trail of the original British wave, Greek crust initially started in the late 80's under the impulse of old-school crust bands like Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία (Forgotten Prophecy), Χαοτικό Τέλος (Chaotic End) or Βιομηχανική Αυτοκτονία (Industrial Suicide) and also of thrashing metallic punk units like Ναυτία (Nausea), Χαοτική Απειλή (Chaotic Threat) or Πανικός (Panikos) and the genre steadily expanded throughout the 90's. It could be argued that Greek punks understood the essence and aesthetics of the original old-school UK crust wave better than most (at least as well as the OC crusties) and tended to its sound and spirit with raging love and bellicose desperation. I don't really know why the sound of Amebix, Antisect or Axegrinder had such a massive influence over there but it definitely struck a chord. But there is something more epic and melancholy to the traditional Greek crust sound, so that, even though one can easily detect influences from the UK canon, Greek bands never sounded derivative or too referential as they turned the traditional style into something unique, shaping their own distinct, unmistakable take on the crust genre, with a lot of heavy and mournful synth-driven mid-tempo metallic crust ballads which have grown to become a trademark of the genre. The systematic use of the very crust-compatible Greek language with its peculiar prosodics also played an important role in distinguishing Greek crust from the rest, but in my opinion, even sung in English, you can recognize the Greek style as building on the foundations of the early sound and acting as a continuation and even as an improvement of it, becoming a style of its own.
In 2003, Χειμερία Νάρκη from Athens was not the first punk band from Greece I came across as I already owned a tape from ΑΛΤ TC. The band had a split Lp with 20 Minutes de Chaos from France so I suppose they must have sent their previous work to French distros. I am not sure where I ordered Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης (of course I got the cd version as it had the second Ep as a bonus so it sounded like a right bargain) but I do recall the raving review in Slug and Lettuce. Phrases like "brooding metallic crust" or "remind me of Nausea"were written (or similarly intended ones) so that, in addition to the recommendations of Chris being always judicious, I went for the geezer straight away. I vividly remember playing the cd for the first time and being gobsmacked at the ferocity and the level of intensity of the recording. Even a crust novice like myself could realize that it was a mature, thought-out and carefully crafted crust album that could not have been birthed by young'uns and I started to wonder cautiously whether there were other crust bands in Greece. The answer to this existential question was gradual and I had to wait a few years until I was able to really formulate the postulate of Greek crust as a genre. But in 2003, I was clueless about Greek crust and innocently indulged in overplaying Hibernation and although my mates were all impressed with the cd, the band's origin and name did raise a few circumspect eyebrows.
Χειμερία Νάρκη in 2003 was not exactly a beginners' band indeed with the guitar player and singer Αλέκος being an ex-member of Χαοτικό Τέλος (Chaotic End) and Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία (Forgotten Prophecy) - Χειμερία Νάρκη actually covered both bands in their early days - and drummer and singer Γιάννα playing in Πυρηνικός Χειμώνας (Nuclear Winter). The band had originally emerged in 1996 with Αλέκος and two members of the excellent dark hardcore punk band Νεκρική Σιγή (Dead Silence) and can therefore be seen as a 90's band carrying the crust torch in the following decade although, on the whole, most of the classic Greek crust bands had sadly split by the early noughties and even Hibernation stopped playing for a couple of years after the release of the Lp. The absence of touring to support it may account for its relative lack of international recognition at the time, which the success of the stenchcore revival that was precisely kicking in made all the more paradoxical. Χειμερία Νάρκη released their first self-titled Ep in 1997 on Malarie Records from Czech Republic and it was, as expected, a brilliant slab of gruff, groovy and thick traditional Greek crust (reminiscent of the mighty Ψύχωση (Psychosis)) with the antisectish plant logo on the cover that makes the ole heart beat. With a new lineup, in 2000 on the German-based Maximum Voice Production (although it says Power It Up on the backcover), they recorded the Μοναξιά Ep, a more atmospheric but just as intense dark metallic crust effort with added Χαοτικό Τέλος-styled synthesizer for good eerie measure and the first appearance of Γιάννα on vocals on the two songs of the side B, prefiguring the formidable dual vocal crust attack that would prevail on the album.
The creation of a truly grand crust album can be a tricky journey that many bands have proved to be unable to successfully complete. It is not enough to just write ten solid crust songs, you need to have a meaningful and potent story to tell through their assemblage. It has to be a narrative effort and, thanks to its epic and atmospheric nature, Greek crust is a genre that allows for brilliant storytelling and narration. Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης sounds like a very cohesive whole and, if all the songs make sense, can be listened to and appreciated separately as distinct units and stories, I feel that their true power shine when they are taken as interrelated sonic parts of one strong crust narrative. This first Χειμερία Νάρκη album hits hard indeed, as they are a faster, more relentless band, if less monumental, band than Χαοτικό Τέλος. There is a distinct plot on an album that, of course, starts with a crushing introduction and then grabs the listener by the (sore) throat and inflict upon him or her all the scope of crust emotions, anger, melancholy, doom, gloom, terror, despair and awe before the power of nature (a recurring theme on the Lp). The album cannot really be said to be "synth-driven", as there is no omnipresence like in late Amebix or early Χαοτικό Τέλος for instance. However, whenever the synth comes into play, which is often, it always genuinely benefits and adds to the meaning and impact of the song, providing a touch of sadness or of hope or some eeriness, like on the opening track. A very clever use of it that I wish had inspired more bands.
By the early 00's, the members of Χειμερία Νάρκη were experienced enough not to really claim outside influences on the songwriting. They fit the Greek crust style perfectly and were undeniably the most potent ambassadors of that school for the generation that got into crust in the early noughties. If I were to describe it properly - and I suppose I am - I would redundantly, the connections being so obvious, namedrop some classic local crust classics like Ψύχωση, Χαοτικό Τέλος or Ξεχασμένη Προφητεία, but also invite to the table the dark aggressive power of canonical UK (proto)crust bands like early Axegrinder or Antisect, invoke the metallic fury of Nausea, summon the eurocrust groove of Hiatus and probably allude to Disaffect's legendary dual vocal arrangement. But it does not mean Χειμερία Νάρκη specifically intended to emulate those bands or made such an insecure list since they belonged to that early crust generation as well and therefore shared common recipes. I like to consider Χειμερία Νάρκη's sound as post-Antisect, in the same way Coitus or Extinction of Mankind were, the reliance on the classic Antisect sound and worldview acting as a strong foundation to build on, rework and create something different but still meaningfully connected.
You could very well see Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης as an album written in the 90's but recorded in the 00's. The production is perfect for this style of crust, the vocals are very upfront so that you can feel the whole spectrum of emotions (quite possibly the best male/female dual vocal work in that decade), the sound of the drums is a bit distracting at first but I personally really like it as it gives you the impression of being relentlessly trampled by a herd of feral horses (and I am not just saying that because I have a strong dislike for the equids), the guitar sounds heavy and crunchy and the riffs are everything an elite crusty is entitled to expect, simple in their construction but always purposeful and appropriate. Visually, the cover does not look like your average crust band album's - no skulls or mushroom clouds fly here - and the tortured and melting bodies of Dante's inferno are probably more reminiscent of doom-metal visually. The thick booklet provided with the album is even more surprising as it includes pictures of rocks, mountains, volcanoes, trees, giving a very primal and elemental vibe that goes perfectly with the epic crust music. I must say I was a little baffled by the visuals when I originally bought Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης upon its release as I craved for more typical and self-evident imagery but I grew to appreciate the conceptual pictures of nature, though I still struggle a little with the Lp cover itself (would the surrealist drawing of a three-headed social monster on the booklet's cover have been a wiser choice?). In the end, such aesthetics might have repelled the less curious chapter of the crusties' federation at a time when you could not instantly stream the thing. Lyrically, Χειμερία Νάρκη are an angry bunch with deep political lyrics about alienation, paranoia, oppression, our inner struggles and also the power of a nature as symbolizing a possible liberation from the chains of the system. Heartfelt words to be sure and the delivery cannot fool anyone into believing anything else.
Στη Σιωπή Της Αιώνιας Θλίψης was released in 2003 on Power It Up and Skuld Releases (certainly one of the best Lp's Skuld ever put out) and, well, it is actually still available from Ruin Nation right here. Following the Lp Χειμερία Νάρκη went into hibernation (yes, I couldn't help pulling out this top pun) and their next work, a split Ep with grindcore band Slavebreed, saw the light of day in 2012. Finally, in 2018 they released their second album, Στα Χρόνια Της Ερήμωσης (In the Years of Desolation), yet another crust masterpiece but that will be for a different time.
