Crust Punk

Calligram – The Eye Is The First Circle Review

Calligram – The Eye Is The First Circle Review

“How can music communicate the feeling of dread? While all styles are able, metal’s inherent darkness fits like a glove. While it’s easy to provide aural bludgeoning or emphasize excess, the discipline of restraint takes time and effort. From the post-metal dirges of Neurosis, the avant-garde buildups of Eryn Non Dae., the spiraling doom of Swallowed, the blackened payoffs of Cultes des Ghoules, and the death metal environs of Desolate Shrine, it revels in darkness, plays with menace, but most notably, waits patiently.” Waiting in the darkness.

Ruinas – Ikonoklasta Review

Ruinas – Ikonoklasta Review

“The world today is a frustrating place. You try to go on vacation and miss your flight because some idiot got into a fender bender and caused a traffic jam. You try to go out to eat and can’t find anywhere to park. You try to take a shit and are forced to wipe your ass with an old washcloth because every store within 100 miles is sold out of toilet paper. In times like these, nothing helps more than a pure blast of raw aggression, an aural rampage that obliterates any and all sense of frustration from your mind. I find deathgrind works particularly well in this regard, especially albums like Death Toll 80K’s incendiary and rifftastic Harsh Realities. Seeing Ruinas listed under the deathgrind tag, I hoped this newfound Spanish group would offer just what I was looking for during a time in my life that’s been more frustrating than usual.” Ain’t no cure for the TP blues.

Stomachal Corrosion – Stomachal Corrosion Review

Stomachal Corrosion – Stomachal Corrosion Review

“As one begins to explore metal more and more deeply, one comes to the realization that there are certain ‘legendary’ albums that seem to be appreciated more for being innovative than actually being good. I would argue, for example, that Napalm Death’s Scum is a pretty mediocre album overall and was far surpassed by the material that followed it, even if it remains a critical piece of extreme metal’s history. This becomes a problem when bands create new releases similar in style to these ‘innovative but not very good’ albums, resulting in records that are neither innovative nor good. But maybe Stomachal Corrosion could escape this fate” Tummy trouble.

M:40 – Arvsynd Review

M:40 – Arvsynd Review

“I find it hard not to like crust. It’s savage, primitive, and typically comes packaged with a thick DIY vibe that emanates like the stench of a gutter punk whose pants are held together by Discharge patches and broken dreams. Like most things, I prefer it with a little black or death metal mixed in, but even more traditional crust bands like Disfear and Wolfbrigade are plenty enjoyable now and then. Like those two acts, M:40 hail from Sweden and are heavily influenced by all things crust.” Crust lovers unite.

Agenda – Apocalyptic Wasteland Blues Review

Agenda – Apocalyptic Wasteland Blues Review

“Crust is the only category of punk that’s ever successfully lured me into its slime-stained grip, and that isn’t just because it’s a close cousin of metal. I find comfort in its narrow scope; the reliance on d-beat, drunken harsh vocals, and melodic chord progressions played in ceaseless triplets make for beautifully simple and reliably satisfying tropes. Listening to any new crust album is like a visit from an old friend, except that friend is every crust act to ever exist, and they all smell equally.” Stench agendas.

Swarn – Black Flame Order Review

Swarn – Black Flame Order Review

“Old school death metal holds few surprises. Much like Nightwishcore or stoner metal, its sound is so well established that any deviations from the tried and true standard swiftly take it out of the OSDM sphere into modern death, melodic death, or other variations on the theme. If you want to retain that old school buzzsaw to the cranium feel, yet add a different element, you need something that supports the dirty, grimy nastiness with something of a similar murk.” Young murks.

Rotten Hate – Stabbing the Masses Review

Rotten Hate – Stabbing the Masses Review

“If blackened death metal is like a nuclear bomb going off, then crust punk is like getting a nail bomb shoved in your body’s tightest orifice. Add some death metal to the mix and it’s like getting a nail bomb shoved in every orifice. At least, that’s what I hope for when I see these two styles mixed together. And that’s what I hoped for with Rotten Hate, a new Chilean trio formed by members of underground doom acts Ruined and Black Harvest.” Hate is the new love.

Goregäng – Neon Graves Review

Goregäng – Neon Graves Review

“If there was ever a genre of extreme music my library woefully under-represents, it’s anything tagged with the term ‘crust’ or ‘punk.’ Why, you may ask? Because I just don’t listen to it often. Punk and many of its sibling genres find little purchase with me. Which is funny, since I like grindcore and powerviolence, two of punk’s more extreme descendants. My suspicion is that at this point in my musical evolution I remain a tad stubborn as it pertains to things I don’t want to like, and crust-punk is one of those things.” Eat the crust!

Yer Metal Is Olde: Nasum – Inhale/Exhale

Yer Metal Is Olde: Nasum – Inhale/Exhale

“Nasum’s influence on modern grindcore and the entire history of the genre can not be overstated. Across a relatively short recording career, featuring four full length albums, the Swedish legends created an intimidating, high quality body of work that helped propel grindcore into the modern era. Along with other modern innovators like Pig Destroyer, Nasum played a crucial role in raising the genre’s underground profile, without losing an ounce of the white knuckle intensity and raw aggression typical of grind.” It’s all in the grind.