Genre story · Punk
Neocrust
Crust punk becoming longer, more melodic and more willing to borrow from extreme metal and screamo.
Neocrust emerged from late-1990s and early-2000s DIY scenes working beyond Crust punk's fastest and most direct formulas. His Hero Is Gone and subsequent band Tragedy provided major reference points for the heavy, melodic and carefully developed side of the style. In Spain and elsewhere, musicians brought screamo and other hardcore ideas into similarly bleak compositions. The name eventually connected several developments that did not all begin together.
The build and the blast
A song may start with an elongated guitar melody, add layered harmonies and then break into fast D-beat drumming and harsh vocals. Heavier, slower sections can give the arrangement an almost post-metal scale. The dynamics are more varied than the idea of nonstop speed suggests. Emotional directness and bleak political writing often occupy the same space, though neither is a mandatory lyrical rule.
Not the same as all crust
Neocrust has audible roots in Crust and Hardcore, along with influences from Screamo, Black Metal and some experimental heavy music. The particular relationship should be established by recording and period, not a universal claim that every later crust band crossed into the style.
Essential recordings
- 1997His Hero Is GoneMonuments to ThievesImportant precursor for the heavier and more melodic development.
- 2002TragedyVengeanceA major early-2000s realization of the style.
- 2003From Ashes RiseNightmaresLonger and more elaborate arrangements without losing hardcore force.