The difference, by ear
Crust shares the politics and the infrastructure with far more musical ambition and metal influence.
Both are growled or screamed, but crust punk is much slower: 150 to 220 bpm against 200 to 300. Songs run longer in crust punk: usually 1½ to 3 minutes, against under a minute to 1 minutes in mincecore. To hear the difference, play Agathocles next to Amebix. Mincecore comes from the metal side of the tree and crust punk from the rock side, and crust punk came first, by six years.
In figures
Mincecore
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Grindcore › Mincecore
In short
Deliberately primitive grindcore with blunt political messages and thousands of appearances on split releases.
How it sounds
- Deliberately primitive production, often recorded straight to cassette.
- Songs under a minute with simple, accelerated punk riffs.
- Blunt political lyrics printed in full, with an anti-militarist message.
Key acts
- Agathocles
- Archagathus
Start here
The pickAgathocles - Theatric Symbolisation of Life. The most accessible way in.
Full page →Crust punk
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Crust punk
In short
D-beat soaked in metal and mud: thick tone, apocalyptic themes, trousers unwashed since 1989.
How it sounds
- Thick, muddy guitar tone with a very prominent distorted bass.
- Alternation between fast d-beat and slow passages close to doom.
- Two vocalists - one low, one shrill - and apocalyptic or ecological themes.
Key acts
- Amebix
- Doom
- Tragedy
- His Hero Is Gone
Start here
The pickAmebix - Arise! It sounds like the end of the world, which was the point.
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