Within this scene, the community of people obsessed with post-apocalyptic themes is steadily growing. The increasing number of Neo-Crust bands and, influenced by them, the rise of projects that blend classic Crust Punk with 80s Evil Metal is a debatable trend—especially when you consider the thematic content these bands rely on, it becomes even more significant. If you’re searching for Discharge’s genuine sincerity in their reactions to nuclear armament, political manipulations, and the bleak aftermath of war, you won’t find that here. Instead, you encounter a noise forged by a handful of people who have frequently watched Mad Max, Raiders Sun, Equalizer 2000, sipped their beers, munched snacks, and spent hours glued to Fallout. Their sound is tightly rooted in the rock’n’roll, thrash metal, and crust noise of Motörhead, Tank, Bulldozer, Celtic Frost on one side—and Amebix, Discharge, and English Dogs on the other.
This 6-track demo, initially released on CD and later on cassette, marks the first recorded output of an Italian band with roughly 3-4 years of history. I’m not suggesting the question “What if Lemmy decided to play Metallic Crust’n’Roll one day—would it sound like this?” but it’s clear these musicians draw major inspiration directly from Lemmy’s vocal style, passed down like a family heirloom from Venom and Bulldozer, and from Motörhead’s rock’n’roll riffs. Vocalist DeathLord Astolfi heavily channels those dirty, husky vocals. Since the sound dominantly reflects the transition from Heavy Metal to Speed Metal, their self-description as “Motörcharged Speed Crust” is genuinely fitting.
Earlier when I mentioned Discharge, I wanted to highlight that the reflection of this influence in this band is somewhat different. Their adherence to this school is mostly musical and limited to certain parts; lyrically, they don’t respond to the post-nuclear nightmare world with protest but rather emphasize it with a dose of rock’n’roll fun. Bands like Nuclear Fröst and many others do similar things, so this aspect remains open to debate.
Combining low chord guitars and snappy punk drums with bulldozer bass noise, topped by dirty vocals shouting in the footsteps of Lemmy, Cronos, R. Miller, and A. Contini, the music they produce is never rejectable. For a future where fuel is non-existent or extremely scarce (and we don’t even have to look far for that future, since people have been fighting over gas for years), people eating each other like cheese sandwiches, you can enjoy key tracks like “No Fuel, No Hope!!!,” “Postnuclear Quarantine” for quarantined areas contaminated by nuclear poison, and “The Road Warriors” about racing full throttle on death roads while dodging gangs over fuel, Mel Gibson style.
The fast yet thematically dark and gloomy “Vultures Over Cities in Flames” stands apart in tone from the others. Definitely a demo worth checking out.