Can a hardcore punk album released in 1982 be this deadly? Every time you listen to it, you can't help but think, "Damn, Discharge, why are you such a huge band? How do you draw us in so deeply? Why are you such a massive inspiration to both the metal and hardcore punk scenes?" After all, these guys have been at it since 1977, claiming the hardcore punk/crossover crown, and steering speed/thrash metal and even grindcore in a major way. And on top of that, this is their breakthrough album. This record can easily be defined as the hardcore punk equivalent of Bonded By Blood, Reign In Blood, Darkness Descends, and other landmark releases. If you ask for one of the top 3-5 hardcore punk albums of all time, look no further than Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing.
Tracklist:
Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
The Nightmare Continues
The Final Blood Bath
Protest And Survive
I Won't Subscribe
Drunk With The Power
Meanwhile
A Hell On Earth
Cries To Help
The Possibility Of Life’s Destruction
Q: And Children? A: And Children
The Blood Runs Red
Free Speech For The Dumb
The End
Why? Because it is a true old-school hardcore anarcho-punk album. Released in 1982, this masterpiece’s sheer brutality and aggression explain their difference. If you want punk metal, here it is: punk metal. The rise of the British hardcore scene, its huge impact on heavy metal, and its strong influence on the Bay Area thrash scene — Discharge, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and others injected metal into punk. Within a few years, bands like The Exploited, DRI, Agnostic Front, Suicidal Tendencies, and S.O.D. followed suit. The album is a classic fusion of punk, hardcore, crust, and thrash metal elements that even hint at the very origins of death metal and grindcore. Anyone who knows knows — Discharge is definitely among the main inspirations for Napalm Death, Carcass, Repulsion, Extreme Noise Terror, and others. Why do we relate it to extreme metal? Because this album undeniably holds the earliest appearances of riffs similar to Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Bathory, and their ilk.
With this album, the band really hammered hardcore punk back then. Don’t expect catchy, melodic, or fun tunes here. This album defines noise, speed, tension, rawness, and, of course, simplicity. The dirty, filthy guitars are darker compared to other hardcore bands of the time. The songs generally revolve around 2-3 riffs maximum. The riffs, though simple, are sharp, noisy, and aggressive. The drums mix very fast tempos with grindcore-like beats, completing the aspects that metal music lacked. The harsh, roaring vocals perfectly fit this aggressive and dark hardcore punk nature. The lyrics constantly confront and criticize, practically issuing ultimatums to governments. Yes, most lyrics are short—sometimes not even a full verse—but they take a strong anarchist stance, slamming corrupt governments of the era, warning about the outcome of nuclear wars, rebelling against social problems caused by capitalism, and even throwing shade at the UK police. The outlook is angry and gloomy.
There are 14 tracks total, but the longest track is only 3:06, so the album doesn’t even reach 28 minutes. The title track, Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing, starts with devastating drum hits and continues at a steady pace with repetitive guitars and simple solos supporting from the back. The Nightmare Continues has painfully bleak lyrics, lamenting people oblivious to danger. Again, repetitive guitars and drums dominate, but the solo in the middle screams out strikingly. The repetitive rhythms develop a hypnotic effect over time. The Final Bloodbath opens with eerie, howling guitars and is another fast-paced track, revisiting the haunting guitar tones mid-song. The brief, simple lyrics speak of impending death. Protest And Survive perfectly blends punk and metal and marks the band’s move toward crossover. It’s one of the album’s key tracks and was famously covered by Anthrax.
I Won’t Subscribe voices their defiance against the system. They reject walking the path set by it and exploitation. Drunk With Power starts with a somewhat different tone — it’s definitely a steadier punk song, and its riff is classic enough to become addictive. The lyrics explain it all: “How much longer will we tolerate these fools playing games with us, drunk on the power in their hands?”
Tracks like A Hell On Earth and Free Speech For The Dumb have a simplicity that still manages to captivate the listener, though sometimes this simplicity shadows the band’s impact. A Hell On Earth particularly is a crushing track, depicting hell on earth with vicious rhythms, twisting guitar riffs, erratic solos, and drill-like vocals. Incidentally, Free Speech For The Dumb is well known since it was covered by Metallica. The nuclear bomb and siren sounds at the end of Cries Of Help, followed by baby cries, create an extremely bleak atmosphere — possibly the most disturbing moments on a hardcore album. Abruptly, the next track The Possibility Of Life’s Destruction strikes hard with its high tempo and noisy, muffled guitars. The closing track The End cries out about a world plunged into darkness after wars that have caused millions of deaths and devastation, on the brink of extinction.
Lemmy’s noisy bass-driven Motörhead sound is surely a testament passed to Discharge, resulting in this milestone album. The bridge this album builds between punk and metal is undeniable — understanding this requires not only listening to the album but also grasping what Discharge truly represents. As stated in the beginning, it ranks among the top five hardcore punk albums of all time.