In 1986 a demo was recorded in about six hours by small Newcastle band for £25 (about $37). The piece was as rough as chipped bricks, thrashing, shredding, and beating through thirty minutes of unadulterated, youthful rage. The vocals echo, the bass and drums sometimes feel drowned out by the guitar, but everything about this demo absolutely ripped. This is of course, the Rippercrust demo recorded by Hellbastard.
Hellbastard was founded in 1984 and named after a song by Sons of Bad Breath. Guitarist and vocalist Malcolm 'Scruff' Lewty wanted to do something that would bring over both metal-heads and punks but also be more accessible. The lineup would become solid with bassist Ian 'Scotty' Scott (who replaced Christopher 'Simo' Simmons early on) and drummer Phil Laidlaw. With Scruff's intentions in line, the band went in and recorded in early '86. The result of this would become one of the most influential underground records of all time.
Rippercrust is noted as the first time the word 'crust' was used to describe a band's sound, but the band took it in stride. What constitutes crust? The sound is usually compromised of an extremely rough, pulpy recording with strong elements of punk and metal, though wholeheartedly distinguishable from either. Scruff's combination of anarcho-punk lyrics and heavy metal made the band truly stand out. However, Scruff claims that they were too punk for the metal-heads and too metal for the punks.
Ripe with feedback, vicious downtempo sections, a raging shred section, and catchy-as-hell riffs, and desperate vocals, it is easy to see that even today the Rippercrust demo felt ahead of its time. The piece mercilessly drives forward but has interesting sections that break it up. Slowdowns and speed ups make it feel less atonal giving the piece a sense of direction and purpose.
Though some will argue that the crust movement really started more with the likes of other great bands like Amebix, Chaos UK, and Disorder, it was Hellbastard that really catapulted the movement with their forward thinking and outwardness to meld genres in perhaps more obvious ways. Yeah, Amebix's Who's the Enemy will always remain a classic piece that has some punk influence, it cannot match what Hellbastard put forth in a single go.
The Rippercrust demo cannot be overstated in terms of its quality and influence. Countless crust bands followed in the wake of Hellbastard such as Hellkrusher. According to Scruff, when Shane Embury (Napalm Death) wants to write something new, he puts on the Rippercrust demo to get him in the mood. That is how good this demo is.
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