Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing is (if I may indulge in a cliche, just this once) a study in contradictions. It is a complex epic, yet built of reductively simple elements and clocking in at less than 28 minutes in total running time. It is a punk recording whose lasting legacy is innovation in technique. It is not (nor does it pretend to be) a metal album; yet, with the possible exception of Reign in Blood, no album of the 1980s has cast such a long shadow over the subsequent history of metal.
Of course, in the early months of 1982, it is rather unlikely that legacies, much less something as distant as "the future" ever crossed the minds of the boys in Discharge. Indeed, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing stands defiantly without a future (and not much of a past either). The lyrics - which take the form of subversive mantras, slogans and phrases repeated until the meme takes hold, and then abruptly dropped - are almost entirely in the present tense. Only "The Final Bloodbath" and "The Possibility of Life's Destruction" admit to any possibility of a future, and in both cases, the titles speak for themselves as to what that "future" would look like.
Musically, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing is violent liberation of the purest sort, overthrowing the conventions of rock music and paving the way for all the extreme music to come. What you won't find here are the pentatonic chord progressions typical of rock-based forms. In the early 70s, Black Sabbath dabbled in chromatic movement, here Discharge go full bore, fragmenting Iommi's most sinister dirges at high velocity, creating the skeletal outlines of the riffing style that would, via Repulsion, Napalm Death and Carcass, come to dominate the grindcore scene, as well as the extreme metal scene by way of Slayer, Master and Kreator. Vocals are reduced to their rhythmic potential, freeing the guitar line from its hitherto supporting role to become the primary carrier of "melody" (such as it exists in such relentlessly deconstructive music).
Structurally, Discharge vaulted beyond rock by transmuting percussion into an ambient pulse beneath the music through the use of the famed "D-beat." The structural framework of most rock music is hammered into place by its drum lines with rhythmic repetition forming the foundation of the verse/chorus format. Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing on the other hand, reaches into the past to find classically rooted structural principles. By reimagining percussion as an undifferentiated ambient accompaniment, Discharge was able to develop its music organically through the repetition and evolution of melodic phrases, creating from the maggot infested corpse of rock a gateway to the esoteric and eternal realms popular music had once left behind.
10/10
Of course, in the early months of 1982, it is rather unlikely that legacies, much less something as distant as "the future" ever crossed the minds of the boys in Discharge. Indeed, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing stands defiantly without a future (and not much of a past either). The lyrics - which take the form of subversive mantras, slogans and phrases repeated until the meme takes hold, and then abruptly dropped - are almost entirely in the present tense. Only "The Final Bloodbath" and "The Possibility of Life's Destruction" admit to any possibility of a future, and in both cases, the titles speak for themselves as to what that "future" would look like.
Musically, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing is violent liberation of the purest sort, overthrowing the conventions of rock music and paving the way for all the extreme music to come. What you won't find here are the pentatonic chord progressions typical of rock-based forms. In the early 70s, Black Sabbath dabbled in chromatic movement, here Discharge go full bore, fragmenting Iommi's most sinister dirges at high velocity, creating the skeletal outlines of the riffing style that would, via Repulsion, Napalm Death and Carcass, come to dominate the grindcore scene, as well as the extreme metal scene by way of Slayer, Master and Kreator. Vocals are reduced to their rhythmic potential, freeing the guitar line from its hitherto supporting role to become the primary carrier of "melody" (such as it exists in such relentlessly deconstructive music).
Structurally, Discharge vaulted beyond rock by transmuting percussion into an ambient pulse beneath the music through the use of the famed "D-beat." The structural framework of most rock music is hammered into place by its drum lines with rhythmic repetition forming the foundation of the verse/chorus format. Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing on the other hand, reaches into the past to find classically rooted structural principles. By reimagining percussion as an undifferentiated ambient accompaniment, Discharge was able to develop its music organically through the repetition and evolution of melodic phrases, creating from the maggot infested corpse of rock a gateway to the esoteric and eternal realms popular music had once left behind.
10/10
