Discharge... I am very, very confused.

[Jim LotFP]

I went out today and bought the new Devin Townsend (the finally had a normal version with no DVD), Voivod's War and Pain 2CD expanded hooha, Exodus Bonded by Blood, and Discharge Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing.

It all started when we got home and I threw on Exodus. My relationship with Exodus is spotty because it's specifically things like Anthrax and Souza-era Exodus that kept me from thinking metal was anything worth exploring in the late 80s/very early 90s (it would be interesting to revisit that stuff 15 years later). But Bonded by Blood is good stuff, riff on riff on riff.

Anyway, when I put it on, Sanna tells me, "This sounds like punk." wha? Her explanation: "The vocals are all off key."

Some Voivod next.

... and then... Discharge.

How is this not heavy metal? Putting it right next to the first Voivod, Venom, and yeah, the sound of Exodus, it seems to fit right in.

It has the riffs and the solos. The heaviness.

But Discharge is "punk".

Why?

The hairstyles?

From Scum: "Punk rock and hardcore are nothing more than marketing labels and do not exist as distinct musical genres." But really, I had no idea. My exposure to punk has been limited (no, not talking Green Day stuff) but it wasn't this heavy.

Seriously, I am very confused now and feel like there's a lot more work to do.

 

[Zealotry]

Discharge, along with Motorhead, were one of the bands that really bridged the gap between punk and metal, and paved the way for thrash, which was basically a marriage of British heavy metal's melodic approach and the anger and speed that Discharge brought to the table. They were basically the fastest, loudest, angriest band of their time [they debuted in 1977] and they appealed to metalheads who incorporated their form of punk as a major influence to create what became known as thrash.

 

[Jim LotFP]

Discharge, along with Motörhead

See, but Motörhead is acknowledged and treated like a metal band by the metal people. Discharge has been mentioned by metal bands (usually the late 80s underground bands), but I have never, and I mean NEVER, seen serious coverage of Discharge in a metal magazine or heard their name brought up when just bullshitting with fans at shows. The segregation is... uncanny.

 

[DBB]

I have to agree with Zealotry on this one, Jim. I've seen numerous bands reference Discharge as an influence for the very reasons he raises and at one point it seemed that every thrash and crossover band had a guitarist with a Discharge sticker on their instrument. War and Pain era Voivod would certianly share quite a few similarities with early Discharge material because they were drawing on the sloppiness of Venom who was drawing on the proto-punk/crust sounds of Discharge as an influence.

Also, if you find that Discharge of even passing interest, I cannot strongly recommend enough tracking down some DOOM of "Police Bastard" fame--the best crust band of all time according to a poll just taken in the Burns household. They also rerecorded all of their early material "due to the treatment the band..received from Peaceville Records" and compiled it on an album simply called Fuck Peaceville. Probably hard as hell to find nowadays and I imagine that the Peaceville CD version of Total Doom which contains the earlier versions of the songs are easy as hell to find.

Edit: Avoid The Greatest Invention album

I am long overdue for a DOOM rampage and think I may very well unleash one when a new record needle arrives in the mail next week to replace my old one that is suspect due to a strange accident.

 

[BenMech]

So Jim: was I right to suggest getting the Discharge album(s) in the roots thread?

 

[Jim LotFP]

So Jim: was I right to suggest getting the Discharge album(s) in the roots thread?

I wouldn't have even considered it if it wasn't for that thread.

 

[BenMech]

heheh

 

[Jim LotFP]

heheh

The real "heheh" moment of all of this is the guy at the counter was wearing a Discharge shirt.

 

[Lee_B]

Discharge were VERY heavily influenced by Motorhead. I was in a Discharge clone (Disgust) that actually had ex-Discharge members in it so I know that for a fact. But don't start claiming them for the metal world just yet.

Discharge were one of the first bands to use more metal influences within the world of punk (certainly the most popular) and that in turn opened the floodgates for others to follow suit (it exploded in Finland and Sweden). It was definitely an unspoken influence though. Metal was still frowned upon by punks. In turn the metal kids started cottoning on to this more "metallic" punk that was far more aggressive than any metal of the day. Next thing we know thrash is born.

These days so-called hardcore bands sound like At the Gates and the difference really is only down to a haircut or lyrical stance. Back then there were clearly defined lines.

 

[Hyperborean Exile]

Discharge sounds "metal" to modern ears because our listening is filtered through 3+ generations of Discharge inspired metal.