Discharge
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
| Discharge | |
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| Music genre(s) | Hardcore, Punk, D-beat, Crossover |
| Homebase | Stoke-On-Trent, UK |
| Years active | 1977-1985, 2002-Present |
| Current Status | Active |
| Notable Records | |
| Label(s) | |
| Website | |
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Discharge is an influential hardcore punk band formed in Stoke-On-Trent, England in 1977, whose music is characterized by a heavy, distorted, and grinding guitar-driven sound and anti-melodic shouted or screamed vocals, with lyrics on anarchist and pacifist themes. They are also credited with influencing the "D-Beat" genre of hardcore punk.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Discharge formed in 1977 with the original line up of Terry 'Tez' Roberts on vocals, Tony 'Bones' Roberts on guitar, Roy 'Rainy' Wainwright on guitar, Nigel Bamford on bass and Akko on drums. Shortly after Nigel Bamford left the group, and Rainy moved to bass. This line-up sounded much more like the The Sex Pistols, but only recorded one demo. The line-up and the sound changed in 1979. It became: Kelvin 'Cal' Morris on vocals, Bones on guitar, Rainy on bass and Tez on drums, which many consider to be the "classic" Discharge line-up.
The heavy, distorted, and grinding guitar-driven sound and anti-melodic shouted or screamed vocals of the new line- up, earned an early crossover appeal to fans of speed metal. Their songs focused on anarchist and pacifist themes emphasizing the grisly effects of nuclear warfare and the social ills caused by capitalism.
The band's approach to lyric-writing also added to the raw power of the band's sound; Discharge songs often stripped down the lyrics to a guttural, repeated message, to forcefully express a song's theme. Perhaps the most extreme example of this approach is the song "Free Speech for the Dumb," which consists solely of the words from the song's title. The band was also notable for its expression of its political and social themes in its albums artwork, which depicted the horrors of war using an iconic black-and-white photography style.
In 1980, Discharge signed on with Clay Records, releasing the single "Realities of War", which made the UK indie charts. After the EP releases in the same year, Discharge went through many line-up changes. Tezz (drums) departed, and was replaced by Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere (formerly of The Insane) before the "Why" EP was recorded. Only briefly prior to that Welsh stixman a very young 16 year old Keith Haynes appeared on drums for a very short time before moving back to Wales to carry on his duties with Picture Frame Seduction this time on vocals. In 1982, Discharge released a full album entitled "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing", which made it to the UK Albums Chart.
The "Never Again" EP saw another line-up change. Gary Maloney of The Varukers played drums. Bones departed before "Warning...", which was when Discharge began adding more metal influences. The band saw yet another change in the line-up in 1985, with the release of "Ignorance". The band saw many more changes with its transition into a more metallic sound and in 1985 they released "Grave New World", a record to be forgotten in the Discharge discography, sounding more glam metal in style. After this, they disbanded, only to return in the beginning of the 1990s.
In 2002, however the original line up was finally reunited for the release of "Discharge". Shortly after the release of this record, the band toured, playing to generally indifferent audiences. Cal immediately left the band and was subsequently replaced by Rat of seminal UK band, The Varukers. An honor for Rat, who sports a Discharge tattoo on his neck. The band continues to play in the UK.
Also in 2002, "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" was voted the number one punk album of all time in a poll by Terrorizer magazine.
[edit] Influence
[edit] D-beat
Discharge also pioneered D-beat as a punk drum beat, with the "D" referring to Discharge. In more recent years it has also been recognised as a subgenre of Hardcore punk. D-beat has historically enjoyed popularity in Japanese, Brazilian, and Scandinavian hardcore and punk scenes, and is currently gaining ground in North America. During, and after Discharge's career, it became surprisingly popular to imitate the band. While Discharge relied heavily on the D-beat early in their career, they did not innovate it. It can be heard in recordings that pre-date Discharge, "You Tear Me Up" from The Buzzcocks' debut album "Another Music in a Different Kitchen" being one example. Another example is The Velvet Underground's "lost" 4th album VU, the song "Andy's Chest".
Many bands that followed Discharge's stylistic approach, primarily in Sweden, began using the "Dis-" prefix in their names, and even began using "Des-" words with "Dis-" in its place as a parody. Examples include Disfear, Disclose, Discard, Disarm, Dispussy, Dissucks, and Distraught. The bands who followed this naming trend also used clones of Discharge's large white logo lettering.
[edit] Notable bands covering Discharge songs
Discharge's influence on the musical scene can also be seen in the homage paid to the band by a range of metal and punk groups.
- Metal band Metallica recorded covers of two Discharge songs, "Free Speech For The Dumb" and "The More I See", on their studio covers album "Garage Inc.".
- Fellow thrash metal band Anthrax recorded a cover of "Protest and Survive" on their studio album "Attack of the Killer B's".
- The Canadian industrial metal band Monster Voodoo Machine named their second album release "State Voodoo/State Control" after Discharge's "State Violence/State Control". The band also recorded a cover version of "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing", on their "Bastard Is As Bastard Does" single.
- Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At the Gates covered "The Nightmare Continues" as a hidden track on their "With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" album
- Swedish grindcore band Nasum covered "Visions of War" for a tribute compilation.
- The Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura also covered Discharge tracks live ("A Look At Tomorrow", "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" and "Protest and Survive").
- Soulfly covered "Ain't No Feeble Bastard" and "The Possibility of Life's Destruction" as bonus tracks on the special edition of their first album.
- Nausea also covered "Ain't No Feeble Bastard" along with "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing", which is available on "The Punk Terrorist Anthology, Vol. 1".
- Napalm Death covered "War's No Fairytale" on their "Leaders not Followers Part 2" album.
- Machine Head covered "The Possibility of Life's Destruction" on the digipack of "The More Things Change".
- Anarcho Punk band Oi Polloi covered the song "State Violence, State Control".
- From Ashes Rise have also covered "Hell on Earth".
- Mob 47 Also Covered "Never Again" On Their Ultimate Attack Discography
- State Control Covered "Ain't no Feeble Bastard" on their CD "No Escape".
- Moss covered "Maimed & Slaughtered" on their split 7" with Monarch.
- There are 2 compilations called Discharged of covers songs, one issued on Allied Records as an ep and the other as an LP
- Croatian Thrash Metal band Devastation entitled their second demo (1989) "The possibility of life`s destruction" which included a cover of that track.The band later changed name to Hatross,and released a demo in 1992 entitled "A look at tomorrow",which of course included a cover of that song.
- Croatian Grindcore band Bolesno Grinje on their 2006 EP covered the song Ain`t No Feeble Bastard.
- LA's Tribal Crust Grind Resistant Culture on their 2006 album Welcome to Reality covered the song hear nothing see nothing say nothing.
- Mexican melodic d-beat/crust punk band BioCrisis on their upcoming self titled 2010 album covered the song hear nothing see nothing say nothing.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Demos
- "1977 demo"
[edit] EPs
- "Realities of War" (April, 1980)
- "Fight Back" (July, 1980)
- "Decontrol" (December, 1980)
- "Never Again" (October, 1981)
- "State Violence, State Control" (October, 1982)
- "The Price Of Silence" (December, 1983)
- "The More I See" (July, 1984)
- "Ignorance" (July, 1985)
- "Beginning of the End" (March 2006)
- "Discharge/MG15 Split" (April 2006)
[edit] 12"s
- "Why" (May, 1981)
- "Warning: Her Majesty's Government can seriously damage your Health" (October, 1983)
- "The More I See" (Longer versions of the songs on the 7")
- "Ignorance" (Longer versions of the songs on the 7")
[edit] LPs
- Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing (May, 1982)
- Discharge 1980-86 Clay LP (1986)
- Grave New World (July, 1986)
- Live at the City Garden, New Jersey
- Live-The Nightmare Continues
- Massacre Divine (1991)
- Shootin' Up The World (1993)
- Discharge (2002)
[edit] CDs
- Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
- Why (1982)
- Never Again Clay LP/CD 12
- Protest and Survive (Double CD) Clay CD 113
- Live-The Nightmare Continues Clay LP/CD 107
- Live at the City Garden, New Jersey Clay LP/CD 103
- Vision of War Recall SMD CD131
- Massacre Divine (1991)
- Shootin' Up The World (1993)
- The Clay Punk Punk Singles Collection Clay CD 120 (1995)
- Hardcore Hits (1999)
- Discharge (2002)
- Society's Victims Discography (2004)
- Beginning of the End (March 2006)
[edit] Tribute albums
- "In Defence Of Our Future : A Tribute To Discharge" (1999)
[edit] Current Members
- Anthony "Rat" Martin
- Tony "Bones" Roberts
- Roy "Rainy" Wainright
- Terry "Tezz" Roberts
[edit] Past Members
[edit] Vocals
- Kelvin ``Cal`` Morris
[edit] Guitar
- Andy Green
- Stephen Brooks
- Les ``The Mole`` Hunt
- Peter ``Pooch`` Pyrtle
[edit] Bass
- Anthony Morgan
- Nick Bushell
- Nigel Bamford
[edit] Drums
- Micky Gibson from the Stoke band Heymaker
- Garry Maloney
- Dave 'Bambi' Ellesmere
- Tony "Akko" Atkinson
- Keith Haynes
