This pioneering UK crust band's 1986 demo repressed on vinyl.Our take: When I first heard Hellbastard’s legendary 1986 demo tape, Ripper Crust, in my early 20s, I totally hated it. I had no sense of what crust was or what to expect, but I thought the band name and album title were so badass that it had to be the most ripping and crushing thing ever… I suppose I thought it would sound like G.I.S.M. or something like that… or at least something super gnarly like Extreme Noise Terror. That’s not what Ripper Crust is about, though. It’s brooding and primitive, equal parts Amebix and Hellhammer. The rhythms are dirge-like and uncomfortable, rarely even reaching early Discharge tempos. Even the fastest parts don’t sound raging thanks to the drummer’s paddle thrash beats. The songwriting and arrangements lean into this, repeating riffs and motifs way more times than I would expect and stretching the songs to sometimes punishing lengths. The production is also very lo-fi, with muffled sounds on all the instruments and an awkward, uneven mix. All those sound like criticisms on the surface, but despite these purported flaws, Ripper Crust’s overall vibe is so dark and grimy and distinctive that I can’t help but love it. It just sounds so nasty, like the end of a party with too much cheap beer and bad speed and you want to go home but your ride got too fucked up and now you’re stuck. Ripper Crust puts me into some negative headspace, but sometime that’s what you want, you know? Many people will hear Ripper Crust and wonder why anyone would voluntary listen to something like this, but if you get it, you get it.
