Crust punk (also known as crust) is an extreme evolution of punk and metal. The genre might be considered hard to listen to and very abrasive, using elements of anarcho-punk and doom metal to create a unique sound. It was originally called stenchcore.

Lyrics to crust songs tend to be dark, and based around politics and current events; topic such as nuclear destruction, animal liberation, and anarchism are common. Bands do not try so much to make the public aware of these problems but they broode over them. Crust is the darkest subgenre of punk, and also the one which is least recognizable as punk in terms of sound. Elements of the crust sound can be heard in Black Sabbath and many Anarcho-punk bands, such as those signed to Mortarhate Records.

Many consider the band Amebix to be the godfathers of crust while Deviated Instinct actually coined the term and was the first to play the style as it is now recognized.

Crust punk is tied to the grindcore, anarcho, thrashcore, and noise/experimental scenes as well as squatting. Fans of crust punk are called "crusties".

Examples of crust punk bands

• Abraham Cross
• Amebix
• Antiproduct
• Antischism
• Antisect
• Antisystem
• Argue Damnation
• Atrocious Madness
• Aus-Rotten
• Axegrinder
• Axiom
• Battle of Disarm
• Behead The Prophet, No Lord Shall Live
• Black Kronstadt
• Blownapart Bastards
• Boycot
• Crocodile Skink
• Destroy
• Detestation
• The Detested
• Detrimental Greed
• Deviated Instinct
• Disrupt
• Discharge
• Doom
• Dropdead
• Dystopia
• Extinction of Mankind
• Extreme Noise Terror
• Gloom
• Hellbastard
• Hellkrusher
• Hiatus
• Homomilitia
• Human Greed
• Initial Detonation
• Initial State
• Jobbykrust
• The Locust (early records)
• Masskontroll
• Misery
• Nausea
• Oi Polloi
• Power of Idea
• Propagandhi
• React
• Resist
• Sacrilege
• Skitsystem
• Warcollapse
• Wretched proto-crust
• Witch Hunt