Discharge

Discharge are a UK hardcore punk and d-beat group from Stoke-on-Trent, England, active from 1977 to the present. The band is associated with hardcore punk, punk, crust, heavy metal and thrash metal, and is one of the acts most closely linked with the development of d-beat, a style named after the group’s drum pattern.

Style and influence

The band uses a minimal, abrasive approach built around heavy distorted guitars, shouted vocals and intense, repetitive rhythms. Its lyrics often deal with anarchist and pacifist themes. Discharge becomes highly influential on extreme music, especially crust punk, grindcore, thrash metal and black metal, and the group’s songs are widely covered by metal and punk artists. Its impact on heavy metal is especially notable, with bands such as Metallica, Anthrax, Machine Head, Sepultura, Soulfly, Prong and Arch Enemy among those that cover its material.

Discharge also plays a major part in pushing British hardcore punk away from its earlier pub rock roots towards a more confrontational and anti-establishment stance. Its sound is described in strongly elemental terms in critical writing, with emphasis on its harshness and political force.

Early history

The group forms in Stoke-on-Trent in 1977. It is also described in some accounts as having an early period in Middlesbrough under the name Squelch Vaginas before adopting the name Discharge in 1978, then playing its first gig later that month in Middlesbrough. The band’s early local activity includes shows in Stockton, Newcastle, York and Darlington, and a split five-track EP with The Filth that is pressed in a run of 500 copies.

Legacy

Discharge is regarded as a key influence across at least two generations of metal and punk musicians. Its stripped-down style, political intensity and characteristic drum sound become central reference points for later d-beat and extreme music acts.

Members

The group has had a long and changing line-up that includes Tony Atkinson, Nigel Bamford, Rainy, Ivan Rivera, Tezz, Bones, Cal, Bambi, Keith Haynes, Garry Maloney, Pooch, Michael Gibson, Steve Brookes, Rocky Shades, Andrew Green, Anthony Morgan, Nick Bushell, Labanthorsen Ekeroth, Rat, Dave Bridgwood and Jeff Janiak.