Discharge

Few British punk bands have left a mark on as many later styles as Discharge. Their D-beat drumbeat gave a sub-genre its name, and their approach fed into thrash, black metal, crust punk and grindcore. Formed in Stoke-on-Trent in 1977, they began in the orbit of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, but their sound hardened into something heavy and grinding: a distorted guitar drone under raw, shouted vocals that sounded closer to a political speech than a song.

The break came in 1980, when Clay Records released Realities of War, a single that reached number five on the UK Indie Chart and stayed there for 44 weeks. The follow-up Why EP gave them their first UK indie number one, and Visions of War became their signature song. Their debut full-length, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing, followed in 1982, reaching number 40 in the UK Album Chart and later topping a Terrorizer poll as the greatest punk album of all time. Metallica and Anthrax are among the metal acts who have covered their songs.