''Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing'' is the debut studio album by English

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band Discharge, released on 21 May 1982 by

Clay Records Clay Records was an independent record label founded by Mike Stone in 1980 and based in a record shop in Stoke-on-Trent, England. History Clay's first signing was local Stoke punk band Discharge who released the ''Realities of War'' single in ...

. The album is characterized by a minimalistic approach of music and lyrics, a heavy, distorted, and grinding guitar-driven sound and raw, shouted vocals similar to a political speech, with lyrics on anti-war themes.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

calls the band's sound a "high-speed noise overload" characterized by "ferocious noise blasts." The album is considered highly important in the evolution of extreme forms of metal and punk music, paving the way for genres such as

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

and grindcore.

Reception and legacy

Media response to ''Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing'' was positive. The album was listed as the number one punk album of all time in a poll by ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...

'' magazine. In David Konow's history of heavy metal, he calls the album the band's "...crowning achievement, a mercilessly brutal masterpiece." The album reached number two on the indie album chart and number 40 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. In the early 1980s, " onic punk

fanzines A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...

like '' Flipside'', which could make or break

and or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar, and computing * Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a boolea ...

reputations, pronounced them ischarge"fucking great." ''Treble'' zine called it one of the top ten essential hardcore albums, along with Black Flag's '' Damaged'' and the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables ''Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was first released on September 2, 1980, through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom, and I.R.S. Records in the United States. ...

''. ''Treble'' zine states that the music on HNSNSN was "much, much heavier" than previous punk and states that it influenced "punk rock, nd.. metal circles" with its "raw and intense" sound. Anthrax guitarist

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

, whose band covered the track "Protest and Survive" on their 1991

Attack of the Killer B's ''Attack of the Killer B's'' is a compilation album of B-sides, covers and rarities by the thrash metal band Anthrax and the band's last audio album released before vocalist John Bush replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna in 1992. T ...

compilation album, stated in 2015 that "You put on... Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing album now, and it's still as heavy and brutal as anything out there." The group played regularly throughout the UK, often appearing with bands such as GBH and

The Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,

, and the success of the debut album also saw them touring Canada, the United States, Italy, Yugoslavia, Holland, Finland, and Sweden.

Track listing

Personnel

*Cal Morris – vocals *Bones – guitar *Rainy – bass *Garry Moloney – drums *Mike "Clay" Stone – producer

References

{{Authority control 1982 debut albums Discharge (band) albums Albums produced by Mike "Clay" Stone