Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid–1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stripped-down anarcho-punk context, however many later bands pushed the genre to be more grandiose, faster or more melodic. Often songs are political, discussing environmentalism, anarchism, anti-capitalism, feminism and animal rights.

The genre originated in the early to mid–1980s with Amebix and Antisect, bands active in the anarcho-punk scene who began to incorporate the influence of heavy metal bands such as Hellhammer, Motörhead and Trouble. The influence of these bands led to the genre's first wave with Hellbastard, Deviated Instinct and Concrete Sox. By the late 1980s, the genre had begun to merge with hardcore punk, typified by Electro Hippies, Extreme Noise Terror and Doom. During the 1990s, this sound was continued by Swedish and Japanese bands including Skitsystem, Driller Killer, Disclose and Gloom, while other areas brought in outside influences such as Dystopia with sludge metal, His Hero is Gone with powerviolence and Choking Victim with ska. During the 2000s, the most prominent sound in the genre was the neo-crust style of Tragedy, Fall of Efrafa and From Ashes Rise, which pushed the genre into more metal-influenced but also melodic and post-rock-inspired territory. At the same time, Swedish bands like Disfear and Wolfbrigade were also pushing crust punk into an increasingly melodic direction, through the incorporation of elements of melodic death metal.