Original gangsters of punk/metal crossover, THE VARUKERS formed in 1979 in the same musical family that would spawn DISCHARGE, CHAOS UK and AMEBIX, blending spit-drenched punk rock intensity with a heavy metal wall of sound and unrelenting drum battery.
Initially known as The Veruccas, the band altered the spelling of their name to “The Varukers” in order to convey more aggression. When recording in the early 1980s, they were part of a broader trend known as “UK 82”, Second Generation Punk, or UK Hardcore. Bands such as The Varukers, Discharge, Chaos UK, Amebix, and Charged GBH took the existing 1977-era punk sound and melded it with the incessant, heavy drumbeats and “wall of sound” distortion guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Motörhead. The new, harder-edged style also tended to use much darker, more nihilistic, and more violent lyrics, and vocals were often shouted rather than sung.