Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing

Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing is the debut studio album by English hardcore punk band Discharge, released on 21 May 1982 by Clay Records. While some critics at the time dismissed this album as "unmusical", in retrospect, it is viewed both a classic of the era and the peak of Discharge's career.[1]

Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
Studio album by Discharge
Released	8 May 1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	D-beat
Length	27:27
Label	Clay
Producer	Mike "Clay" Stone
Discharge chronology
Never Again (1981) Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982) Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983)

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 calls the band's sound a "high-speed noise overload" characterized by "ferocious noise blasts"[2]

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, black metal, crust punk and grindcore.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Punknews	[1]

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 magazine.[3] In David Konow's history of heavy metal, he calls the album the band's "...crowning achievement, a mercilessly brutal masterpiece." [4] The album reached number two on the indie album chart and number 40 in the UK Album Chart.[5] In the early 1980s, "[i]conic punk fanzines like Flipside, which could make or break [band] reputations, pronounced them [Discharge] "fucking great." [6] Treble zine called it one of the top ten essential hardcore albums, along with Black Flag's Damaged and the Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Treble zine states that the music on HNSNSN was "much, much heavier" than previous punk and states that it influenced "punk rock, [and]... metal circles" with its "raw and intense" sound.[7] Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian 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."[8]

The group played regularly throughout the UK, often appearing with bands such as GBH and The Exploited, and the success of the debut album also saw them touring Canada, the United States, Italy, Yugoslavia, Holland, Finland, and Sweden.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Discharge (Cal Morris, Bones, Rainy and Garry Maloney).

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing"	1:33
2.	"The Nightmare Continues"	1:51
3.	"The Final Blood Bath"	1:42
4.	"Protest and Survive"	2:17
5.	"I Won't Subscribe"	1:39
6.	"Drunk With Power"	2:46
7.	"Meanwhile"	1:30

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Hell on Earth"	1:54
2.	"Cries of Help"	3:07
3.	"The Possibility of Life's Destruction"	1:17
4.	"Q: And Children? A: And Children"	1:49
5.	"The Blood Runs Red"	1:36
6.	"Free Speech for the Dumb"	2:18
7.	"The End"	2:32

CD reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Original release	Length
15.	"Never Again"	Never Again (1981)	2:23
16.	"Death Dealers"	Never Again (1981)	1:44
17.	"Two Monstrous Nuclear Stockpiles"	Never Again (1981)	1:10
18.	"State Violence State Control"	"State Violence, State Control" (1982)	2:45
19.	"Doomsday"	"State Violence, State Control" (1982)	2:40
20.	"Warning"	Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983)	2:50
21.	"Where There Is a Will There Is a Way"	Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983)	2:06
22.	"In Defence of Our Future"	Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983)	2:07
23.	"Anger Burning"	Warning: Her Majesty's Government Can Seriously Damage Your Health (1983)	2:31

Personnel

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

References

1. "Hear Nothing review by Punknews". Punknews. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
2. Dean McFarlane (2002-07-09). "Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
3. "News - Sanctuary Records Group". Archive.is. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
4. Konow, David. Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal. Three Rivers Press, 2002. p. 239
6. Smith, Chris A. (5 September 2013). "Rules of the Tribe: Hardcore Punks and Hair Metal in the 1980s". theappendix.net. The Appendix. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
7. Terich, Jeff. "10 Essential Hardcore Punk Albums". www.treblezine.com. Treblezine. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
8. Konow, David (9 October 2015). "Exploring the Roots of the Mid-80s Metal/Punk Crossover With Kerry King, Scott Ian, and Gary Holt". noisey.vice.com. Noisey. Retrieved 18 June 2017.