DISCHARGE’S Fight Back EP, a punishing wall of sonic distortion, paved the way for thrash metal and influenced the sound of Metallica and Anthrax.

“When you listen to those raw-edged lyrics: ‘Stand up for your freedom, stand up for your rights, fight the system, fight back’, well I think those sentiments are just as important for any individual living on the outside today as they were when Discharge released that first record in 1980,” said Discharge vocalist JJ Janiak.

“That first record took punk’s sound to a new place – bands like Bolt Thrower and Extreme Noise Terror came later.

“Discharge’s sound is still massively uncompromising nearly 30-odd years later.

“Nobody was doing that then, it was a completely different thing.”

“Lots of people have played in the band, and many have visited some dark places, but they’ve all dedicated their lives to the band.

“Discharge is a family – and there’s no compromise with our music and our lives. We are very, very serious about what we do.”

JJ, who brings the Potteries grind merchants to the Rebellion Punk Festival at Blackpool tomorrow, added: “Metallica have done Discharge covers in their sets and that, I think, tells you something about the band’s legacy.”

Buzz saw guitars, grunting, shouted vocals, and fierce lyrics on anarchist and pacifist themes, Discharge were considered among one of the very first bands to play hard-core punk music.

When Discharge released their debut album – Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing on their hometown label, Stoke-on-Trent’s Clay Records – the late DJ John Peel championed their cause.

Their latest offering – End of Days – is a brutal, sonic attack, with songs like Hate Bomb and New World Order seeing Discharge back on full raging power again.

“It’s more like the earlier stuff, just really short, angry songs, because when you think of Discharge you think of a simple formula,” said JJ.

“We recorded the album on analogue, so it is a very minimal, instinctive sound.

“The lyrics are a reflection of the world, and right now it almost feels like a war of the people.

“It is scary. There’s a lot of mad things going on – governments collapsing, people on the streets - and there’s still the threat of nuclear war.

“We talk about what is happening in the world today; drones, police spying on people, corruption, and terrorism.

“This is the world that we live in, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.”

Discharge play the Tower Street Arena tomorrow at 8pm as part of the 20th anniversary of the Rebellion Festival which opens today and runs until Sunday. at venues around Blackpool’s Winter gardens.

Other bands playing at Rebellion include Angelic Upstarts, Buzzcocks, Spizz Energi, Splodgenessabounds, The Exploited, the Cockney Rejects and the original line-up of Slaughter and the Dogs.

Tickets are still available for some of the shows. For full details visit rebellionfestivals.com or contact 02476 601678