Important figures on the U.K.'s anarcho-punk scene of the '80s, Antisect were a socially and politically conscious band who embraced the squatters' movement and direct action as part of their guiding philosophy. At the same time, they were more musically sophisticated than many of their peers, offering a more refined and dynamic sound than acts such as Crass, Discharge, and Conflict, absorbing the influences of psychedelia and heavy metal as well as high-speed punk. Antisect was formed in 1982 in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. The initial lineup featured Pete Lyons on guitar, vocalist Pete Boyce, bassist Renusze Rokicki, and drummer Pete Paluskiewicz. They picked up their name from someone in town who, insisting they were anti-everything, called them the "anti-sect." The name stuck, even after the band moved to Northampton, where they added an additional two vocalists, Rich Hill and Caroline Wallis. After making their reputation on the U.K. punk scene, Antisect released their debut album in 1983, In Darkness There Is No Choice, which was released by Spiderleg Records, a label founded by the group Flux of Pink Indians. While the album was well received, Antisect's lineup proved to be volatile, and by the time they cut the 1985 EP Out of the Void, which found them adding more heavy metal influences to their attack, the group was down to a trio, with Lyons on guitar and vocals, Paluskiewicz on drums, and John Bryson on bass and vocals. By 1987, Antisect had yet another lineup -- Lyons on guitar, Paluskiewicz on drums, Tim Andrews on bass, and Laurence Windle on bass -- and were mid-way through recording a second album when the group finally came apart. (A number of the songs written for the uncompleted second LP appeared on two posthumous live albums, 1993's Peace Is Better Than a Place in History and 2010's Leeds 02.04.86.) In May 2011, Antisect announced they were reuniting for a series of live dates, beginning with Finland's Puntala Rock Festival. The new lineup included veteran members Tim Andrews and Pete Boyce on vocals, Pete Lyons on guitar, and Laurence Windle on bass, along with a new member, Joe Burwood, on drums. By 2014, Andrews and Boyce had both left Antisect, and Chris Capps signed on as their new vocalist. 2017 saw Antisect pared down to a lean and mean trio -- Lyons on guitar and vocals, Burwood on drums and vocals, and the returning John Bryson on bass and vocals -- as they recorded and released a new studio album, The Rising of the Lights. ~ Mark Deming