Conflict are an English anarcho-punk  band originally based around Eltham in South London. Formed in 1981, the band's original line up consisted of: Colin Jerwood (vocals), Francisco 'Paco' Carreno (drums), Big John (bass), Steve (guitars), Pauline (vocals), Paul aka 'Nihilistic Nobody' (visuals). Their first release was the ep "The House That Man Built" on Crass Records. By the time they released their debut album It's Time to See Who's Who on Corpus Christi Records, Pauline and Paul had left the band. Conflict later set up their own Mortarhate Records label, which put out releases by other artists including Hagar the Womb, Icons of Filth, Lost Cherrees, The Apostles, Exitstance, Stalag 17, Admit You're Shit, Potential Threat, and others.

In 1983, Steve Ignorant, who was at the time a member of the band Crass, guested on the band's pro-animal rights single "To A Nation of Animal Lovers". After the dissolution of Crass, Ignorant later became second vocalist for Conflict on a semi-permanent basis. This followed a 1986 gig in Brixton, London wherein he had joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

The band have always been outspoken regarding issues such as anarchism, animal rights, the anti-war movement and in their support for the organisation Class War, and a number of their gigs during the 1980s were followed by riots and disturbances. The Mortarhate logo has often been mistakenly interpreted as a reference to the initials CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)[citation needed]; however, the band's drummer, Paco, states that it is a nihilist symbol.[citation needed] It incorporates two 'A's for anarchy and autonomy, and an 'N' for nihilism. The logo originally appeared in 1980 as a graffiti stencil, designed by Toxic Graffity (sic) fanzine editor Mike Diboll and a former member of The Heretics whom he had previously interviewed in the fanzine. It later appeared in "Thanatos", a small circulation pamphlet also produced by Diboll.