Skiantos were Italy's answer to punk-rock, but their Monotono (Cramps, 1978) was hardly derivative of the British models. In fact, it was more derivative of the Italian vaudeville, and, better, of high-school pranks. A demented merry-go-round of jokes and gags, this album was everything that Italian music had never been: irreverent, reckless, eccentric, sick. Where the other Italians (whether singer-songwriters or prog-rock bands) were romantic and erudite, Skiantos were escapist and barbaric. It was, in fact, a caricature of punk-rock, closer to the Dictators than to the Sex Pistols. Their first album had been Inascoltabile (1977), a collection of 14 "unlistenable" tracks improvised live in the studio.

Two more classics of demented rock ("rock demenziale") followed, Kinotto (1979), barely better arranged and slightly more danceable, and Pesissimo (1980), a return to the rawest sound.

The musical qualities of their ditties did not improve in the 1980s: Ti Spalmo La Crema (1984), Non c'e' Gusto in Italia ad Essere Intelligenti (1987) and Troppo Rischio Per un Uomo Solo (1989) were still as inept and childish as usual. Although their invention was becoming rapidly obsolete, Skiantos continued releasing albums: Signore Dei Dischi (1992), Saluti da Cortina (1994), Doppia Dose (1999).