Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by New York punk rock and early proto-punk. New York punk had a harder-edged sound than its San Francisco counterpart, featuring anti-art expressions of masculine anger, energy, and subversive humor. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically-charged lyrics."
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is best known for being the birthplace of grunge, a type of rock and roll, during the mid-1980s, as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip-hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Dag Nasty is an American punk rock band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown. Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to post-hardcore; their sound was partly influenced by The Faith and their 1983 EP Subject to Change. Brian Baker said in “Filmage”, the documentary about Descendents, that he started Dag Nasty as a direct inspiration from them.
Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence to the New York hardcore scene, as well as for pioneering the crossover thrash genre.
Iron Cross is a punk rock band originally from Washington D.C..
New York hardcore is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Initially a local phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s, New York hardcore eventually grew to establish an international reputation with little to moderate mainstream popularity but with a dedicated and enthusiastic underground following, primarily in Europe and the United States. With a history spanning over more than 3 decades, many of the early New York hardcore bands are still in activity to this day, some of them being continuously or almost continuously active since their formation and also in the form of reunion shows.
Bags were an American punk rock band formed in 1977, one of the first generation of punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles, California.
The Fartz were originally formed in 1981 and were one of the first well-known hardcore bands from Seattle, Washington. They were signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Record label. They were notable not only for playing incredibly fast and heavy music, but also for their politically and socially conscious song lyrics that criticized government policies, religious hypocrisy, racism, sexism, and poverty. Throughout their musical career they championed a blue collar, working class perspective on life.
Reptile House was an American 1980s hardcore punk band from Baltimore's music scene. The band included Daniel Higgs, later of Lungfish, guitarists Alex Layne, Asa Osborne and Joe Goldsborough, bass players David Rhodes and Leigh Panlilio, as well as drummers Gary Breezee and London May who went on to play in Glenn Danzig's post-Misfits band Samhain. They recorded the 7" I Stumble As The Crow Flies on Dischord Records with Washington D.C. hardcore pioneer Ian MacKaye and also released a full-length LP, Listen To The Powersoul, on the Baltimore label Merkin Records in fall 1988.
The Freeze are an American punk rock band from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States, formed by a group of teenagers in 1978. They released the first single, "I Hate Tourists" in 1980 and contributed 8 songs, including the title track to the 1982 hardcore punk compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A.
Seattle is the largest city in the U.S. state of Washington and has long played a major role in the state's musical culture, popularizing genres of alternative rock such as grunge and being the origin of major bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters. The city remains home to several influential bands, labels, and venues.
10 Minute Warning was a hardcore punk band from Seattle, Washington. They became famous locally as one of the first bands to adapt the popular punk sound to something slower and heavier, paving the way for grunge bands like Green River and Mother Love Bone before breaking up in 1984.
Sab Grey is the founder of Iron Cross, one of the United States' first skinhead hardcore/Oi! bands. As a teenager, he began to attend hardcore punk concerts in Washington DC, where he met Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, and others in the burgeoning Washington, DC hardcore subculture.
"Ride the Wild" / "It's a Hectic World" is the 1979 debut single by the American punk rock band the Descendents. It was the band's first release and displayed a new wave and surf sound. It was recorded at a time when the band lacked a lead singer, so vocals on the recording were provided by guitarist Frank Navetta and bassist Tony Lombardo. With the addition of singer Milo Aukerman in 1980, the band moved towards a hardcore punk sound. "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World" were re-released in later years on compilation albums.
Written by Steven Blush, American Hardcore: A Tribal History is a journalistic book that relates the history of the hardcore punk movement that took place in Northern America between 1980 and 1986. It was first published by Feral House in October 2001.
A7 was a club in New York City. From 1981 to 1984, it was the unofficial headquarters of the New York hardcore scene. The tiny space was located on the southeast corner of East 7th Street and Avenue A in Manhattan's East Village. The Violators were one of the first punk bands to play there, performing once a month for over a year. Other bands that played on the Violators' night included Minor Threat, Social Distortion, The Undead and False Prophets. Many of the NYC Oi! and hardcore bands would play on the bill, including hardcore icons Bad Brains, and gradually the A7 club turned into a hardcore scene. The club was staffed by members of the NYHC scene, including Doug Holland of Kraut, Raybeez of Agnostic Front and Warzone, and Jimmy Gestapo of Murphy's Law. The club operated without a liquor license and was often raided by police. A warning spray-painted on the outside of the building read: "Out of town bands remember where you are".
Crossover thrash is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, may overlap with crossover thrash.
X-15 is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1979 by lead singer Kelly Mitchell, guitarist Eric Alton, bass player Tim Lollar, keyboardist Erik Rohrer, and drummer Todd Fuhs. They are best known as one of the most successful alternative bands operating out of Seattle during the years 1980 through 1987, leading up to the Seattle grunge explosion, and for their cult-classic song "Vaporized".
Canadian hardcore punk originated in the early 1980s. It was harder, faster, and heavier than the Canadian punk rock that preceded it. Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81. Hardcore historian Steven Blush said that the term "hardcore" is also a reference to the sense of being "fed up" with the existing punk and new wave music. Blush also states that the term refers to "an extreme: the absolute most Punk." One definition of the genre is "a form of exceptionally harsh punk rock."
The Stimulators were an American punk rock band from New York City, United States. Although they have a limited discography, they are notable for being consistently cited as an important transitional band between the late-1970s New York City punk rock scene and New York hardcore, and for being the musical entry point for future Cro-Mags founder Harley Flanagan.
