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 Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. 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".
Black Flag is an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Initially called Panic, the band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands, as well as one of the pioneers of post-hardcore. After breaking up in 1986, Black Flag reunited in 2003 and again in 2013. The second reunion lasted well over a year, during which they released their first studio album in nearly three decades, What The... (2013). The band announced their third reunion in January 2019.
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
Bad Brains are an American band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip hop, and soul. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the mother of all black hard-rock bands", and they have been cited as a seminal influence to numerous other subgenres in addition to hardcore punk, including various subgenres of heavy metal, such as thrash/speed metal, alternative metal, and funk metal. Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement.
MDC is an American punk rock band formed in 1979 in Austin, Texas, subsequently based in San Francisco, and currently Portland, Oregon. Among the first wave of bands to define the sound and style of American hardcore punk, MDC originally formed as The Stains; they have periodically changed the meaning of "MDC", the most frequent being Millions of Dead Cops. The band's lyrical content expresses radical left political views and has proven influential within the punk subculture.
Roger Matthew Freeman, also known as Matt McCall is an American musician. He is best known for his bass work with the punk rock bands Operation Ivy, Rancid and as the frontman of Devil's Brigade.
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture and punk rock. It is primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, against selling out, hierarchy, white supremacy, authoritarianism, eugenics, class and classism, while supporting anti-consumerism, anti-corporatism, anti-war, anti-imperialism, leftism, anti-globalization, anti-gentrification, anti-racism, anti-sexism, gender equality, anti-homophobia, racial equality, animal rights, free-thought and non-conformity. One of its main tenets is a rejection of mainstream, corporate mass culture and its values. It continues to evolve its ideology as the movement spreads throughout North America from its origins in England and New York and embraces a range of anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. Punk does not necessarily lend itself to any particular political ideology as it is primarily anti-establishment although leftist punk is more common due to the prevalence of liberal and conservative ideologies in the status-quo.
Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an ever-fluctuating lineup that at various times included notable musicians Brian Baker, Mike Fellows, Steve Hansgen, J. Robbins, and Peter Moffett. Government Issue originated from the Washington, D.C. hardcore scene but added elements of heavy metal, new wave, and psychedelic rock on later records. Though this has caused the band to be sometimes overlooked in relation to other Washington, D.C. hardcore acts, their stylistic diversity made them influential to later punk rock groups. Government Issue performed occasional reunion shows in the 2000s and 2010s with various lineups, until Stabb's death from stomach cancer in 2016.
Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and screaming. Nevertheless, the genre has been very diverse, with different bands showcasing very different styles. Many pioneering melodic hardcore bands, have proven influential across the spectrum of punk rock, as well as rock music more generally. The term melodic punk is often used to describe both melodic hardcore and skate punk bands.
The International P.E.A.C.E. Benefit Compilation, commonly referred to as the P.E.A.C.E. compilation, retitled in 1997 as P.E.A.C.E./War, by combining the legends on its front and back cover, for its reissue on CD, is a compilation double album first released in 1984 by R Radical Records, the label run by MDC frontman Dave Dictor, in association with San Francisco Bay Area punk fanzine Maximumrocknroll. The "P.E.A.C.E." in the album title is a backronym for "Peace, Energy, Action, Cooperation, Evolution".
Naked Violence a hardcore punk from Portland, Oregon, created by Frankie Violence and Mark Rhemrev in 1991. They brought back the rebellious feel and the aggressiveness lost by the grunge and alternative music movement. Inspired by the lyrics of such bands as The Dwarves and Black Flag. Playing songs that were easily offensive in Portland and received a lot of bad press that never mentioned the music. Jumping on tours with such bands as The Mentors, Nashville Pussy, Gas Huffer, Dayglo Abortions, D.R.I. and G.G. Allin in his last appearance in the northwest. As Jeff "Filthy" Thomas joined to be the first second guitarist, Mark Rhemrev left the band to join The Weaklings. The band parted ways in 2004.
Smoke Signals is an album by the hardcore punk band MDC. The original vinyl release appeared on the band's own Radical Records label in 1986.
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.
Millions of Dead Cops is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band MDC. It was originally self-released in February 1982, being reissued/remixed through their own label R Radical with help from Alternative Tentacles later that year. Today it is considered a hardcore punk classic. The album was re-released by Twisted Chords in June 1988 as Millions of Dead Cops/More Dead Cops with 13 bonus tracks including both tracks from the "John Wayne Was a Nazi" single, the Multi-Death Corporations EP, the Millions of Dead Children EP and four previously-unreleased songs. The original mix of the album was re-released for Record Store Day in 2014 through Beer City Records.
"Give It All" is a song by American rock band Rise Against. It was originally recorded for the 2004 compilation album Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1, while a slightly altered version appeared on the band's third studio album Siren Song of the Counter Culture later that year. It is a hardcore punk song, with lyrics that are about "being a punk rocker in today's world," according to lead vocalist Tim McIlrath. It was released as Siren Song of the Counter Culture's first single in October 2004.
Deadline is a split album released in 2007 on Alternative Tentacles Records and Fat Wreck Chords. The album features 15 songs from the 2 bands, Leftöver Crack and Citizen Fish. Each band covers two songs. Citizen Fish covers "Money" by Choking Victim, and "Clear Channel " by Leftöver Crack. Leftöver Crack covers "Supermarket Song" by Citizen Fish, and "Reasons for Existence" by The Subhumans.
The Proletariat are a punk rock band from Southeastern Massachusetts, whose heyday was during the 1980s, when they were active in the early Boston hardcore scene, sharing the bill with many of the best punk and hardcore punk acts of the time, despite their recorded output having a decidedly non-hardcore aesthetic; the Proletariat show more strongly the musical influences of early British post-punk bands such as Wire and the Gang of Four in their fractured guitar sound and Marxist-themed lyrics.
Crash Love is the eighth studio album by the rock band AFI. Produced by Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee, it was released on September 29, 2009, through Interscope Records.
Dave Hause is an American singer-songwriter. He currently performs both solo and with his band The Mermaid. His music draws from heartland rock, folk rock and punk rock. He has also played in multiple Philadelphia-area punk and hardcore bands, including The Loved Ones and The Falcon.
Dave Klein is an American musician and bass player from Edmond, Oklahoma, United States. He has worked as a studio musician, founded and developed numerous bands, and performed hundreds of concerts internationally since 1993. He currently plays bass for punk and rock bands: A Vulture Wake, Aggravated Nuisance, and They Stay Dead. Former bands include: Screeching Weasel, Black Flag, Wretch Like Me, Good For You, Bi-Products, Jettison, Euclid Crash, American Ruse, et al.
