New York hardcore

"N.Y.H.C." redirects here. For the documentary about the scene, see N.Y.H.C. (film).

New York hardcore (NYHC) is hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City, and the subculture 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. It was primarily a phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s.

1980s

Agnostic Front playing in Rome in 2007

New York City played a central role in the development of hardcore. An important scene emerged in 1981 with the emigration of the Bad Brains from Washington, DC.[1][2] Roger Miret of Agnostic Front asserts that "We started using the term 'hardcore' because we wanted to separate ourselves from the druggy or artsy punk scene that was happening in New York at the time ... We were rougher kids living in the streets. It had a rougher edge".[3] The early scene was documented on the 1982 New York Thrash compilation.

Sam McPheeters argues that

“ What early New York Hardcore bands lacked in distinctive output, however, they more than compensated for in sheer menace. As the scene coalesced in Reagan's first term, the New York Hardcore scene—known in the shorthand of graffiti and knuckle tattoos as NYHC—injected class into the subculture in a way that no other city could. It was a world marinating in poverty and violence.[4] ”

McPheeters argues that the scene was inspired and influenced by dystopian films such as Death Wish, Taxi Driver, The Warriors, and Escape From New York.[4] Many of the mid-1980s NYHC groups were aligned with right-wing ideology.[4] Beginning with Cro-Mags, some groups also followed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[4] More leftist groups associated with the scene include Born Against and Nausea.

The scene was focused around venues such as the famous CBGBs, ABC No Rio, A7 and Brooklyn's L'amour. The New York scene was home to most of the early influential bands, such as Agnostic Front, Beastie Boys, Cro-Mags, Heart Attack, Kraut, Adrenalin O.D., Urban Waste, Sheer Terror, Murphy's Law, Reagan Youth, The Mob, Warzone. Later New York hardcore groups included Sick of It All, Breakdown, Subzero, Gorilla Biscuits, Token Entry,Judge, Bold, and Leeway.

1990s

1990s NYHC groups included Burn, Merauder, Awkward Thought, Side by Side, Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, Sworn Enemy, H2O, Madball, No Redeeming Social Value, and Full Blown Chaos.

2000s-present

New York City hardcore bands to break out nationally since 2000 have mostly been from Long Island and include Backtrack, This Is Hell, Stray from the Path and Scourge.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Andersen, Mark and Jenkins, Mark (2001). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. (New York: Soft Skull Press). ISBN 1-887128-49-2.
  2. ↑ Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. (Los Angeles: Feral House). ISBN 0-922915-71-7.
  3. ↑ Jason Buhrmester, "Agnostic Front's Victim in Pain at 25", Village Voice, December 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sam McPheeters, "Survival of the Streets", Vice Magazine, 2010.

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