Artist: Agnostic Front Genre(s):
Other
ROck: Alternative
Rock: Punk-Rock
Alternative
Rock: Hard-Rock
Punk
Discography:
Warriors Year: 2007
Tracks: 14
Another Voice Year: 2004
Tracks: 14
Working Class Heroes Year: 2002
Tracks: 29
Working Class Heroes Year: 2002
Tracks: 29
Dead Yuppies Year: 2001
Tracks: 14
Riot, Riot, Upstart Year: 1999
Tracks: 17
Dropkick Murphys Agnostic Front Year: 1999
Tracks: 4
Something's Gotta Give Year: 1998
Tracks: 18
Raw Unleashed Year: 1995
Tracks: 63
Last Warning Year: 1993
Tracks: 21
To Be Continued Year: 1992
Tracks: 19
One Voice Year: 1992
Tracks: 12
Live At CBGBs Year: 1989
Tracks: 19
Live at CBGB Year: 1989
Tracks: 19
Victim In Pain Year: 1986
Tracks: 11
Cause For Alarm Year: 1985
Tracks: 10
United Blood Year: 1983
Tracks: 10
Liberty and Justice For Year:
Tracks: 11
At the dawn of the '80s, New York City was mired in debt and crime, wrestling with 1 of the virtually trying periods in its history, even ironically (or peradventure fittingly), its tube music view was seething with activity like never in front. Still reeling from the violent origin and subsequent implosion of punk rock, hundreds of underprivileged kids living in Manhattan and its outlying boroughs began forming john Rock groups to rail against the everyday trials, dangers, and prejudices of urban being. As had been natural event in other urban centers (most notably L.A. and Washington, D.C.) equally unnatural by the list, recession-laced early long time of Reaganomics, New York became a thaw pot/hub for a prospering hardcore scene -- a cultural phenomenon that used punk careen as a weapons platform for politically charged, inherently regional musical catharsis.
And though it would finally sliver into infinite subgenres, at least ab initio NYHC (Novel York Hard Core) far superseded the original touchwood movement's ragged collective (known as much for nontextual matter bikers like Talking Heads and Television as it was for "true" punks like the Ramones and Dictators) in footing of a cohesive creative vision. Among the bands at the forefront of this joined, seemingly unstoppable united States Army were Agnostic Front, whose frantic, minimalist violation and sociopolitical rants came to epitomize the heart of hard-core, New York f*ckin' City style.
Guitarist Vinnie Stigma was a first-generation punk rocker rocking chair and an early-'80s skinhead wHO finally got around to forming his own band, Zoo Crew, in mid-1982, with singer John Watson. But Watson just lasted a few months in front being replaced by Cuban-born Union City, NJ, native Roger Miret, a product of refugee parents with firsthand see in social injustice and opinionated views just about political science coursing through his veins. When combined with Stigma's fundamental rhythm guitar furiousness, Miret's personal magnetism as a decadent urban messiah would come to personify AF's sound. Bassist Adam Moochie and drummer Ray Beez joined presently after and, after adopting the unexampled diagnose Agnostic Front (at Stigma's insistence because he opinion it sounded like a motion), they recorded their showtime independent tone ending, the
United Blood EP, the following class. This was followed by 1984's career-defining
Victim in Pain album, which contained a 15-minute blast of pure New York hard-core and saw the reaching of new members Rob Kabula (freshwater bass) and Jimmy Colletti (drums). It also confirmed Agnostic Front's brief condition as leaders (on with precursors the Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law) of the already cresting trend, which set up its weekly show window via the now fabled Sunday matinees at favorite Lower East side haunts A7 and CBGB's.
Just Agnostic Front were always on the verge of collapse due to Miret and Stigma's erratic family relationship and, like almost of their hardcore brethren, were already tampering with their sound. Inevitably, as their musicianship continued to improve, the bandmembers (at present including drummer Louie Beatto and extra guitarist Alex Kinon) began losing some of their cutting hardcore spontaneousness, and with heavy metallic element growing in popularity day by day, it was no surprise when they started experimenting with the tightly controlled velocity of thrash alloy (i.e., buzzsaw riffing and dual kick drums). Coincidentally picked up by the velocity metal-friendly Combat Records, they struggled through the sessions for what would turn 1986's
Causa for Alarm album, today acknowledged as a crossover landmark alongside efforts by D.R.I. and Corrosion of Conformity. It was too considered a betrayal and a parody by many of the band's early supporters, world Health Organization couldn't have cared less that
Cause for Alarm was teaching thousands of metallic element heads to value hard-core.
Some saw 1987's subsequent
Liberty & Justice For..., which featured an completely revised cast of musical accompaniment musicians in guitar player Steve Martin (no relation), bassist Alan Peters, and drummer Will Shepler and did away with the metal-style drumming to follow a looser, less disciplined commission, as an act as of compromise. Not that it mattered: the original hard-core view had pretty a great deal disintegrated by this time anyways, with growing dissonance among the movement's many factions (straightedge, skinheads, etc.) transforming most concerts into armed combat, and preeminent to many clubs existence close down. Released in 1989,
Unrecorded at CBGB's (with new bassist Craig Setari) self-collected Agnostic Front's best-loved corporeal as heard in the band's lifelike component and, in a means, symbolized the NYHC's official wake. As if to punctuate that fact, Roger Miret was arrested shortly thereafter on serious drug charges and sentenced to closely two days in prison house.
In the meanwhile, Vinnie Stigma and Agnostic Front carried on as topper they could, undertaking their first European spell with modern guitar player Matt Henderson and substitute singer Alan Peters, piece Miret found solace writing lyrics about his predicament. These would incorporate the bulk of 1992's comeback album, the overtly metallic
One Voice, which was pretty much dead on comer, since a great deal of Agnostic Front's following had moved on to other things during the band's extended absence. A greatest-hits rig entitled
To Be Continued was too issued at this time, prompting Agnostic Front to call it a day next a farewell concert at (where else?) CBGB's. The final picture was recorded for 1993's
Concluding Warning, after which Stigma and Henderson formed Madball with Miret's jr. brother Freddy Cricien.
Come 1997, even so, Stigma and Miret began discussing a possible return for Agnostic Front. And when top thug pronounce Epitaph Records showed involvement, the band's long-rumored resurrection became fact, with other members Rob Kabula and Jimmy Colletti complemental the batting order that recorded both 1998's
Something's Gotta Give and 1999's
Debauch, Riot, Upstart in flying successiveness. The latter boasted an particularly strong go under of retro-hardcore, and featured guest appearances from M.O.D.'s Billy Milano and Rancid's Lars Frederiksen, among others. With the hardcore scene that they'd helped build effectively dead in the stain, few listeners international the band's New York stomping grounds seemed to care just about their repay, just Agnostic Front persist in to perform and record periodic albums like 2001's
Beat Yuppies (with new bassist Mike Gallo), 2003's
On the job Class Heroes, 2005's
Some other Voice and 2006's CD/DVD
Unrecorded at CBGB's.
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