Hardcore punk: Difference between revisions

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	Minor Threat, particularly in their emphasis on speed, were heavily influenced by Washington D.C.'s ]. In ] to ], Minor Threat combined a blunt and tightly organized sound with the more loose experimentalism of the "first generation" punks of the 1970s. ], meanwhile, released in 1981 their album '']'', which pretty much defined the musical aggression of hardcore. ], which started out primarily as a militant straight-edge band, soon struck a chord with a darker, more aggressive libertarian side of the nation's youth undercurrent and quickly pioneered the trend of expanding the boundaries of ] toward an all-encompassing form of ] music. The cult-like influence of these bands persists to this day.		Minor Threat, particularly in their emphasis on speed, were heavily influenced by Washington D.C.'s ]. In ] to ], Minor Threat combined a blunt and tightly organized sound with the more loose experimentalism of the "first generation" punks of the 1970s. ], meanwhile, released in 1981 their album '']'', which pretty much defined the musical aggression of hardcore. ], which started out primarily as a militant straight-edge band, soon struck a chord with a darker, more aggressive libertarian side of the nation's youth undercurrent and quickly pioneered the trend of expanding the boundaries of ] toward an all-encompassing form of ] music. The cult-like influence of these bands persists to this day.

	==~~British~~ Hardcore==		==The influence of American Hardcore==
			Though Hardcore itself did not last long and achieved little commercial success, it did have a huge influence on other forms of ], especially in America. ] band ] were among the first bands to fuse Hardcore with metal, incorporating the technical ability and heavy guitar sound of metal with the speed and agression of hardcore. The new style became known as ] or alternately ], though this term came later, and other bands such as ] and ] played music along similar lines.

			In ], ] ] released their landmark album, '']''. Though it bore similarities to Thrash metal, such as a heavy guitar sound and fast drumming and guitar riffs, the album was distinguished from Thrash metal because of it's lack of guitar solos and heavy use of crunchy chord breakdowns known as "] parts". Other bands, most notably early ] and ], played music similar to that of Stormtroopers of Death, eventually resulting in it being dubbed Crossover.
	From England, ] emerged as one of the most copied bands, and were among the first to pare down their songs into ultra-fast three-chord blasts, without melodies and without excess ornamentation.
	Many consider that as a musical form and pervasive youth culture, British ], an English post-punk phenomenon, closely resembled the American hardcore scene of the early 1980s.

			] was also heavily influenced by Hardcore. In this case, the sense of liberation that many of the grunge bands felt, that you did'nt have to be the world's greatest muscician to form a band, was at least as important as the music. Even though the early grunge sound was more influenced by ] and Black Flag's '']'' album than hardcore punkrock, bands like ] and ] would go on to take the sound into punk territory. In fact, ] once described Nirvana's sound as "] and ] being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath". This ultimately resulted in renewed interest in American Hardcore in the '90s.
	==Diversification of influences==

			In the mid '90s, bands like ] and ] achieved varying lebvels of mainstream success, though both NOFX and Bad Religion had been around since the '80s. They added catchy melodies and anthemic choruses to the Hardcore template whilst removing much of the aggression and anger that had been the genre's trademark. Though NOFX and Bad Religion are generally excepted as authentic by fans of Hardcore punk, other bands that towed a ], such as ] and ], are widely regarded as ]. Bands that retained the aggression of of '80s Hardcore into the '90s include ] and ].
	Later in the 1980s hardcore music found a kindred spirit with ] and vice versa with bands such as ], ], and ]. ] claimed both the ] and ] as early influences on their own brand of metal. Discharge themselves took a 180 degree turn from hardcore to play slower metal songs, and switched from spiked hair to long hair in the process. Hardcore has since been a genre in which the stylistic line between "punk" and "metal" has often blurred.

			Outside of the United States, the influence of Hardcore has not been so prevalent. In the ], bands like ] and ] played music that, at times, showed a social consciousness like that of the Hardcore bands, though they were actually more influenced by Sham 69, but were not as aggressive musically. To differentiate between bands like The Exploited and American Hardcore, then ] journalist ] coined the term ], in recognision of the bands "football hooligan" style chantalong choruses and threatening image.
	There have been numerous trends and movements within hardcore, mostly self-classified according to a particular philosophy or political outlook. One of these is the pacifist anarchy movement, which began in the U.K. It was popularized by bands such as ] and the ], although many followers of the genre credit ], which sprouted many less popular ] bands like ].

			], even though they are often thought of as British Hardcore, were more influenced by the ] of ] and the ] ] band ]. In much the same way, ] bands like ] and ] bare little in common with Hardcore other than an uncompromising political philosophy and limited commercial success.
	The most notable American movement is the ] contingency, which got its name from a Minor Threat song that espoused complete avoidance of drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity. Other hardcore scenes include Hindu bands, and even Eastern Orthodox Christian bands.

			The Hardcore punk scene had an influence that spread far beyond music. The ] philosophy was rooted in Hardcore and still exists today, though by no means were all Hardcore punks straight edgers. Hardcore also put a greater emphasis on the ] of punk rock, with many bands making their own flyers and booking their owns tours.
	Hardcore splintered off into many subgenres, including ], ], 3-chord ], and a form of ] revivalism. One of these subgenres, "]", which originally stood for "emotional hardcore"
	came to be a full musical genre in it own right, and many of the ] bands of the 1990s had their roots in the hardcore scene of the previous decade.

	==Hardcore Bands==		==Hardcore Bands==

Revision as of 20:14, 28 March 2004

Hardcore punk is an intensified version of the punk rock genre, characterized by bands who play short, loud, and angry songs with exceptionally fast chord changes on highly overdriven guitars. The lyrics are often political in nature, and typically violent in expression.

History

Hardcore originated in the United States, primarily in and around major cities like Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York City, and Boston, as a vehicle for expressing urban and suburban teen angst. Commentator Steven Blush claimed (in American Hardcore: A Tribal History) that hardcore was punk rock adapted for suburban teens. Most hardcore bands had lyrical themes that ranged from righteous indignation at societal hypocrisy--both within and without the punk scene itself--to the promotion of some form of anarchism.

American hardcore

Like the British punk wave of 1976 to 1978, American hardcore was an initially tight-knit movement that evolved into an enduring genre. The sound arose in suburban beach communities of Southern California, taking influences from The Ramones, Wire and Sham 69. Bands like The Germs, Middle Class and Fear were among the pioneers of the musical genre. Outside of California, D.O.A. (Vancouver) and Bad Brains (Washington, DC) were especially important. A radio show called Rodney on the ROQ played on Los Angeles' KROQ, an influential radio station, helped popularize the sound in California, and a wave of zines led by Flipside brought it around the country. The hardcore scene became associated with violence almost as soon as it was born, especially after the release of the film The Decline of Western Civilization. Skateboarding, slamdancing and stagediving also associated with the scene.

During the first stage, which lasted from about 1980 to 1984, the three definitive hardcore bands were Washington D.C.'s Minor Threat , Los Angeles' Black Flag,and Boston's S.S.Decontrol.

Minor Threat, particularly in their emphasis on speed, were heavily influenced by Washington D.C.'s Bad Brains. In 1980 to 1981, Minor Threat combined a blunt and tightly organized sound with the more loose experimentalism of the "first generation" punks of the 1970s. Black Flag, meanwhile, released in 1981 their album Damaged, which pretty much defined the musical aggression of hardcore. S.S.Decontrol, which started out primarily as a militant straight-edge band, soon struck a chord with a darker, more aggressive libertarian side of the nation's youth undercurrent and quickly pioneered the trend of expanding the boundaries of hardcore toward an all-encompassing form of hard rock music. The cult-like influence of these bands persists to this day.

The influence of American Hardcore

Though Hardcore itself did not last long and achieved little commercial success, it did have a huge influence on other forms of rock music, especially in America. Heavy metal band Metallica were among the first bands to fuse Hardcore with metal, incorporating the technical ability and heavy guitar sound of metal with the speed and agression of hardcore. The new style became known as Thrash metal or alternately Speed metal, though this term came later, and other bands such as Megadeth and Slayer played music along similar lines.

In 1985, New York's Stormtroopers of Death released their landmark album, Speak English or Die. Though it bore similarities to Thrash metal, such as a heavy guitar sound and fast drumming and guitar riffs, the album was distinguished from Thrash metal because of it's lack of guitar solos and heavy use of crunchy chord breakdowns known as "mosh parts". Other bands, most notably early Suicidal Tendencies and DRI, played music similar to that of Stormtroopers of Death, eventually resulting in it being dubbed Crossover.

Grunge was also heavily influenced by Hardcore. In this case, the sense of liberation that many of the grunge bands felt, that you did'nt have to be the world's greatest muscician to form a band, was at least as important as the music. Even though the early grunge sound was more influenced by Black Sabbath and Black Flag's My War album than hardcore punkrock, bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana would go on to take the sound into punk territory. In fact, Kurt Cobain once described Nirvana's sound as "The Knack and The Bay City Rollers being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath". This ultimately resulted in renewed interest in American Hardcore in the '90s.

In the mid '90s, bands like NOFX and Bad Religion achieved varying lebvels of mainstream success, though both NOFX and Bad Religion had been around since the '80s. They added catchy melodies and anthemic choruses to the Hardcore template whilst removing much of the aggression and anger that had been the genre's trademark. Though NOFX and Bad Religion are generally excepted as authentic by fans of Hardcore punk, other bands that towed a poppier line, such as Green Day and Blink 182, are widely regarded as sellout. Bands that retained the aggression of of '80s Hardcore into the '90s include The Distillers and The Dwarves.

Outside of the United States, the influence of Hardcore has not been so prevalent. In the United Kingdom, bands like The Exploited and The Anti-Nowhere League played music that, at times, showed a social consciousness like that of the Hardcore bands, though they were actually more influenced by Sham 69, but were not as aggressive musically. To differentiate between bands like The Exploited and American Hardcore, then Sounds journalist Gary Bushell coined the term Oi, in recognision of the bands "football hooligan" style chantalong choruses and threatening image.

Discharge, even though they are often thought of as British Hardcore, were more influenced by the Garage rock of The Stooges and the English Post punk band Killing Joke. In much the same way, Anarcho-punk bands like Crass and Conflict bare little in common with Hardcore other than an uncompromising political philosophy and limited commercial success.

The Hardcore punk scene had an influence that spread far beyond music. The Straight-edge philosophy was rooted in Hardcore and still exists today, though by no means were all Hardcore punks straight edgers. Hardcore also put a greater emphasis on the DIY punk ethic of punk rock, with many bands making their own flyers and booking their owns tours.

Hardcore Bands

General

Straight Edge

Pacifist/anarchist

Hindu/Hare Krishna

Hardcore-Metal

Irrealist

Suine Anget

Acapella

Jud Jud

Emotional Hardcore (Emo)

Reference

American Hardcore (Feral House, 2002)
American Hardcore: A Tribal History (Steven Blush, Feral House publishing, 2001, ISBN 0-922915-717-7)