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Hardcore spawned several fusion genres and subgenres, some of which experienced mainstream success, such as melodic hardcore, metalcore, post-hardcore , thrash metal and emo.
In the United States, the music genre that became known as hardcore punk originated in different areas in the early 1980s, with notable centers of activity in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Michigan, and Boston.
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. Until about 1983, the term hardcore was used sparingly, and mainly as a descriptive term. (i.e., a band would be called a "hardcore band" and a concert would be a "hardcore show"). American teenagers who were fans of hardcore punk simply considered themselves fans of punk – although they were not necessarily interested in the original punk rock sound of the mid-late 1970s (e.g., Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, or The Damned). In many circles, hardcore was an in-group term, meaning music by people like us. Since most bands had little access to any means of production, hardcore lauded a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. In most cities the hardcore scene relied on inexpensively-made DIY recordings created on four-track recorders and sold at concerts or by mail. Concerts were promoted by photocopied zines, community radio shows, and affixing posters to walls and telephone poles. Hardcore punk fans adopted a dressed-down style of T-shirts, jeans, and crewcut-style haircuts. While 1977-era punk had used DIY clothing as well, such as torn pants held together with safety pins, the dressed-down style of the 1980s hardcore scene contrasted with the more elaborate and provocative fashion styles of late 1970s punk rockers, which included make-up, elaborate hairdos and avant-garde clothing experiments.
During the same period, there was a parallel development in the United Kingdom of a British form of hardcore punk or street punk. British hardcore bands such as Discharge and Chaos UK took the existing late 1970s punk sound and added the incessant, heavy drumbeats and distorted guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Motörhead and Iron Maiden. This contributed to the development of the thrash metal sound of the 1980s but also the crust punk/d-beat sound.
History
Pioneers
Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life and Steven Blush's book and documentary film American Hardcore describe three bands — Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat — as the most important and influential in the genre. A major influence on hardcore punk was The Damned's album Damned Damned Damned because of its fast tempos and strange timing and riffs. Azerrad calls Black Flag the genre’s "godfathers"; credits Bad Brains, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1977, with introducing "light speed tempos" to hardcore; and describes Minor Threat as the "definitive" hardcore punk band.
Black Flag, formed by guitarist and songwriter Greg Ginn in Los Angeles in 1976, had a major impact on the Los Angeles scene – and later the wider North American scene – with their raw, confrontational sound and DIY approach. Tours in 1980 and 1981 brought Black Flag in contact with developing hardcore scenes in many parts of North America, and blazed trails followed by other touring bands. Bad Brains, formed in Washington, DC in 1977, incorporated elements of heavy metal and reggae, and their early work often emphasized some of the fastest tempos in rock music. Minor Threat, formed in Washington D.C. in 1980, played an aggressive, fast style directly influenced by Bad Brains. The band inspired the straight edge movement with their song, "Straight Edge".
Other bands in scenes across the country were developing and experimenting with the "hardcore" sound before these pioneers. An example is The Germs crossover appeal between old school punk rock and hardcore punk.
Other early notable bands
According to Brendan Mullen, founder of the Los Angeles punk club The Masque, the first U.S. tour of The Damned in 1977 found them favoring very fast tempos, causing a "sensation" among fans and musicians, and helping inspire the first wave of U.S. west coast hardcore punk.
San Francisco's Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 and released their first single "California Über Alles" in 1979. By the time they released the In God We Trust, Inc. EP in 1981, Dead Kennedys were playing very fast tempos. The Misfits (of New Jersey) were a 1977-style punk band involved in New York’s Max's Kansas City scene. Their horror film aesthetic was popular among early hardcore fans. In 1981, the Misfits integrated high-speed thrash songs into their set. Hüsker Dü was formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979 as a post-punk/New Wave band, but soon became a loud and fast hard punk band. Hüsker Dü released the 1982 live album Land Speed Record, which has been called a "breakneck force like no other... Not for the faint of heart."By 1985, the band morphed into one of the seminal alternative rock bands. In 1982, Bad Religion released How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, which is considered a benchmark hardcore album, and which secured them as one of the most enduring outfits of the early 1980s hardcore scene.
By 1981, many more hardcore punk bands began to perform and release recordings, including 7 Seconds of Reno, Nevada who formed in 1979; M.I.A of Las Vegas, Nevada; Negative Approach and Degenerates of Detroit; The Meatmen of Lansing, Michigan; The Necros of Maumee, Ohio; The Effigies of Chicago; SS Decontrol, DYS, Negative FX, Jerry's Kids, and Gang Green of Boston; The Mob and Agnostic Front of New York City. The Beastie Boys, more widely known for their later hip hop music, were one of the first recorded hardcore bands in New York City. Negative FX, perhaps the most popular hardcore band in Boston around early 1982, did not appear on record while they were together. They were largely unknown outside their own area until a posthumous album was released in 1984. In Honolulu, the skater surfer fueled community juxtaposed well in the tropical tourist city. Bands like Super Rad Ohana, The Sharx, and Devil Dog thrived from '81 -'87. Devil Dog frontman Raoul Vehill recreated the dayglo thrash scene in his autobiographical novel, Hawaii Punk, published by Enlightened Pyramid.
Notable early hardcore punk records include The Angry Samoans’ first LP, the Big Boys/The Dicks Live at Raul's Club split LP, the Boston-area compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A., Minor Threat's 7" EPs, JFA's Blatant Localism EP, the New York–area compilations New York Thrash and The Big Apple Rotten To The Core, Agnostic Front's United Blood 7", Negative Approach's eponymous EP and the DC-area compilation record Flex Your Head.
Early media support and criticism
An influential radio show in the Los Angeles area was Rodney on the ROQ, which started airing on the commercial station KROQ in 1976. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer played many styles of music and helped popularize what was called Beach Punk, a rowdy suburban style played by mostly teenage bands in the Huntington Beach area and in conservative Orange County. Early radio support in New Jersey came from Pat Duncan, who hosted live punk and hardcore bands weekly on WFMU since 1979. In New York City, Tim Sommer hosted Noise The Show on WNYU. In 1982 and 1983, MTV put the hardcore punk band Kraut on mild rotation. College radio was the main media outlet for hardcore punk in most of North America. The Berkeley, California public radio station KPFA featured the Maximum RocknRoll radio show with DJs Tim Yohannan and Jeff Bale, who played the younger Northern California bands. Several zines, such as Flipside and Maximum RocknRoll, also helped spread the new punk style. A few college stations faced FCC action due to the broadcasting of indecent lyrics associated with hardcore songs.
Concerts in the early hardcore scene increasingly became sites of violent battles between police and concertgoers, especially in Los Angeles. Reputed violence at hardcore concerts was featured in episodes of the popular television shows CHiPs and Quincy, M.E., in which Los Angeles hardcore punks were depicted as being involved in murder and mayhem.
The hardcore punk scene in Los Angeles was the subject of a 1981 documentary featuring interviews of musicians and fans by Penelope Spheeris entitled "The Decline of Western Civilization".
Early history in Europe
The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Germany have had notably active hardcore scenes. In the United Kingdom, street punk (also known as UK hardcore or UK82) bands occupied the cultural space that American-style hardcore did elsewhere. These UK bands at times showed a musical similarity to American hardcore, often including quick tempos and chord changes, and they generally had similar political and social sensibilities. However, they represented a case of parallel evolution, having been musically inspired by oi! bands and the speed metal band Motörhead. UK band Discharge played a huge role in influencing early Swedish hardcore bands, and many hardcore bands from that region still have a strong Discharge and Motörhead influence. British anarcho-punk bands shared an uncompromising political philosophy and an abrasive aesthetic with American hardcore.
American hardcore bands that visited the UK (such as Black Flag and U.S. Chaos in 1981–1982) encountered ambivalent attitudes, but European hardcore bands suffered no such prejudice in the United States.
In the more underground part of the UK punk scene, a new hardcore sound and scene developed, inspired by continental European, Scandinavian, Japanese and American bands. Their sound – only heard at concerts and on demo tapes and compilations in the mid 1980s – evolved into metal bands such as Heresy, Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror. There were many 1980s bands that could be described as sounding like something in between the styles of the dominating UK and US bands. The Stupids (a UK band influenced by US hardcore) gained brief but widespread college-radio airplay in the US. Examples of European bands that continued to play the original style of hardcore in the 1990s include Voorhees, Totalitär, Disfear and Sin Dios.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in eastern Europe, many hardcore bands were created or became more publicly known (after hiding in garages and being known only by small circles of underground fans).
Thanks To: Wikipedia.org
undestroyer.blogspot.com
In the United States, the music genre that became known as hardcore punk originated in different areas in the early 1980s, with notable centers of activity in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Michigan, and Boston.
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. Until about 1983, the term hardcore was used sparingly, and mainly as a descriptive term. (i.e., a band would be called a "hardcore band" and a concert would be a "hardcore show"). American teenagers who were fans of hardcore punk simply considered themselves fans of punk – although they were not necessarily interested in the original punk rock sound of the mid-late 1970s (e.g., Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, or The Damned). In many circles, hardcore was an in-group term, meaning music by people like us. Since most bands had little access to any means of production, hardcore lauded a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. In most cities the hardcore scene relied on inexpensively-made DIY recordings created on four-track recorders and sold at concerts or by mail. Concerts were promoted by photocopied zines, community radio shows, and affixing posters to walls and telephone poles. Hardcore punk fans adopted a dressed-down style of T-shirts, jeans, and crewcut-style haircuts. While 1977-era punk had used DIY clothing as well, such as torn pants held together with safety pins, the dressed-down style of the 1980s hardcore scene contrasted with the more elaborate and provocative fashion styles of late 1970s punk rockers, which included make-up, elaborate hairdos and avant-garde clothing experiments.
During the same period, there was a parallel development in the United Kingdom of a British form of hardcore punk or street punk. British hardcore bands such as Discharge and Chaos UK took the existing late 1970s punk sound and added the incessant, heavy drumbeats and distorted guitar sound of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands such as Motörhead and Iron Maiden. This contributed to the development of the thrash metal sound of the 1980s but also the crust punk/d-beat sound.
History
Pioneers
Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life and Steven Blush's book and documentary film American Hardcore describe three bands — Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat — as the most important and influential in the genre. A major influence on hardcore punk was The Damned's album Damned Damned Damned because of its fast tempos and strange timing and riffs. Azerrad calls Black Flag the genre’s "godfathers"; credits Bad Brains, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1977, with introducing "light speed tempos" to hardcore; and describes Minor Threat as the "definitive" hardcore punk band.
Black Flag, formed by guitarist and songwriter Greg Ginn in Los Angeles in 1976, had a major impact on the Los Angeles scene – and later the wider North American scene – with their raw, confrontational sound and DIY approach. Tours in 1980 and 1981 brought Black Flag in contact with developing hardcore scenes in many parts of North America, and blazed trails followed by other touring bands. Bad Brains, formed in Washington, DC in 1977, incorporated elements of heavy metal and reggae, and their early work often emphasized some of the fastest tempos in rock music. Minor Threat, formed in Washington D.C. in 1980, played an aggressive, fast style directly influenced by Bad Brains. The band inspired the straight edge movement with their song, "Straight Edge".
Other bands in scenes across the country were developing and experimenting with the "hardcore" sound before these pioneers. An example is The Germs crossover appeal between old school punk rock and hardcore punk.
Other early notable bands
According to Brendan Mullen, founder of the Los Angeles punk club The Masque, the first U.S. tour of The Damned in 1977 found them favoring very fast tempos, causing a "sensation" among fans and musicians, and helping inspire the first wave of U.S. west coast hardcore punk.
San Francisco's Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 and released their first single "California Über Alles" in 1979. By the time they released the In God We Trust, Inc. EP in 1981, Dead Kennedys were playing very fast tempos. The Misfits (of New Jersey) were a 1977-style punk band involved in New York’s Max's Kansas City scene. Their horror film aesthetic was popular among early hardcore fans. In 1981, the Misfits integrated high-speed thrash songs into their set. Hüsker Dü was formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979 as a post-punk/New Wave band, but soon became a loud and fast hard punk band. Hüsker Dü released the 1982 live album Land Speed Record, which has been called a "breakneck force like no other... Not for the faint of heart."By 1985, the band morphed into one of the seminal alternative rock bands. In 1982, Bad Religion released How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, which is considered a benchmark hardcore album, and which secured them as one of the most enduring outfits of the early 1980s hardcore scene.
By 1981, many more hardcore punk bands began to perform and release recordings, including 7 Seconds of Reno, Nevada who formed in 1979; M.I.A of Las Vegas, Nevada; Negative Approach and Degenerates of Detroit; The Meatmen of Lansing, Michigan; The Necros of Maumee, Ohio; The Effigies of Chicago; SS Decontrol, DYS, Negative FX, Jerry's Kids, and Gang Green of Boston; The Mob and Agnostic Front of New York City. The Beastie Boys, more widely known for their later hip hop music, were one of the first recorded hardcore bands in New York City. Negative FX, perhaps the most popular hardcore band in Boston around early 1982, did not appear on record while they were together. They were largely unknown outside their own area until a posthumous album was released in 1984. In Honolulu, the skater surfer fueled community juxtaposed well in the tropical tourist city. Bands like Super Rad Ohana, The Sharx, and Devil Dog thrived from '81 -'87. Devil Dog frontman Raoul Vehill recreated the dayglo thrash scene in his autobiographical novel, Hawaii Punk, published by Enlightened Pyramid.
Notable early hardcore punk records include The Angry Samoans’ first LP, the Big Boys/The Dicks Live at Raul's Club split LP, the Boston-area compilation This Is Boston, Not L.A., Minor Threat's 7" EPs, JFA's Blatant Localism EP, the New York–area compilations New York Thrash and The Big Apple Rotten To The Core, Agnostic Front's United Blood 7", Negative Approach's eponymous EP and the DC-area compilation record Flex Your Head.
Early media support and criticism
An influential radio show in the Los Angeles area was Rodney on the ROQ, which started airing on the commercial station KROQ in 1976. DJ Rodney Bingenheimer played many styles of music and helped popularize what was called Beach Punk, a rowdy suburban style played by mostly teenage bands in the Huntington Beach area and in conservative Orange County. Early radio support in New Jersey came from Pat Duncan, who hosted live punk and hardcore bands weekly on WFMU since 1979. In New York City, Tim Sommer hosted Noise The Show on WNYU. In 1982 and 1983, MTV put the hardcore punk band Kraut on mild rotation. College radio was the main media outlet for hardcore punk in most of North America. The Berkeley, California public radio station KPFA featured the Maximum RocknRoll radio show with DJs Tim Yohannan and Jeff Bale, who played the younger Northern California bands. Several zines, such as Flipside and Maximum RocknRoll, also helped spread the new punk style. A few college stations faced FCC action due to the broadcasting of indecent lyrics associated with hardcore songs.
Concerts in the early hardcore scene increasingly became sites of violent battles between police and concertgoers, especially in Los Angeles. Reputed violence at hardcore concerts was featured in episodes of the popular television shows CHiPs and Quincy, M.E., in which Los Angeles hardcore punks were depicted as being involved in murder and mayhem.
The hardcore punk scene in Los Angeles was the subject of a 1981 documentary featuring interviews of musicians and fans by Penelope Spheeris entitled "The Decline of Western Civilization".
Early history in Europe
The Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Germany have had notably active hardcore scenes. In the United Kingdom, street punk (also known as UK hardcore or UK82) bands occupied the cultural space that American-style hardcore did elsewhere. These UK bands at times showed a musical similarity to American hardcore, often including quick tempos and chord changes, and they generally had similar political and social sensibilities. However, they represented a case of parallel evolution, having been musically inspired by oi! bands and the speed metal band Motörhead. UK band Discharge played a huge role in influencing early Swedish hardcore bands, and many hardcore bands from that region still have a strong Discharge and Motörhead influence. British anarcho-punk bands shared an uncompromising political philosophy and an abrasive aesthetic with American hardcore.
American hardcore bands that visited the UK (such as Black Flag and U.S. Chaos in 1981–1982) encountered ambivalent attitudes, but European hardcore bands suffered no such prejudice in the United States.
In the more underground part of the UK punk scene, a new hardcore sound and scene developed, inspired by continental European, Scandinavian, Japanese and American bands. Their sound – only heard at concerts and on demo tapes and compilations in the mid 1980s – evolved into metal bands such as Heresy, Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror. There were many 1980s bands that could be described as sounding like something in between the styles of the dominating UK and US bands. The Stupids (a UK band influenced by US hardcore) gained brief but widespread college-radio airplay in the US. Examples of European bands that continued to play the original style of hardcore in the 1990s include Voorhees, Totalitär, Disfear and Sin Dios.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in eastern Europe, many hardcore bands were created or became more publicly known (after hiding in garages and being known only by small circles of underground fans).
Thanks To: Wikipedia.org
undestroyer.blogspot.com
