Punk hardcore

History

Origins

The punk hardcore, originating in various zones in North America, appears gradually between the explosion of punk in 1976 and the appearance of the group Minor Threat in 1980. At the same time the U.K. 82 , a British equivalent, had appeared well that it was not very known. It was subsequently named hardcore British . The areas principal partners with the origins of the punk hardcore are generally Boston, the California, Chicago, Detroit, New York Ville, the Texas, Toronto, Vancouver and the town of Washington.

The origin of the term punk hardcore is dubious, when well even a theory is that the group D.O.A. of Vancouver made the term official with the title of its album of 1981: Hardcore '81 . Until approximately with 1983, the term hardcore was employed little. The American teenagers who appreciated the punk hardcore considered simply that they appreciated the punk one, although they were not necessarily interested by the punk original rock'n'roll of the end of the year 1970.

A very marked character of the punk hardcore (much more than the punk original one) was its approach Faites it yourself, in English Do It Yourself (DIY) of the music. In a general way (California being perhaps exception) the scene hardcore counted entirely on recordings, Fanzine S, interventions out of radio and Concert S DIY . They there reintroduce critical and committed words and propose an ethical more strict, less exuberant, which is translated partly in appearance: whimsical excesses of punk with its abundance of Piercing S, colors, pants with squares, jackets personalized and of eccentric haircuts are rejected with the profit of simple jeans, often white pullovers without reasons and short cut hair, even shaven.

Big Three

The book of Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life , in French " our group could be your vie" , recalls the differentiation of the hardcore with respect to the punk rock'n'roll in three phases which correspond to three groups. It calls Black Flag, formed with Los Angeles in 1976, " godfathers of the hardcore". Azerrad allots to the Bad Brains, formed with Washington, D.C in 1977, the introduction of the tempos at light speed, and it calls Minor Threat, formed with Washington, D.C in 1980, " the final group punk hardcore".

The assumption of Azzerad could appear simplistic, but each one of these three groups had, with its manner, a strong influence. Some described Black Flag like the first group of hardcore of the the United States. The group, born in 1976, had an major impact on the scene of Los Angeles, and later the broadest North-American scene with their rough, conflict sound and the moral position DIY . The original composition of Black Flag included/understood Keith Morris , which founded Circle Jerks thereafter, while the final composition comprised off the former singer of State Alert Henry Rollins. While their musical influence was limited (few current groups resembled Black Flag ), their tireless work by promoting their own concerts and carrying out their discs themselves inspired by other groups by exploring the possibilities of total independence with respect to the music scene of large distribution.

Bad Brains is a group formed by young people Afro-américain S of Washington DC which draw their influences from the punk one, of the heavy metal and the Reggae and were, at the origin, a whole of Jazz-rock'n'roll fusion. The group, was formed in 1977 and very quickly developed a very strong, fast style. Their first album, in the beginning a simple cassette left on International Reachout Records in 1981, includes three tracks of reggae, in contrast sharpened with respect to the remainder of the music of the group. Their simple Pay to Cum in 1980 preceded this album.

The group Minor Threat, also of Washington DC, was made in 1980 starting from the group Teen Idles. The members coming from Teen Idles were Ian MacKaye, which will continue with the group of Post-hardcore Fugazi then the group Embrace, and Jeff Nelson. Minor Threat played a form of punk aggressive and fast, under the influence of the Bad Brains . The group is one of the founders of the movement Straight edge. After the Teen Idles separated, MacKaye and Nelson put the money of the group in the foundation of the label Dischord Records, initially to leave their maximum Minor Disturbance on vinyl, but to soon carry out the exit of maxis by Minor Threat and several other groups of Washington DC. Minor Threat remains with the eyes of many critics the most accomplished misadventure of the hardcore.

The development of the hardcore

Several groups of Los Angeles of years 1970 carried out recordings very similar to what east was going to become the hardcore. One of these recordings is Out off Vogue , maximum of Middle Class in 1978. Another disc influence was (GI) of The Germs in 1979, primarily a disc of hardcore, not only for its fast tempos but also for its rapids changes of cords. The Dead Kennedys of San Francisco, which were formed in 1978, carried out their first simple " California Über Alles" in 1979. At the moment when they left their maximum In God We Trust, Inc. in 1981, they played of the very fast tempos. The first album of the Circle Jerks left in 1980 contains several tracks with the changes of cords and tempos very fast. In the east, The Misfits of the New Jersey was a group of punk of 1977 implied in the scene of the Max' S Kansas City (discotheque) of New York. In 1981, The Misfits integrated songs thrash at high speed in their play. Hüsker Of the was formed with Saint Paul with the Minnesota in 1979 like a group of Post-punk and new wave, but their music soon had accelerated and weighed down. After simple post-punk left at the beginning of 1981, the albums quickly became more hardcore. But after 1985, the group follows the air of time with the alternative Rock.

As from 1981, much of the influential and fertile local scenes hatch, carrying out demonstrations and discs. Many important groups of hardcore of the origins did not carry out discs during their existence, and were only known by concerts, demonstrations, or by tracks on compilations multi-groups. The emergent principal scenes at the time are:

In Boston, from the pillars groups of a scene hardcore important, very active and largely Straight edge is born like DYS, The Freeze, The F.U. 'S, Gang Green, Jerry' S Kids, Negative FX, Slapshot, SSD. Negative FX which was one of the most popular groups of hardcore in Boston at the beginning of 1982, did not carry out discs and was unknown outside their own sector until a posthumous album was not left in 1984.
the Californian scene , with groups like The Adolescents, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys, The Germs, Middle Class.
the scene New York Hardcore characterized by many recordings, including groups like 25 Your Life, Agnostic Face, Biohazard, Madball, Murphy' S Law, Sick off it All, Warzone.

Other North-American cities gave rise to some notorious groups of hardcore, like Poison Idea with Portland or, with Vancouver, D.O.A.. A great number of original groups had a rather short existence, three years for Minor Threat' for example.

Politization and violence within the hardcore

The groups of hardcore belong to the punk scene and with the the United States, they dominate it throughout the years 1980. However, the scenes hardcore are very violent and partly in prey with the problems of gangs (which they acts of Fag Bashing - drives out with the homosexual ones - or of the confrontations between members of the scenes of Boston and New York). The hardcore gradually tends to be established like one of the privileged means of expression of popular youth mainly white, but also partly black and latino. The Anarchism and the militancy of extreme left often attached to the spirit DIY ( C It Yourself ) were not necessarily carried ahead by the various scenes hardcore, the range of the political being very broad and varied positions. Each scene has its specificities which produce evolutions sometimes very different from one scene to another. Whereas violence gangrene the New Yorkean scene, the Bostonian scene chooses a turn towards the incorporation of more than elements metal and into Washington, D.C under the impulse of Dischord Records, the label directed by Ian Mackaye, the hardcore integrates more melody elements and evolves to the melody Hardcore with Dag Nasty, for example, then later with the emotional hardcore , shortened in Emocore.

Years 1980 and 1990

Second half of the years 1980 sees appearing some groups which marked of their print the history of the hardcore, and more particularly of the New Yorkean straight-edge: Youth off Today carried out by Ray Cappo and Gorilla Cookies of Anthony " Civ" Civarelli. But that occurs during one time of total retreat of the scene hardcore within the underground punk . The hardcore suffers in particular from the loss of its homogeneity of kind, whereas two distinct entities emerge gradually: on a side groups remaining faithful to the original sound, described soon by the epithet old school , other the groups increasingly influenced by the metal, of which the sound is at the border between the two kinds, precursors of the Metalcore (for example Madball). In parallel, the punk one produced new groups, like NOFX or Bad Religion, often influenced by the hardcore, which starts to be popular within the scene, replaces the hardcore like motive fluid, carrying youth, dynamism and innovation and prepares the great revival of punk years 1990.

Counter-culture hardcore

C It Yourself

The Do it yourself is often associated with the hardcore, whose ethics is about summarized in these terms:

freedom of creation
critical of the company
aspiration with something of different
respect from the individual
refusal of the speeches of exclusion
refusal of Communism or Fascism

A frame of mind

Although existing for thirty years, the Punk and the hardcore have been always dynamic, in particular thanks to the fanzines, with the militant (E) S, activists and others impassioned (E) S.

The dance hardcore: Mosh or Moshing

The hardcore is known for its dance called Mosh or moshing It is about a jerked dance, associating movement of arm, leg and head, kicks and punches in the vacuum, not driven out and winches. And of great steps by claquant well the feet in the rate/rhythm of the large case. The dance is made at the rate/rhythm music and the various styles do not allow the same styles of mosh. The dance takes place in an empty space in the middle of the crowd of the spectators called pit or pit. The pit can be more or less large, according to the size of the room, the number of dancers and the total importance of the public. The mosh is an individual dance, although certain figures can be realized in a collective way. The mosh is a right, as from the moment or one voluntarily does not strike the public. One should not confuse the mosh with the pogos or Karate Dances Style (KDS), the mosh is a heavy and jerked dance which is for much a convivial dance, especially when it is caricatured.

Sub-genera of the hardcore

Old school

Borrow its musical characteristics most extreme from the punk one, of which it remains a branch: toughening of the words, hardening of the rates/rhythms and the music. Gimmicks: the circle-pits , the slamdancing , the training course-diving .

Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Negative Approach, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, SOA, DOA, Minor Threat, SSD, Government Resulting…

Youth crew

Particularly dynamic scene in New York and Boston. Stagnation of the ideas and the speech while proposing a faster and melody music. Gimmicks: singalongs (choruses of public), finger pointing (pointed finger) and pile-ons (stacking), port of X, sport clothing. These hardcore kids wants to mark their difference with their elder and the punks. One of the notable characteristics of the scene youth crew is the very weak female presence in the groups or public, which, as for the metalcore, is undoubtedly explained in party by the machism and omnipresent virilism in these two styles.

Youth Crew original (1986-90): Youth Off Today, 7 Seconds, Gorilla Cookies, Bold, Insted, Chain off Strength, Up Front, Side By Side, Turning Not.
1st Revival (middle of the years 1990): Good Clean Fun, Ten Fight Yard, Floorpunch, In My Eyes, Rancor, Hands Tied, Count Me Out.
2d Revival (since 2002): Curry One, Champion, Comeback Kid, Allegiance, Another Breath, Pours, Killing the Dream, Go It Alone, Have Heart, Stay Gold, With Honor, Casey Jones.

New York Hardcore (NYHC)

Very active scene since the beginning of the 1980, pas years really a kind with the beginning: anarchistic mentality skinhead, dark and realistic words, more aggressive music already borrowing some elements from the heavy metal, attitude more readily machist (one speaks about Tough-Guys , large hard of the scene), rejection of the straight-edge and the Végétalisme, as well as a patriotism more or less pronounced according to the groups.

Agnostic Face, Madball, Onesta Sick off It All, Street Law, Judge, Breakdown, Subzero, Murphy' S Law, Warzone, Danforth 25 Your Life/Correct Comin, Killing Time, Crown off Thornz, District 9, No Social Redeeming Been worth, Underdog, Straight Ahead, Sheer Terror, Neglect…

Metalcore

At the end of the years 1980, the Thrash metal explodes: Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax influence a whole generation. Certain musicians of hardcore integrate certain structures into their music and create the new school then the metalcore: the sound is heavier, the slower rate/rhythm, the more solos of guitar, the less acute song and much more howled, the double pedal makes its appearance.

Pioneers: groups of Cleveland like Integrity, Ringworm, In Cold Blood, Starkweather. This first wave receives sometimes the label Holy Terror because the texts are readily anticlericals, apocalyptic and dark…
notable Groupes: Crumbsuckers, Rorschach, Born Against, Darkside NYC, Dmize, Confusion, Catharsis, Earth Crisis, Hatebreed, All Out War, Turmoil, Uranus, Vision off Disorder, Strife, Death Threat, Despair, Buried Alive, Another Victim, Fury off 5, Merauder, Irate, Bulldoze, Brother' S Keeper, Snapcase…
recent Groups: Unearth, Chimaira, Killswitch Engages, Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine, Mendeed, Underoath, Between the Buried and Me…

Emo

The principal characteristic of the emocore lies in fast melodies played at the Guitare, so as to constitute a wall of sound. The second essential characteristic is the song which is generally howled. The rate/rhythm can remain simple with rates/rhythms Punk (4/4), rhythmic 6/8 (Ternaire) but, in certain cases, be rather chaotic and thus complexes.

The emocore, generic term, can be declined in sub-genera:

the Screamo, between chaotic parts and calm passages all in graduations sometimes accompanied by samples political. Ex: Reversal off Man, Usurp Synapse, Uranus, City off Caterpillar, Envy…
Emo influenced by the power violence (kind with the pieces ultra violent one and courts) e.g.: Orchid, Jerome' S Dream, Amp…
Emo mainstream: recovery of elements emo/screamo (alternation between violence and melody, shouted song/clearly spoken Word ) caricatural, texts having often for subject the difficult love affairs… Armor for sleep, Underoath…

Some géo-phonic reference marks: This style has been in explosion for more than ten years in France (Lyon, Rheims, Paris), Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada, the United States with labels like Ebullition (the USA), Level planes (the USA), Electric human project (the USA), React with protest (It), Impure Muzik (Fr/All), Alchimia (Fr), Rejuvenation (Fr).

Fastcore

The fastcore is a modern term for a relatively old musical style, quite simply defining the hardcore ultra rapid and stripped of metal influences. The pieces are often very short, with very minimal structures. The music must be fast, and the song is rather yelling. The texts tend to be politicized, social and/or humorous.

Examples of groups: Razor' S Edge, Threatener, Hatemail Killerz, 39 Francs the Kilo, Seein' Red,…

External bonds

Simple: Punk Hardcore

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