Continuing the History of Metal through short (trivia packed) chapters and accompanying playlists.
Thanks for all the support of Part 1 of these ongoing series! You asked me for more, here it is :)
Work in progress, will be posting irregularly (but...
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In the late 70's Punk raged through the streets of London and caused a cultural revolution the world had rarely seen. Sure, Proto-punk had been around since the late 60's with bands like The Stooges and MC5, and in the mid 70's the Ramones were conquering New York City from the hallowed CBGB, but the shockwave that rippled through the UK in '76 was Punk's defining moment. Unlike the Mercy Beat and Cool Britannia subcultures that had defined the decade before in a highly upbeat way, England's youth was depressed, nihilistic, and angry... And things were turning violent.
The punk scene gave a generation without hope a voice and quickly broke into the mainstream, eventually leading to its own demise. As the flame of Punk's rebellion died down almost as quickly in the UK as it had started, Skins and Punks in the States started to evolve the sound in the early 80's: Driven by power chords played on guitars that were more down-tuned and distorted than before, bands started to play faster and louder songs. It was Punk played hard to the core...
Early pioneers were Los Angeles' Germs and the Stimulators from New York with a 14-year old Harley Flannagan (more about him later), but the first proper scene of Hardcore to emerge came from Washington DC, often styled as harDCore, with iconic bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Iron Cross.
In the UK, old Punk heroes had imploded (like the Sex Pistols) or adopted a more mainstream sound (like the Clash). The raw underground evolved mainly in 2 directions. First there was the hybrid of the Punk and Football Hooligan scenes, called Street Punk or 'Oi!', and secondly there was the so-called UK82 scene that played Punk faster and more raw, sometimes nick-named Concrete Punk. UK82 bands like The Exploited and Charged G.B.H. often lacked the groove of the DC Hardcore bands, but are considered a critical part of the First Wave of Hardcore.
Back in the States, 2 defining Hardcore scenes emerged. On the West Coast, the Cali Surf scene, with bands like The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies, would prove to be highly influential on the world of Metal as they influenced a large amount of Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area Metalheads to create Thrash Metal. In New York City, Harley and his Lower East Side crew had grown up to be not just violent street fighting hooligans, but also charismatic musicians who fused the UK 'Oi!' culture with the DC Hardcore sound. With bands like Harley's Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front and Warzone NYHC was created and would become the world's most influential Hardcore scene.
Hardcore has influenced Metal over the decades: without it there would be no Thrash, Metalcore, and more. Only fair we include its genesis in the Essential Metal Collection!
Playlist:
01. Germs: Lexicon Devil (1979)
02. The Stimulators: Loud Fast Rules! (1980)
03. Black Flag: Rise Above (1980)
04. Dead Kennedys: California Uber Alles (1980)
05. Adolescents: No Way (1981)
06. Bad Religion: Bad Religion (1981)
07. Charged G.B.H.: City Baby Attacked By Rats (1981)
08. D.O.A.: Smash the State (1981)
09. The Exploited: Punk's Not Dead (1981)
10. Minor Threat: Straight Edge (1981)
11. Wasted Youth: Fuck Authority (1981)
12. Black Flag: Police Story (1980)
13. Dead Kennedys: Nazi Punks Fuck Off! (1981)
14. Adolescents: Amoeba (1981)
15. Bad Brains: Right Brigade (1982)
16. Discharge: Protest And Survive (1982)
17. Misfits: Hate Breeders (1982)
18. SS Decontrol: Wasted Youth (1982)
19. Bad Religion: We're Only Gonna Die (1982)
20. Charged G.B.H.: Give Me Fire (1982)
21. The Exploited: UK 82 (1982)
22. Suicidal Tendencies: Institutionalized (1983)
23. Agnostic Front: United Blood (1983)
24. Agent Orange: Violence (1983)
25. Cro-Mags: Street Justice (1986)
26. 7 Seconds: Young Till I Die (1984)
27. SS Decontrol: Get It Away (1983)
28. Minor Threat: Screaming At A Wall (1984)
29. Warzone: Skinhead Youth (1984)
30. Suicidal Tendencies: Memories Of Tomorrow (1983)
