Agnostic Front
| Agnostic Front | |
|---|---|
Agnostic Front 2016
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1980–1992 1997–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Roger Miret and The Disasters, Madball, 25 ta Life, Cause for Alarm, Carnivore, Stigma, Slapshot (band), Leeway (band) |
| Website | www |
| Members |
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| Past members | See band members section |
Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band, pioneer of the crossover thrash genre, formed in 1980. The band began playing hardcore punk similar to their contemporaries, and were thrust to the forefront of the burgeoning New York hardcore scene in the mid-1980s with their widely regarded 1984 classic Victim in Pain before incorporating thrash metal elements into their music.
Formed by guitarist Vinnie Stigma (born Vincent Capuccio, formerly of the Eliminators) in December 1980, with Diego on bass and Rob Krekus on drums. Agnostic Front went through several singers, two of them being John Watson and Jimmy "The Mad Russian", before settling with Roger Miret (former bass player of The Psychos). They soon added Ray Barbieri, aka Raybeez (Warzone), on drums and Adam Mucci on bass. Their debut EP United Blood, released in 1983 on an indie label, has since become a collector's item.
During its initial phase, the band consisted entirely of skinheads. Although this would change over time, Agnostic Front would continue to feature skinheads as part of their line-up. This led to a belief among some that the band espoused ultra-nationalist or fascist politics, an assertion denied by vocalist Roger Miret in a 1985 Flipside interview:
"...We're skinheads. And the skinheads in England have a very bad name like with the fascists and stuff like that. But this is America not England. Just because the skinheads are fascists over there doesn't mean we got to grow our hair out if we don't feel like it.... We love our country — but not necessarily how our government works.'
The follow-up, Victim in Pain (1984), is regarded as a seminal New York hardcore release. Dave Jones replaced Raybeez on drums and Rob Kabula took over on bass. In 1984, Jimmy "The Kid" Colletti from Justified Violence joined on drums when the band went to tour with The Exploited later that year. The album pushed the band to the forefront of New York's fledgling hardcore scene, which was centered around CBGB, where they played with bands like The Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law. Roger Miret asserts that all the songs on the album "are totally inspired by the streets of New York and my life and what was going on with my friends. It was dangerous. We did what we had to do to survive by any means necessary. It was like a war or a battlefield, and we stood our ground".
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