Agnostic Front

Genre:Hardcore Punk,Crossover Thrash

Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band that formed in New York City 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 evolving to incorporate thrash metal elements into their music. By the late '90s, Agnostic Front had signed with Epitaph Records and adopted an Oi! sound before growing into a crossover metallic hardcore hybrid similar to bands like Blood for Blood.Formed by guitarist Vinnie Stigma (formerly of the Eliminators) in November/December 1980, with Diego on bass and Rob Krekus on drums. Agnostic Front went through a few singers, two of them being John Watson and Jimmy "The Mad Russian", before settling with Roger Miret (former bassist of The Psychos). They soon added Ray Barbieri, aka Raybeez (Warzone), on drums and Adam Moochie on bass. Their debut EP United Blood, released in 1983 on an indie label, has since become a collector's item. At this time, 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.

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 on bass. In 1984 Jimmy "the Kid" Colletti from Justified Violence joined on drums as 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's, 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".1986's Cause for Alarm was a difficult album to record, due to constant line-up changes and personnel problems. Released on Combat Records, it added thrash metal influences. With other bands such as Suicidal Tendencies and Stormtroopers of Death, this album would mark AF's foray into the world of crossover thrash. It also featured some lyrics written by Peter Steele and drumming by Louie Beateaux (also of Carnivore)

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