Agnostic Front is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the

New York hardcore New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by ban ...

scene, as well as a pioneer of the

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...

genre.

History

First era (1980–1992)

Formed in 1980 with Vincent "Vinnie Stigma" Capuccio (formerly of the Eliminators) on lead guitar, with Diego on bass, Rob Krekus on drums and John Watson on vocals. Despite being billed at their first concert as the Zoo Crew, Stigma introduced them as Agnostic Front, saying that the poster had been made prior to deciding on the name. They soon added

Ray Barbieri Warzone (formerly known as Rat Poison) was an American hardcore punk band formed on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1983. The band helped develop the New York hardcore sound, the hardcore skinhead style and the youth crew subgenre. During ...

, aka Raybeez, on drums and Adam Mucci on bass. After Watson was arrested, the band hired James Kontra as their vocalist, who eventually quit before a performance at Great Gildersleeves after a disagreement with Capuccio about how to hand out stickers. Although never having spoken to him before, Stigma told some of his friends to ask

Roger Miret Rogelio de Jesus Miret (born June 30, 1964) is a Cuban American musician. He is the vocalist for New York hardcore band Agnostic Front, street punk group Roger Miret and the Disasters, and hardcore band The Alligators. Agnostic Front are consi ...

(former bass player of

the Psychos The Psychos were an American first-generation New York hardcore band. They were Roger Miret's previous band before joining Agnostic Front as a vocalist in 1982. In The Psychos, Miret played bass while the vocalist was Steve Rieber (later of Swine ...

) if he wanted to be the vocalist of Agnostic Front, because he liked his style of

slam dancing Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other, typically performed to "aggressive" live music such as heavy metal and punk rock. Moshing usually happen ...

. In 1983, this lineup recorded their debut EP ''

United Blood ''United Blood'' is the debut EP 7" from New York hardcore band Agnostic Front. It was released in 1983 on their own AF Records label. 1000 copies in total pressed. In 2009 Bridge9 re-released the first authorized vinyl release of Agnostic Front ...

''. The EP was officially released later that year, however by that point Mucci had departed from the band, and been replaced by

Todd Youth Todd Schofield (May 15, 1971 – October 27, 2018), known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig. Biography Schofield was born and raised in Passaic County, New Jersey, and ...

. During its initial phase, the band consisted entirely of

skinheads A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

. 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 Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

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 ''Victim in Pain'' is the debut full-length studio album by New York hardcore punk band Agnostic Front. It was released in 1984 on Rat Cage Records and follows the '' United Blood'' EP. The album features Rob Kabula and Dave Jones, who replaced ...

'' (1984), is regarded as a seminal

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 The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

, where they played with bands like

Cro-Mags Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among t ...

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 Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City. The label specifically was for heavy metal and punk rock acts, Notable artist include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, Deat ...

, it added

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

influences. With other bands such as

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...

and

Stormtroopers of Death Stormtroopers of Death (abbreviated to S.O.D.) was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. They are credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes referred to as ...

, this album would mark AF's foray into the world of

. It also featured some lyrics written by

Peter Steele Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O N ...

and drumming by Louie Beateaux (both of

Carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

). With yet another new line-up, the band soon released '' Liberty and Justice For...'' in 1987. The album featured stripped down punk with a lack of thrash influences, yet it contained many metal-style guitar solos. It did not sell nearly as well as previous releases. Sometime later, Miret was arrested on drug charges after releasing a live album, and spent his time in prison writing new songs while Stigma and the band toured Europe for the first time. The lyrics written by Miret while incarcerated formed most of 1992's '' One Voice'', which featured members of

Madball Madball is an American New York hardcore band formed in New York City, that originated in the late 1980s as a side project of Agnostic Front. The band developed after Agnostic Front's front man Roger Miret would let his younger half-brother Fr ...

and

Sick of It All Sick of It All is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1986 in Queens, New York City. The band's lineup consists of brothers Lou and Pete Koller on lead vocals and guitars respectively, Armand Majidi on drums, and Craig Setari on bass. Sick ...

. Not long after its release, the band decided to call it quits. Their last show was at CBGB on December 20, 1992, '' Last Warning'', which was also released with ''United Blood'' EP on the end of the release.

Second era (1996–present)

The band performing in 2007 Stigma and Miret reformed Agnostic Front in May 1996 and did a few reunion shows in December 1996, signing to Epitaph Records and recruiting Jimmy Colletti on drums and Rob Kabula on bass, who was playing with Against the Grain at the time. Their latest venture was titled '' Something's Gotta Give''. In 1999, they followed up with ''

Riot, Riot, Upstart ''Riot, Riot Upstart'' is the sixth full-length studio album from New York hardcore band Agnostic Front. It was released in September 1999 on Epitaph Records and follows '' Something's Gotta Give'' released the previous year. The album was produc ...

''. They also won an

MTV Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

for the title track music video. Their comeback albums have sold well and been mostly acclaimed by music critics for their pure

sound. In 2001, they released the album ''

Dead Yuppies ''Dead Yuppies'' is the seventh full-length studio album from New York hardcore band Agnostic Front. It was released in September 2001 on Epitaph Records and follows 1999's '' Riot, Riot, Upstart''. Due to the title, the release of the album was ...

''. Songs from this album were rarely played live, as the band considered it more a product of Loved and Hated, Jimmy Colletti's side-project band. In 2002, Miret worked on a side-project band,

Roger Miret and the Disasters Roger Miret and the Disasters are a street punk group formed by Agnostic Front frontman Roger Miret. The band started when Miret was writing songs that were not a style suitable for Lady Luck (a band fronted by his wife Denise) or Agnostic Fro ...

, looking for a sound akin to old school punk rock and

Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was ...

. Also that year, the band appeared in Matthew Barney's film ''

Cremaster 3 ''The Cremaster Cycle'' is a series of five feature-length films, together with related sculptures, photographs, drawings, and artist's books, created by American visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney. ''The Cremaster Cycle'' was made over a ...

'' along with Murphy's Law. Agnostic Front came out in 2004 with '' Another Voice''. The album was regarded mainly as a follow-up to ''One Voice''. The album, however, did receive some criticism from fans and the press for apparently changing their music to fit the current wave of '

tough guy The Tough Guy Competition was an endurance challenge that claims to be the world's most demanding one-day survival ordeal. First staged in 1987 and organised by Billy Wilson under the pseudonym of "Mr. Mouse", it is held on a 600-acre (2.42 sq ...

' bands. Musically, the album bears resemblance to bands that were heavily influenced by Agnostic Front, such as

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...

. Miret's vocals on the album particularly seemed to turn off many less hardcore punk-oriented fans. Later, the track "Peace" was contributed to the mash-up album '' Threat: Music That Inspired the Movie'', where it was remixed by Schizoid and renamed "World at War". On March 7, 2006, Agnostic Front released the DVD ''Live at CBGB''. This follows the efforts of many bands that tried to save CBGB from shutting down. Miret claims that "We played more shows at CBGB than any band ever, and we played more benefit shows for CBGB than any band ever" when the club did close, most nostalgia focused on 1970s punk bands. On November 6, 2007, Agnostic Front released the album ''

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

'' with the hit "For My Family" which was largely a continuation of the band's

sound. For the 25th anniversary of their debut LP ''

'',

Bridge Nine Records Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...

released remastered versions of said album along with their first EP, ''United Blood'', on November 17, 2009. The band performed on the Persistence Tour in Europe in the winter of 2009 and have were confirmed for Rebellion Festival 2012 in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, England. In 2015, the band released the album '' The American Dream Died'' via

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

which consisted mostly of the bands older style of music with a modern touch. The band continued to tour extensively in Europe as well as the U.S. in support of the record. In 2017, Stigma and Miret appeared in a documentary about Agnostic Front, ''The Godfathers of Hardcore'', directed by Ian McFarland. In 2022, it was revealed on the band's Facebook that Pokey Mo had parted ways with Agnostic Front in 2020 and that

Danny Lamagna Danny Lamagna is an American musician; he is the drummer for rock bands Agnostic Front, Suicide City, and Sworn Enemy. History Suicide City In 2004, Lamagna started Suicide City with Groovenics singer Karl Bernholtz, Groovenics/Ghost Fi ...

would be their new drummer.

Members

Current * Vinnie Stigma – lead guitar, backing vocals (1980–present) *

– lead vocals (1982–present) * Mike Gallo – bass, backing vocals (2000–present) * Craig Silverman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–present) *

– drums (2020–present) Former * Rob Krekus – drums (1980–1981) * John Watson – lead vocals (1980–1982) * James Kontra – lead vocals (1982) * Diego – bass (1980–1982) * Raymond "Raybeez" Barbieri – drums (1981–1983, died 1997) * Adam Mucci – bass (1982–1983) * Dave Jones – drums (1983–1985) * Rob Kabula – bass (1983–1987, 1997–2000) *

– bass (1983, died 2018) * Alex Kinon – rhythm guitar (1985–1986) * Gordon Ancis – rhythm guitar (1986–1987) * Joe "Fish" Montanaro – drums (1986–1987) * Louie Beato – drums (1986) * Alan Peters – bass (1987, died 2020) * Steve Martin – rhythm guitar (1987–1990) * Will Shepler – drums (1987–1993) *

Craig Setari } Craig Setari (sometimes known by the stage name Craig Ahead) is an American musician who is currently active as the bass player in Sick of It All. He has also worked with many other hardcore punk bands, including Youth of Today, Straight Ahead ...

– bass (1987–1993) * Matt Henderson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1990–1993) * Jimmy Colletti – drums (1997–2004) * Steve Gallo – drums (2004–2009) * Joseph James – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2007–2014) * Pokey Mo – drums (2009–2020) Agnostic-front-1.jpg, Vinnie Stigma Agnostic-front-17.jpg, Roger Miret Agnostic-front-13.jpg, Mike Gallo Agnostic Front – Reload Festival 2016 23.jpg, Craig Silverman

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1984) Rat Cage Records * '' Cause for Alarm'' (1986) Relativity/

* '' Liberty and Justice For...'' (1987) Relativity/Combat Records * '' One Voice'' (1992) Relativity/

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

* '' Something's Gotta Give'' (1998) Epitaph Records * ''

'' (1999) Epitaph Records * ''

'' (2001) Epitaph Records * '' Another Voice'' (2004)

* ''

'' (2007) Nuclear Blast Records * '' My Life My Way'' (2011) Nuclear Blast Records * '' The American Dream Died'' (2015) Nuclear Blast Records *''Get Loud!'' (2019) Nuclear Blast Records

Live albums

* '' Live at CBGB'' (1989) Relativity Records * '' Last Warning'' (1993) Relativity/Roadrunner Records * ''Working Class Heroes'' (2002) I Scream Records split with Discipline * ''Live at CBGB - 25 Years of Blood, Honor and Truth '' (2006) Nuclear Blast Records

Compilation

* ''To Be Continued: The Best of Agnostic Front'' (1992) Relativity * ''Raw Unleashed'' (1995) Grand Theft Audio * ''Respect Your Roots Worldwide'' (2012) Strength Records

EPs

* ''

'' (1983) Last Warning Records * ''Puro des Madre (en español)'' EP (1998)

Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...

* ''

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

'' (1999) split with

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...

* ''For My Family'' EP (2007) Nuclear Blast Records * ''That's Life'' 7" (2011)

Bridge 9 Records Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...

Music videos

* Growing Concern (1986) * Anthem ive(1989) * Gotta Go (1998) * Riot, Riot, Upstart (1999) * So Pure to Me (2004) * Peace (2005) * All Is Not Forgotten (2005) * All Is Not Forgotten ive(2006) * Addiction (2007) * For My Family (2007) * Dead to Me ive(2007) * That's Life (2011) * A Mi Manera (2011) * My Life My Way (2011) * Us Against the World (2012) * Blitzkrieg Bop (2013) * Police Violence (2015) * The American Dream Died (2015) * A Wise Man (2015) * Never Walk Alone (2015) * Old New York (2015) * Spray Painted Walls (2019) * I Remember (2019) * Conquer and Divide (2019) * Urban Decay (2020)

DVD/VHS

* ''Live at CBGB'' 2006 * ''CBGB: Punk from the Bowery'' (Compilation) * ''LIVE in N.Y.C. '91'' (split with

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revelatio ...

)

References

External links

Official website
(archived)
Agnostic Front's Victim in Pain at 25
Roger Miret interview by

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

December 1, 2009
1984 Interview, ''Guillotine'' Fanzine
/ Ragged Edge Collection @ Archive.org] {{Authority control 1980 establishments in New York City American thrash metal musical groups Bridge 9 Records artists Combat Records artists Crossover thrash groups Epitaph Records artists Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1980 Musical quintets Nuclear Blast artists

History

First era (1980–1992)

Second era (1996–present)

Members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation

EPs

Music videos

DVD/VHS

References

Further reading

External links