Warzone (formerly known as Rat Poison) was 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 p ...

band formed on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1983. The band helped develop 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 ...

sound, the

hardcore skinhead Hardcore skinheads are skinheads who mainly associate with hardcore and sometimes heavy metal instead of Oi!, ska, soul or other music genres associated with the skinhead subculture. Starting in the early 1980s, there were many skinheads in th ...

style and the

youth crew Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original yout ...

subgenre. During the band's 14 years and many line-up changes, their primarily hardcore sound was flavored by influences ranging from

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 ...

(they toured several times with The Business and played a cover of their song "The Real Enemy") to traditional punk rock to heavy metal (on their self-titled LP). Their fan base was diverse, with their concerts usually attended by skinheads,

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

teens, metalheads, and punks of all ages.

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

has written that "one could argue that arzonespearheaded the second and larger wave of hardcore bands that erupted in the NY scene in 1986-1987". Frontman Raymond "Raybeez" Barbieri was the band's only consistent member through the vast majority of its years. He joined the band as the drummer in 1983 (the same year he played drums on the debut

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

7" 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 ...

''), later taking over vocal duties after Warzone had already been in existence for two years (noting later, "in a band that adbeen running for so long, there has to be something there"). Raybeez remained the singer of Warzone until his death on September 11, 1997 due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. A

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

veteran, he was receiving treatment in a VHA facility when the illness damaged his liver and took his life at the age of 35. A tribute sign reading "R.I.P Ray" hung outside

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 ...

for some time following his death, and for more than a year afterward, every release on

Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thur ...

was dedicated to his memory, as were two independent compilations. These albums, as well as benefit concerts, raised funds for several non-profit groups Ray had worked for which helped at-risk youth.

Discography

* ''Skinhead Youth CBGB'' (1984) * ''As One (Demo)'' (1986) * ''Some Records Tape'' (1986) * ''Live on WNYU (7/23/87)'' (1987) * ''Lower East Side Crew'' (1987) - EP * '' Don't Forget the Struggle/Don't Forget the Streets'' (1987) - LP * '' Open Your Eyes'' (1988) - LP * ''Warzone'' (1989) - LP * ''Live at CBGBs'' (1993) - live EP * ''Old School to New School'' (1994) - LP * ''Cause for Alarm/Warzone'' split with Cause for Alarm (1995) - split 10" EP * ''Lower East Side'' (1996) - EP * ''The Sound of Revolution'' (1996) - LP * ''Fight for Justice'' (1997) - LP * ''The Victory Years'' (1998) - partial discography LP

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warzone 1983 establishments in New York City 1997 disestablishments in New York (state) Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) Victory Records artists Revelation Records artists Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups from New York City