If you happened to land on this, you’re probably dwelling on “the way things used to be.”
Well, buck up, kid. There’s still lots of great hardcore coming out today. Integrity, Cruel Hand, No Warning, and A Wilhelm Scream all put out killer music last year, Comeback Kid have released one of 2014’s strongest records so far and new Madball is coming in June.
But if it’s a trip down hardcore memory lane you’re looking for, let’s take a look back at some of the best records produced throughout the ’90s.
This is in no way a complete list. I’m sure I’m forgetting some right now, but here we go:
Sheer Terror – Ugly and Proud [1991]
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- The ultimate in vegan straight edge hardcore, Earth Crisis are the finest example of hardcore’s politicised mindset. Crumbling the boundaries between metal and hardcore at the turn of the ‘90s.
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Hardcore sprouted underground scenes across the United States in the early 1980s, particularly in Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston —as well as in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Hardcore has spawned the straight edge movement and its associated submovements, hardline and youth crew.
The progression of hardcore becoming heavier and more metal influenced can’t be pinned on just one band, but Sheer Terror certainly is one that kicked it up a notch with their 1990 debut Just Can’t Hate Enough and this more refined, better produced classic. Few hardcore bands had such a low guitar tone at the time and the deep guttural vocal style of Paul Bearer is more similar to what death metal vocalists were beginning to do than the straightforward screaming of hardcore front men before him.
Integrity – Those Who Fear Tomorrow [1991]
Then again, with all the focus on the New York hardcore scene you can’t forget what they were doing out in Cleveland around the turn of the decade. This album was insanely brutal for the time, while not straying from hardcore roots with fast riffs, slower melodic sections, rolling bass lines and a sheer anger that had not quite been expressed with such disgust by any band prior.
Biohazard – Urban Discipline [1992]
Regardless of how much they disconnected themselves from the scene throughout the latter part of the decade, Biohazard began as the ultimate New York hardcore band in late ’80s. Their self-titled 1990 debut is a classic, but their sound was perfected on this second release in ’92. Dual vocals, hard gang choruses, dangerous breakdowns, metallic solos, heavy use of tribal drumming, all with a bit of a Hip Hop element are combined to create a sound that is uniquely Biohazard and became often imitated but never duplicated.
Earth Crisis – Destroy the Machines [1995]
The first proper album from this Syracuse band, Destroy the Machines is one that’s undeniable no matter how militantly straight edge it is. In fact, it’s the unapologetic agenda of the band that makes them that much more appealing. Certainly among the early pioneers of metalcore, Earth Crisis creatively combine metallic riffing with hard moshing groove sections and fill-ins that are impossible not to air drum to.
X-Cops – You Have the Right to Remain Silent… [1995]
What’s this you say? X-Cops? Hardcore? Whaaa? While this classic one-off Gwar side project may be most embraced by the metal community, I’ll be damned if songs like “Barbells,” “Welcome to New Jersey” and “The Party’s Over” aren’t pure, fun hardcore punk rock. This is one of my favourite albums period.
The Path of Resistance – Who Dares Wins… [1996]
Three vocalists was something I’d never heard of before. Biohazard had two leads, other bands had backups, but never three separate-sounding vocalists who weren’t weighed down by instruments. It was like Onyx, but hardcore. A side project by members of Earth Crisis, The Path of Resistance wrote and recorded this underground classic in a month. With ten songs and a total running time of just over 24 minutes, this is a blistering onslaught of super-fast metallic hardcore with plenty of gang chorus as well as moments of melody and slower sections that can be listened to several times in a row.
Madball – Demonstrating My Style [1996]
I know, I know. Why this over Set it Off? Well, because this album was my introduction to Madball in ’96 and is a better sounding, more structured album than their ’94 debut. And while Set it Off might be the obvious choice, this followup can’t be overlooked for being one of the greatest hardcore albums of all time by perhaps the greatest hardcore band of all time.
Crown of Thornz – Mentally Vexed [1996]
By the mid ’90s, there was a new wave of New York hardcore bands in an era captured well by the N.Y.H.C. documentary released in 1999. By the time of the film’s release, Crown of Thornz had already broken up and members went on to form Skarhead. Though both bands were similar, C.O.T. wasn’t as over the top with just how thugged out their music was. Mentally Vexed is true street hardcore that isn’t afraid to show emotion at times, all while embodying the toughness New York hardcore represented since its beginnings.
Hatebreed – Satisfaction is the Death of Desire [1997]
Victory Records was the ultimate hardcore label of the ’90s. If you were unfamiliar with a band, purchasing an album wasn’t much of a risk as long as it had that bulldog on the back. It’s kind of a shame what Victory ended up turning into. If you’re looking for the modern equivalent, check out Reaper Records. No ’90s hardcore list could forget this classic easily capable of making the list of best hardcore albums ever made. While other bands laid the groundwork, Hatebreed perfected how metal and hardcore should be merged, combining a Beneath the Remains type thrash sound with the attitude and brutal honesty of The Age of Quarrel.
Warzone – Fight for Justice [1997]
What would ultimately be their final album due to the passing of vocalist Raybeez, Warzone kept old school punk-driven hardcore alive and aggressive as ever in a time when a more metal sound was dominating. While it’s hard to top the 1988 classic Don’t Forget the Struggle, Don’t Forget the Streets, this is certainly among the best Warzone recordings ever.
All Out War – For Those Who Were Crucified [1998]
Throughout the second half of the decade, the line between what made a band hardcore as opposed to metal became impossible to pinpoint, thus the term “metalcore” was created. All Out War might be the epitome of what metalcore should sound like, and not what it became in the 2000s. This is a phenomenal, crushing album yet again released by Victory that combines John Tardy-like screams and riffs drawn heavily from Slayer, but the brutal breakdowns and lack of solos makes For Those Who Were Crucified unmistakably hardcore.
Cold as Life – Born to Land Hard [1998]
One of the downright scariest albums I’d ever heard, this ’98 release from these Detroit hardcore legends is not only musically savage, but the band themselves absolutely lived up to their reputation. The lyrics are haunting tales of street life, drugs and murder with a photo of the fugitive accused of killing their former vocalist on the CD inlay. Their vocalist from this album’s lineup is now facing ten years for armed robbery. I’m glad I had the chance to see them in Toronto when I did.
Death Threat – Last Dayz [1998]
The debut album from this Connecticut band featuring former Hatebreed members is one that doesn’t merge punk with metal to match the aggressiveness of their contemporaries, but rather update the classic old school sound. There is nothing metal about the album, but it certainly is heavy. The down-tuned production darkens the tone while climactic breakdowns comparable to that of Hatebreed conclude otherwise uptempo songs overlapped by a unique clean punk vocal style.
90s Hardcore Punk
Mushmouth – Out to Win [1998]
The term “toughguy hardcore” emerged at some point during the ’90s, and if it ever needed a description, the music of Pennsylvania’s Mushmouth would be a prime example. The pure, aggressive hardcore produced on this record is designed purely for dishing out windmills, spin kicks and broken noses. After some lineup changes Mushmouth eventually released a couple of albums under the name Out to Win before completely disbanding with former members moving on to form Wisdom in Chains.
90s Hardcore Music
Day of Mourning – Your Future’s End [1999]
90s Hardcore Bands
Among my favourite local bands of all time, Toronto’s Day of Mourning emerged from the metalcore ashes of Dirge to become this far more metallic, more sinister beast that could be the perfect hybrid of death metal and hardcore. The progression of the band’s music undoubtedly began to draw influences from the likes of Ringworm and Integrity, as the front men of both bands make appearances on the album.