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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.
Formed in 1980 with Vincent "Vinnie Stigma" Capuccio (formerly of the Eliminators) on lead guitar, with Diego on bass, Rob Krekus (aka Robby Crypt Crash) 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, 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 (former bass player of the Psychos) if he wanted to be the vocalist of Agnostic Front, because he liked his style of slam dancing. In 1983, this lineup recorded their debut EP United Blood. The EP was officially released later that year, however by that point Mucci had departed from the band, and been replaced by Todd Youth.
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 lineup. 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."
They were later accused of racism in the song "Public Assistance" by Phil Donahue in a 1986 show on New York hardcore punk.
In 1983 when Roger Miret’s younger half brother Freddy Cricien was about seven years old, he visited with his brother in New York City, shortly after he would begin to go on tour with the band and would sing a few songs during the band’s performances which would become a staple of their shows during this period. This led to him becoming the group’s unofficial mascot and was given the name “Agnostic Fred”. The group would have to sneak Cricien into a drum case to smuggle him into early shows during the 1980s.
Their debut album, Victim in Pain (1984), is regarded as a seminal New York hardcore release. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic dubbed it "the ultimate document of the New York hardcore scene." Dave Jones replaced Raybeez on drums after a mutual agreement among the band members that Raybeez "needed time" to address a developing drug problem. Dave Jones was "a kid from New Jersey" who had previously played with the band Mental Abuse. 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.
Prior to recording their next album Miret left AF for a few months at the beginning of 1986, during which time Carl "The Mosher" Demola stepped in. During the bands early years they were always on shaky legs due to Miret and Stigma's mercurial relationship which led to them tempering with the bands sound. Inevitably, as their musicianship continued to improve, the bandmembers such as drummer Louie Beatto and additional guitarist Alex Kinon) began losing some of their raw hardcore sound, and with heavy metal rising in popularity, the group started experimenting with the tightly controlled velocity of thrash metal. This led to 1986's Cause for Alarm becoming a difficult album to record, due to constant lineup 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 Agnostic Front's foray into the world of crossover thrash. It also featured some lyrics written by Peter Steele and drumming by Louie Beato (both of Carnivore). Miret left the band for four months between the recording and release of Cause for Alarm, and was replaced by Carl Demola. The band then embarked on a tour in support of the album and took part in the Eliminator tour.
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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.
Formed in 1980 with Vincent "Vinnie Stigma" Capuccio (formerly of the Eliminators) on lead guitar, with Diego on bass, Rob Krekus (aka Robby Crypt Crash) 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, 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 (former bass player of the Psychos) if he wanted to be the vocalist of Agnostic Front, because he liked his style of slam dancing. In 1983, this lineup recorded their debut EP United Blood. The EP was officially released later that year, however by that point Mucci had departed from the band, and been replaced by Todd Youth.
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 lineup. 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."
They were later accused of racism in the song "Public Assistance" by Phil Donahue in a 1986 show on New York hardcore punk.
In 1983 when Roger Miret’s younger half brother Freddy Cricien was about seven years old, he visited with his brother in New York City, shortly after he would begin to go on tour with the band and would sing a few songs during the band’s performances which would become a staple of their shows during this period. This led to him becoming the group’s unofficial mascot and was given the name “Agnostic Fred”. The group would have to sneak Cricien into a drum case to smuggle him into early shows during the 1980s.
Their debut album, Victim in Pain (1984), is regarded as a seminal New York hardcore release. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic dubbed it "the ultimate document of the New York hardcore scene." Dave Jones replaced Raybeez on drums after a mutual agreement among the band members that Raybeez "needed time" to address a developing drug problem. Dave Jones was "a kid from New Jersey" who had previously played with the band Mental Abuse. 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.
Prior to recording their next album Miret left AF for a few months at the beginning of 1986, during which time Carl "The Mosher" Demola stepped in. During the bands early years they were always on shaky legs due to Miret and Stigma's mercurial relationship which led to them tempering with the bands sound. Inevitably, as their musicianship continued to improve, the bandmembers such as drummer Louie Beatto and additional guitarist Alex Kinon) began losing some of their raw hardcore sound, and with heavy metal rising in popularity, the group started experimenting with the tightly controlled velocity of thrash metal. This led to 1986's Cause for Alarm becoming a difficult album to record, due to constant lineup 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 Agnostic Front's foray into the world of crossover thrash. It also featured some lyrics written by Peter Steele and drumming by Louie Beato (both of Carnivore). Miret left the band for four months between the recording and release of Cause for Alarm, and was replaced by Carl Demola. The band then embarked on a tour in support of the album and took part in the Eliminator tour.