At the dawn of the '80s, New York City was mired in debt and crime, grappling with one of the most trying periods in its history, yet ironically (or perhaps fittingly), its underground music scene was seething with activity like never before. Still reeling from the violent inception and subsequent implosion of punk rock, hundreds of... [+] Read More

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Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's enduring influence on Europe's heavy metal landscape is arguably comparable to Metallica's standing in America. Labeled by critics as "avant-garde"... [+] Read More

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Before the Cro-Mags, the idea of combining heavy metal and hardcore together was unheard of. But with the release of their classic debut, The Age of Quarrel, hardcore-metal was born, and in its wake came a legion of similarly styled offspring (Biohazard, Vision of Disorder, etc.). Although the group endured an endless amount of lineup shifts... [+] Read More

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The original Speedcore merchants, Cryptic Slaughter dealt a West Coast hand into the late ‘80's Crossover movement, a movement that saw the normally warring armies of punk rock and thrash metal finally come together into a unified front bent on exposing social injustice and political hypocrisy. Powered by a previously unimagined sense of... [+] Read More

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The Dead Kennedys merged revolutionary politics with hardcore punk music and, in the process, became one of the defining hardcore bands. Often, they were more notable for their politics than their music, but that was part of their impact. The Kennedys were more inspired by British punk and the fiery, revolutionary-implied politics of the Sex... [+] Read More

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The Dead Kennedys merged revolutionary politics with hardcore punk music and, in the process, became one of the defining hardcore bands. Often, they were more notable for their politics than their music, but that was part of their impact. The Kennedys were more inspired by British punk and the fiery, revolutionary-implied politics of the Sex... [+] Read More

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Far and away the biggest name to emerge from the Boston hardcore scene, Gang Green was an unabashed party band specializing in beer-soaked, warp-speed three-chord thrash. Obsessed with beer, skateboarding, sex, and more beer, the group slowly added stronger hints of heavy metal as their career wore on, but otherwise followed much the same... [+] Read More

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Often bizarre punk band from Victoria, British Columbia, NoMeansNo formed around brothers Rob (bass, guitar, vocals) and John Wright (vocals, drums, keyboards). Andy Kerr joined up in the early '80s on guitar and vocals, and upon his departure in the early '90s, the band recruited guitarist Tom Holliston as his replacement. The group's punk... [+] Read More

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Nuclear Assault were among thrash metal's most socially aware groups, making room for serious subject matter (and occasional goofs) in their careening speed metal riffing. They also remained closer to the world of hardcore than most of their peers, and at their late-'80s peak released some of the most uncompromising (albeit, interesting) thrash... [+] Read More

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Like the extreme music they created, San Francisco's Possessed seemed cursed by dark and evil forces throughout their troubled career. Formed by guitarist Mike Torrao and drummer Mike Sus in 1983, the group would lose first singer Barry Fisk to suicide before even graduating out of their garage band status. They persisted though, and after... [+] Read More

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Their name lifted from the seminal 1973 Stooges album, the Italian hardcore band Raw Power debuted in 1985 with Screams From the Gutter, an English-language album recorded for the California label Toxic Shock. One year later the group followed with a four-tracker called Wop Hour, the title a curious dig at themselves. Second album After Your... [+] Read More

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German thrash metal band made up of Angel Ripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Witchhunter (drums). They were heavily influenced by thrash/speed metal bands like Motorhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate, exploring the darkest subject matter possible. Aggressor quit the group before their first full-length album was released and was... [+] Read More

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German thrash metal band made up of Angel Ripper (bass/vocals), Aggressor (guitar/vocals), and Witchhunter (drums). They were heavily influenced by thrash/speed metal bands like Motorhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate, exploring the darkest subject matter possible. Aggressor quit the group before their first full-length album was released and was... [+] Read More

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One of the crucial links in the musical chain linking hardcore punk with speed metal, the Stormtroopers of Death -- known more commonly as S.O.D. -- were actually intended to be a one-off novelty side project, done as a lark during a gap in Anthrax's recording and touring schedule in 1985. Guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante were... [+] Read More

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Ohio thrash-punksters the Necros debuted in the early '80s with a nine-track EP, released through two preeminent indie labels, Dischord and Touch & Go. Signed to Touch & Go two years later, the group's first album, Conquest for Death, proved to be their last for quite a while. Except for a 1986 split 7" with White Flag, the Necros didn't return... [+] Read More

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