Boston Hardcore

Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. (Not to be confused with Boston metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore; itself an offshoot of Boston hardcore.))

The colleges and universities of Greater Boston offered a favorable venue for non-commercial music to be played. Several schools have their own radio stations, such as WBRS, WEEI, WMFO, WERS, WRKO, WMLN, WUMB, WAVM, WMBR, WUML, WHRB, WZBC, and WTBU. The colleges also supplied young patrons for the local nightclubs and bars where local hardcore bands had gigs.

First-generation Boston hardcore bands as documented in American Hardcore included SS Decontrol, Negative FX, Gang Green, Jerry's Kids, The F.U.'s, and D.Y.S..

Hardcore quickly usurped the existing "alternative" punk scene, which included bands such as Mission of Burma. This created something of a generation gap conflict that could be seen at such events as Mission of Burma's then-final show, where members of many leading hardcore bands created a near-riot when, due to the hardcore dancing supposedly ruining Burma's swan song, Negative FX's sound was shut down. This militant straight edge group, consisting of many members from such bands as Dave Smalley of D.Y.S., Jack 'Choke' Kelly of Negative FX, Craig Lewis of Melee, Al Barile of SS Decontrol and more of the like, were known as the "Boston Crew". Their hard-line, no tolerance attitudes became a defining characteristic for later bands such as Slapshot, Eye for an Eye, Ten Yard Fight, Intent to Injure, Downhill Fast, Suckerpunch, Blood for Blood, and Crossface.

Independent record labels like Taang!, X-Claim Records, Modern Method, Bridge 9, 5 Star Entertainment, Franchise Records, Rodent Popsicle, Welfare, Hydra Head, Big Wheel, Rock Vegas, Lockin Out, Iodine Recordings, and Deathwish Inc. helped to fuel Boston's early punk culture. A highlight of the early New England hardcore era was the This Is Boston, Not L.A. LP, a compilation of local artists. It includes the song of the same name performed by The Freeze, who advised: "if you look the same and you act the same, there's nothing new and you're to blame."

The roots of Boston hardcore lie more deeply in Washington, D.C. hardcore (which included bands such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Teen Idles, Government Issue) than Los Angeles hardcore (which included bands such as Black Flag, Bad Religion, the Circle Jerks and The Germs), although the Los Angeles and Orange County scene influenced all of the early D.C. bands. This may explain why few L.A. bands played in Boston in the early 1980s, a notable exception being Black Flag, who played a show at The Paradise on Halloween 1981, which was attended by only twelve people, including John Belushi, who had driven up from Martha's Vineyard just to attend.

Taang! Records released and LP called Boston Hardcore 1989–1991 that featured Wrecking Crew, Eye for an Eye, Maelstrom, Crossface, Intent to Injure, Suckerpunch, Sam Black Church, S.T.P. and more.

Moo Cow records released a compilation 7" called Boston Hardcore – In Memory of... that featured Dive, Chilmark, and Intent To Injure.

As a result of Kenmore Square's now-defunct club The Rathskeller, Captain Nemo's pizza parlor (as well as the Pizza Pad), and its few used record stores, Kenmore became a hangout for skate punks and members of the hardcore scene.

After Boston Red Sox games it was common to see fights break out amongst the punks and the more conservative suburban Red Sox fans, known as "batheads". It is likely that it was at least partially due to this common occurrence that a decision was made by the MBTA to add short spiked fences to the relatively low roofs of the Kenmore T stations, considering how many hardcore kids were apt to spend time sitting atop them and that most Red Sox fans taking public transportation were obliged to appear from below. Mr. Butch was a fixture in this scene, and could often be seen playing air guitar with his dreadlocks swinging. He was a legendary character in Boston hardcore culture.

This neighborhood has changed quite a bit, and the building that held the Rathskeller, Planet Records, and Captain Nemo's along with several other businesses was demolished to make room for the Commonwealth Hotel. Located in the space that once was "The Rat" is now The Foundation Lounge, one of Boston's more upscale and trendy ultra-lounges. With the Rathskeller gone, the scene moved closer to Lansdowne Street, which is a street of clubs and bars on one side, and Fenway Park on the other. The scene made specific moves to Axis and Bill's Bar, two Lansdowne locations that were deemed as "hardcore friendly" by some of the culture. There is controversy over this, as many thought Lansdowne street to be too strict.

Likewise, Avalon and Axis were demolished in the fall of 2007 to make room for a larger venue that would be aimed towards more mainstream national acts. Since then several bands who are larger in the scene have been playing The Roxy on Tremont Street in the Theater District, forcing hardcore acts to find better DIY venues to play.

During the early 1990s a movement was growing in the suburban towns of Massachusetts including, but not limited to Brockton, Concord, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Milford, and Worcester. Led by such noteworthy bands as Inflatable Children, Overcast, Kingpin, Corrin, Tapes Don't Skip, Fall From Grace, Punch the Klown, Syndicate, Over and Out and The Almighty Arise. These bands were following in the footsteps of predecessors Eye for an Eye, Wrecking Crew, S.T.P. and Said and Done. The east coast as a whole was developing a new sound combining elements of bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today (both out of New Haven, Connecticut) with metal (slayer, deicide, accused) and putting a new spin on the scene which was branching out with scenes that started out in Boston, NYC (agnostic front, madball, judge), New Haven (gorilla biscuits, youth of today, forced reality, hatebreed) and R.I. Then each city reached out to their suburbans. Members of these bands have gone on to other endeavors including shadows fall, killswitch engage, headrush, Diecast, medium, world war and missile thrush.

Boston hardcore bands :

American Nightmare, Alert

Bane, Black My Heart, Blood for Blood, Bricklayer Local 630, The Carrier (band), Colin of Arabia, Colleen of Wollastonia, Combat Death, Converge, Cut The Shit, Cut Throat, Darkbuster, Death Before Dishonor, Deathwish, Deep Wound, Defeater, Dioxin (all girl band), Downhill Fast, Draize, Dropkick Murphys, D.Y.S. , Eye for an Eye, Embrace Today, The Effort, The F.U.'s, Forced Coitus, The Freeze, Gang Green, Get Laid, Give Up the Ghost, A Global Threat, Guns Up!, Have Heart, The Hope Conspiracy, In My Eyes, Jerry's Kids, Longshot, Mental, Mind Eraser, Negative FX, No Tolerance, No Trigger, Only Living Witness, Orchid, Over and Out, Post Mortem, The Proletariat, Puppy Mill, Pure Impact, Rampage, Razors in the Night, Reach the Sky, Reason Enough, Righteous Jams, Rival Mob, Sam Black Church, Siege, Second Wind, Slapshot, SS Decontrol, Stay on Top, Step Forward, Syndicate, Tapes Don't Skip, The Suicide File, Ten Yard Fight, Think I Care, Third Rail, Toxic Narcotic, Tree, The Unseen, Waste Management, Wrecking Crew