New York Hardcore

New York hardcore (NYHC) is hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City, and the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. It was primarily a phenomenon of the 1980s and '90s.

New York City played a central role in the development of hardcore. An important scene emerged in 1981 with the emigration of the Bad Brains from Washington, DC. Roger Miret of Agnostic Front asserts that "We started using the term 'hardcore' because we wanted to separate ourselves from the druggy or artsy punk scene that was happening in New York at the time ... We were rougher kids living in the streets. It had a rougher edge". The early scene was documented on the 1982 New York Thrash compilation.

Sam McPheeters argues that

“What early New York Hardcore bands lacked in distinctive output, however, they more than compensated for in sheer menace. As the scene coalesced in Reagan’s first term, the New York Hardcore scene—known in the shorthand of graffiti and knuckle tattoos as NYHC—injected class into the subculture in a way that no other city could. It was a world marinating in poverty and violence. ”

McPheeters argues that the scene was inspired and influenced by dystopian films such as Death Wish, Taxi Driver, The Warriors, and Escape From New York. Many of the mid-1980s NYHC groups were aligned with right-wing ideology. Beginning with Cro-Mags, some groups also followed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. More leftist groups associated with the scene include Born Against and Nausea.

The scene was focused around venues such as the famous CBGBs, ABC No Rio, A7 and Brooklyn's L'amour. The New York scene was home to most of the early influential bands, such as Agnostic Front,Biohazard, Beastie Boys, Cro-Mags, Heart Attack, Kraut, Urban Waste, Sheer Terror, Murphy's Law, Reagan Youth, The Mob, Warzone. Later New York hardcore groups included Sick of It All, Breakdown, Subzero, Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold, and Leeway.

1990s NYHC groups included Merauder, Awkward Thought, Side by Side, Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, Sworn Enemy, H2O, Madball, Vatican Commandos and Full Blown Chaos.