Putting up a FRONT
Agnostic Front
Photo Credit: SHIGEO “JONES” KIKUCHI Left to right – Mike Gallo – Bass, Joseph James – Guitar, Steve Gallo – Drums, Vinnie Stigma – Guitar, Roger Miret – Vocals
Biography is from Agnostic Front’s official website: http://www.agnosticfront.com
These rarely confronted and always respected leaders of hardcore were established as one of the meanest-sounding bands in the emerging punk genre, helping to initiate the term “hardcore,” and placing an entire uproar on the New York map by association. From the start, AGNOSTIC FRONT released a catalogue of fast and violent punk tunes consisting of distinctive and aggressive drumming, bass work, and a non-stop barrage of chaotic shouting. AGNOSTIC FRONT’s uncontrollable drumming and fuming guitars fill every minute like an onrushing storm of flailing limbs and incinerating transistors. The heavier paced balance between the energy and discipline of their earlier punk roots strikes a taut and vivid rock barrage that moshes in close formation. “It’s social politics,” Roger states. “The day-to-day reality of waking up, reading the newspaper, and walking around the neighborhood. It’s a hard stare on why the world is still one fucked-up place, and we tackle the very real shit that’s going down: gentrification’s running rampant, street justice, world destruction, working wages, and backs are still being stabbed.”
Long outliving their now-legendary contemporaries like Minor Threat, SSD, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, AGNOSTIC FRONT could easily live off their laurels, but their fight is yet over! Throughout their storied history, AGNOSTIC FRONT have been anything but a ravishing group of individuals living prosperously and content. In fact, the band is more akin to have experienced growing up in adverse streets, undergoing arduous times, serving time in prison, become inflicted with murdered friends, the list would go on perpetually. But while there are definite vestiges of the past affecting them, they manage to continue and expose the conflicts they had to undergo in a compellingly evocative approach by relating it to their views of the world today.
AGNOSTIC FRONT continues to be living embodiment that “hardcore for life” isn’t an empty slogan or a musical dead end. No one is born with tattoos. No one’s born hardcore. But when the ink or the music sets in, you’re changed. Their latest offering reaffirms that AGNOSTIC FRONT as a band, still operates like a musical razor blade. Regardless of their history, the proof is simple: AGNOSTIC FRONT’s anthems are hard, cutting, and the remarkable music continues to broaden with every release. “We support UNITY! We despise ignorance and hatred within our scene. The only people we should be at war with is those who oppress us, not with each other. Unite! Fight the system! Not ourselves! Believe – Hardcore!
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Roger Miret, vox
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These guys have been around for quite some time now, and I’m excited that they’re still touring and seem as up for it as always. When looking up some more of their tour dates, I stumbled upon an NYU blog about the band and found this:
“The band’s skinhead stance, and the fact that the record’s cover featured a photograph of a concentration camp execution, was controversial, especially in San Francisco’s MRR zine, whose writers were beginning to see violent neo-Nazi skinheads causing trouble at shows on the West Coast. The fact that Miret was Cuban prevented Agnostic Front from realistically being labelled white power, but not from being seen as a conservative, right-wing, nationalist band.”
*sigh* I love controversary! Ha ha, well.. it’s weird.. I’m not a controversial person, as in I don’t want to cause problems out of no where and without reason, but I like it in the way that people aren’t afraid to be themselves despite the fact that it may be seen as controversial. This especially is apparent in a lot of the music I like. It’s one reason I like hate rock so much (NOT implying that Agnostic Front is hate rock, it is by all means not), but they just sing about whatever the hell they want without worrying about if the majority of people will agree or find it entertaining. The Meatmen is a great “hate rock” band. Check out my interview with Tesco Vee from the Meatmen here: http://punkworldviews.com/tescoveeinterview/
Anyway- back to the band: It does annoy me sometimes when bands have someone what of a revolving door of members, but then again, sometimes people just don’t work out, and you have to move on to the next.. and then maybe they don’t work out! Ha ha, so I understand the deal, of course.
I’ll definitely be checking out the show coming to town April 9th, and hopefully get some good video to post on my YouTube. Stay tuned…
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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