The Bastardization of Hardcore

This article was written for the second issue of Kutztown University's The Keystone. Unfortunately, some people at the paper thought it only pertained to a certain group and did not think it was worth publishing. I thought otherwise, so here it is.

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Within the past few years, a large craze of “hardcore” bands has swept many a college and high school student and has gone as far as to create, what they believe, is the “scene.” Many of those who believe that bands such as Norma Jean, Underoath or even Slipknot constitute as “hardcore” would be surprised, and most likely reluctant, to find out that they are no where near what true hardcore music is and was.

Hardcore punk, as the full title of the genre goes, was born out of the late 70’s and early 80’s Punk scene with bands such as Black Flag, Minor Threat and Bad Brains laying the groundwork for those to come. All three bands played a new kind of punk. It brought a fresh edge to the underground music scene with its faster, harder and shorter song structure. It was music and feeling at its rawest form, and to those who were part of the revolution, it was more than notes and lyrics.

Stephen Blush, author of American Hardcore: A Tribal History, says “Hardcore was more than music – it became a political and social movement as well. The participants constituted a tribe unto themselves.” This became the true scene of Hardcore to those who experienced it. It was a place for kids to escape the society that they felt shunned them for being different. Blush says, “Lots of f*cked-up kids ‘found themselves’ through Hardcore. Many now say things like, ‘I grew up thinking I was a weirdo, but I met like-minded people and figured out I wasn’t such a freak after all.’ …For some, it served as a valuable social network; for others, it opened a rich musicological mine; but for all involved, Hardcore was a way of life, something that they had to do.”

The Hardcore scene brought people from all walks of life together. “Soon after I became a fixture in the Punk/Hardcore scene of the day, I began to notice something I hadn't witnessed before- complete tolerance…Gay, straight, confused, ethnically diverse or just plain awkward, you would be accepted no matter what, and that always intrigued me,” says Heath C., from Portland, Oregon, who has been involved in the scene since 1985.

Presently, the word “hardcore” is being passed around and slapped on anything that contains heavy guitars, screaming vocals and double bass rolls when none of this describes the actual genre of Hardcore Punk. This doesn’t even hit on the fact that people are describing the way others dress as being “hardcore.” Fashion and the way you look is the last thing the true Hardcore scene is worried about. Hardcore has witnessed a major break down in morals and unity since the heydays with violence and gang mentality taking over and replacing tolerance and making the once inviting clubs, where your average 16-year-old could go on a Friday night and check out his favorite bands, places where he now needs to watch his back if he doesn’t wear the right band shirts.

True Hardcore bands still exist today and are seeing a revival in the scene with veteran bands like One King Down, The Hoods and Slapshot touring and releasing new material. DIY venues are popping up in new places, and more and more people are discovering the roots of Hardcore Punk and all the positive things that came from it.

“To me Hardcore means loyalty, brotherhood, pride, tolerance and the love of a great, aggressive style of music,” says Heath. Hardcore has no place for you to be worrying about how your hair looks or how much eyeliner should be applied to the male face. Hardcore is a way of life and one of the most positive genres of music to have ever existed bringing individuals from all walks of life together to share in something they could all relate to. The next time you visit young ones, check out an old Warzone album or pick up a Gorilla Biscuits record. Those are the roots of the true hardcore scene and without them, the bands that many cherish in the scene now would have
never existed.