Top 10 Punk Rock & Hardcore Bands of the '80s
By Steve Peake, About.com Guide
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Though punk rock's
first wave was a strictly '70s phenomenon, the form most certainly bled
into the '80s, primarily on America's West Coast, where scores of bands
forged a more concentrated, speedy and aggressive form of punk called hardcore. Many bands used punk as an inspiration to create their own unique post-punk
blends, but I believe these 10 artists best and most faithfully raised
the punk rock flag and held it aloft for a new generation. Here's a look
- in no particular order - at some of my favorite '80s representatives
of these genres.
1. Bad Religion
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Epitaph
This solid, ever-reliable L.A. punk
band may have gotten a later start than its forerunners (forming in
1980), but more than 30 years later the group continues to churn out
driving, angry and political punk rock with the best of them. Arguably
one of punk's most consistent and long-lasting bands, Bad Religion has
for most of its existence been led by the powerful vocals of Greg
Graffin alongside guitarist and fellow founding member/songwriter Brett
Gurewitz. During the '80s, the band remained fiercely independent in its
commercial as well as artistic directions, even releasing an album that
verged on '70s hard rock, 1983's Into the Unknown. Also, the band served as a vital link between punk's first wave and the '90s punk revival.
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2. Dead Kennedys
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Cherry Red Records
Few punk or hardcore bands left a more distinct mark on '80s pop culture than San Francisco's wonderfully acerbic Dead Kennedys,
which embraced revolutionary, equal-opportunity offensiveness and
controversy all the way from its name to its exhausting demise. Lead
singer and lyricist Jello Biafra has long been a cult figure of
tremendous influence, skewering all layers of American authority and
cultural stagnation through his glowering wit. But the original band
itself was a musical marvel, featuring the incendiary guitar of East Bay
Ray and a wonderful blend of surf rock styles with abrasive yet
anthemic punk. In many ways, the Dead Kennedys both invented and
perfected hardcore, and the music continues to resonate as troubled
times persist.
3. Minor Threat
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Dischord Records
Another
seminal, pure hardcore outfit sprang up on the East Coast at around the
same time as the Dead Kennedys, and though much shorter-lived, Minor
Threat may just be the most independent rock band of all. Led by the
often syncopated, shouted vocals of Ian MacKaye, the group sported a
fierce sonic attack but may be best-known for its introduction of the
clean and sober "Straight Edge" philosophy that remains valid today among a fair number of punk and alternative rock
fans. Beyond that, however, the band championed art at all costs over
the often cynical demands of commerce, refusing to exclude fans
typically viewed as underage from its concerts and maintaining
stubbornly affordable record prices through MacKaye's label, Dischord
Records.
4. The Misfits
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Caroline Records
Serving as a highly unique and vital link between heavy metal
and hardcore punk, this New Jersey band featured horror-show lyrics and
a burly, intimidating frontman with pipes to match in Glenn Danzig. The
earliest incarnation of the band may have dissolved by 1983, but music
fans throughout the '80s continued to discover the legend of the group,
probably influenced often by pure reputation and word-of-mouth with only
a few recordings in print. Ultimately, the band's brand of hardcore may
be crude and muddy, but Danzig's vocals and keen sense of melody truly
elevate songs like "Last Caress," "Attitude" and "Where Eagles Dare" to hard rock anthems for the ages. I bet Danzig could still kick anyone's ass still today.
5. Circle Jerks
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Relativity
This
great punk band, another rare representative of the genre that has
demonstrated a fair amount of longevity, became a major force during the
'80s. Rising from the splintering of the first incarnation of American
punk legends Black Flag,
the Circle Jerks' irreverent and aggressive brand of hardcore dabbled
in humor more often than its predecessor, an approach that said a lot
about the boundless energy of frontman Keith Morris. Of course, the
singer had gotten his start as the first lead vocalist for the original
Black Flag, back when that band was a far purer example of hardcore
punk. Eventually the Circle Jerks delved into slowed-down hard rock just
like Black Flag, but the former's sound was always more
straightforward.
6. T.S.O.L.
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Nitro Records
Another
Southern California punk band that exhibited daring experimentation
without compromising its sound (at least until the group went
sickeningly and shamelessly hair metal during the late '80s after major personnel changes), T.S.O.L. began with somewhat Goth rock
overtones. Still, at heart the attack spearheaded by lead singer and
frontman Jack Grisham achieved a quintessence when it comes to the
necessary elements of great punk rock. That is, the band's sound during
the first half of the '80s always flirted with danger and menace, from
uniquely slashing guitars to Grisham's one-of-a-kind punk crooning. Like
Orange County kindred spirits the Vandals, T.S.O.L. was never the same after the departure of its initial lead singer.
7. Angry Samoans
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Triple X Records
It
took me a while to warm up to this L.A. band that perfected punk rock
offensiveness, but beyond the band's definite nasty edge (particularly
displayed in a somewhat consistent homophobia), this is one of
hardcore's most original groups. With a satirical bent that was
generally as often applied to themselves as to outside forces, the
group's creative ringleaders, "Metal" Mike Saunders and Gregg Turner,
absolutely produced some of the best assaultive yet nuanced punk rock of
the '80s. "My Old Man's a Fatso," "Inside My Brain," and "I'm a Pig"
have far more intelligence than the Samoans ever got credit for,
especially evidenced by the band's ability to direct its anger in all
directions nearly at once, especially inward.
8. MDC
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Boner Records
This
lesser-known but wonderfully representative hardcore band raised to a
new level the art of in-your-face, muscularly presented musical
provocation. With a sound more akin to the brutal assault of Agnostic
Front than other more typical punk bands, lead singer Dave Dictor and
Company targeted and succeeded in lambasting some of the most treasured
icons and symbols of American culture, from the brilliance of "John Wayne Was a Nazi"
to one of its many revolving names (Millions of Dead Cops) derived from
its acronymous moniker. The band's music was ultimately somehow both
tuneful and pulverizing, making a point to spotlight and condemn various
forms of conformity at every possible turn.
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9. Fear
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Rhino
Where
the confrontational tactics of Angry Samoans and MDC, respectively,
often came off somewhat silly or intellectually distant, the exploits of
the aptly named Fear closely fit the band's primal name and represented
what seemed like genuine menace. To be sure, lead singer Lee Ving ran a
tight but nasty ship in terms of stage performance, as violence became
reality at the band's shows as often as it lingered merely as
suggestion. But ultimately Fear's music went far beyond the concentrated
anger of "I Don't Care About You" to break ceaselessly interesting ground on brilliantly odd tracks like "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones." A tussle between Ving and Glenn Danzig would have been quite a match-up.
10. Social Distortion
Album Cover Image Courtesy of Timebomb Records
If my omission from this list of some of my personal favorites (the Minutemen, Descendents
and Black Flag) may cause discomfort for readers as well as myself, at
least the bands that made the cut deserve their places. That goes also
for Social Distortion, an initially hardcore band that matured
throughout the '80s before emerging as one of the most successful
alternative rock acts of the early '90s. Distinguished by the uniquely
low-pitched lead vocals of frontman Mike Ness as well as his
across-the-board Johnny Cash
fixation, Social D both exemplified and expanded the possibilities of
punk rock. And when Ness emerged from heroin addiction to guide the band
into the next decade, he added survival to the genre's internal
lexicon.
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