Reviewed:
- Victim in Pain (1984)
- Cause for Alarm (1986)
- One Voice (1992)
- Another Voice (2004)
- Warriors (2007)
VICTIM IN PAIN 1984 (Rat Cage Records)
- Standouts: Top-notch from start to finish.
Victim in Pain is Agnostic Front's debut record. This was still 1984, so hardcore music was much more punk rock than metal at this stage. I know that sounds daft, but I think towards the latter half of the 80's, metal influences started seeping their way into the hardcore punk sound. I mean, if you listen to Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Adolescents, Minor Threat or the Bad Brains (excluding the reggae songs for Bad Brains that is) - all bands who were there at the beginning of hardcore punk - the music is more like psyched-up punk rock a la Ramones, early Clash, Sex Pistols etc. Then listen to stuff like the Cro-Mags, Sheer Terror or Madball from later in the same decade, and the music is way heavier. What I'm saying now is relevant for Agnostic Front too, believe me.
Anyhow, this album is 15 minutes of pure, unadulterated NY hardcore punk. The mix is raw as fuck, Vinnie Stigma's guitars have that atonal, feedbacky kinda sound that you rarely hear in modern punk these days, the bass is fuzzy and heavily distorted and Roger Miret shouts his way through the songs, but he doesn't sound completely off the hook either. Most of the songs are just full-speed slam-dancin' mosh classics ('Victim in Pain', 'Remind Them', 'Power', 'Hiding Inside'...) though tracks like 'United and Strong' and 'Fascist Attitudes' do have that blue-collar unity, anthemic sense that other genres don't have. I honesty can't think of much to nit-pick about here, other than the fact I didn't listen to this right away when I was first getting into hardcore music, so I guess it hasn't had quite the impact on me personally as albums like Cro-Mags' Age of Quarrel or any of the early Biohazard albums. For a lot of HC fans though, I wouldn't be surprised if this was a 10/10. Victim in Pain is made an impact on the NYHC scene, and is up there with other early milestones like the Bad Brains debut, Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, Fear's The Record etc., and no other AF album really sounds like it either.
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
CAUSE FOR ALARM 1986 (Relativity)
- Standouts: Hmm...everything, really.
See, this is what I was talking about when I said before that it was common the sounds of metal started having an effect on hardcore music from the mid-80's onward! Although to be fair, I still consider Cause for Alarm to fit better into the hardcore category than I do metal or even crossover. Thrash metal was dominating the metal underground (glam metal the mainstream), and hardcore bands were sometimes put on the same bill as thrash despite the two genres still having fan rivalry (hardcore fans consisted of punks and skinheads and metal, uh, metalheads). Agnostic Front put more more structure into the songs here, the riffs are tighter, Roger Miret almost 'sings' throughout, the production is way 'crunchier' and much less atonal, and some tracks had gotten longer ('Growing Concern' is over 4 minutes for example), hence the metal credentials. But like I said, despite all these things, I still think think the album is hardcore at the end of the day. I mean, labeling it 'crossover' isn't inaccurate or anything, I just think hardcore in general had evolved at this point. Still, this album kicks as much ass as the debut, it just does takes a different approach to kicking your ass. I actually like this record as much Victim in Pain, but for different reasons. The first album was a kick to the teeth, this one is a slightly more calculated kick to the teeth.
Adam's rating: 9/10
ONE VOICE 1992 (Relativity)
- Standouts: 'New Jack', 'The Tombs', 'One Voice', 'Your Fall', 'Undertow', 'Retaliate', 'Bastard'
Alright, this is maybe the most metal they ever got. The riffs have gotten even chunkier and heavier, the production much sharper, yet somehow it still has that hardcore attitude. Obviously Roger's voice is part of the reason, but I really think hardcore is an attitude more than anything else. Put someone like Dave Mustaine singing over this record, and it's basically a thrash album, but with a guy like Roger on the mic, the album still feels like a hardcore album even the riffs and most of the music are heavily influenced by metal at this point. Plus, it was normal for hardcore music at this point to include gang vocals as backup, so that helps too. Anyhow, I wouldn't put this one among the same ranks as the first two, but I've always had a soft spot for it. It was actually my first Agnostic Front record, so it's had plenty of spin over the years. Plenty of great, bruising numbers on here too; 'New Jack', 'The Tombs', 'Your Fall', 'Undertow', 'Retaliate', 'Bastard'...the only track that is kind of sucky is the 'Infiltrate', a frankly pointless and short instrumental that is built around riffs that could've just been used in any other song on here. Aside from that, the whole album is still enjoyable and I even have a patch of it on my festival/gig-goin' battle jacket.
Adam's rating: 8/10
ANOTHER VOICE 2004 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: Take your pick. All listenable, nothing outstanding.
This album follows in a similar direction to the sound you heard on One Voice. I think it's safe to assume they won't ever replicate Victim in Pain at this point; the metal sound plays a large part in the hardcore mentality. I can't really think of too much to say about this one in terms of instrumentation - it's fist-pumping, angry meathead hardcore that you've come to expect. I guess it would have been nicer if there were some faster songs on here, as it has it's share of mid-tempo riffs, but the songs are short and sweet, and don't get boring. Roger Miret's voice has changed a lot over the years and I wouldn't be surprised if it would turn a lot of people off, but I can't imagine anyone else fronting these tunes either. Good album, just nothing special.
Adam's rating: 7/10
WARRIORS 2007 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: All good again, just nothing spectacular.
I found this album at Bloodstock festival 2019. I always end up browsing the stalls for CD's on the final day, and being a metal festival there isn't much hardcore stuff out there, so usually if I do find something like this (for a cheap price of course), I pick it up. Anyhow, this disc is marginally better than Another Voice. The tempo's been raised more, so most of the album is pretty fast from start to finish, and Roger sounds better too. Production is decent, the riffs are heavy, the songs are more than mosh-worthy... yeah. There isn't much wrong here, yet I still find it to not be as good as One Voice for some reason. I suppose at this point Agnostic Front are the type of band that are just happy to stick with one sound and consistently release records in the same vein. If you liked the last album, you'll like this one too.
Adam's rating: 7.5/10
