Hardcore fans, it’s time to get bloody in the pits again! Because the influential New York hardcore legendary frontman of Cro-Mags Harley Flanagan announced special summer weekend shows, all in honor of their April 1989 heavy metal crossover classic LP “Best Wishes”! Cro-Mags will perform the entire definitive “Best Wishes” album from front to back! But only for four select dates from July 20th in Ashbury Park, New Jersey, at the House of Independence, July 21st in Chicago, Illinois, at the Cobra Lounge, July 22nd in Wallingford, Cincinnati, at the Cherry Street Station, and July 23rd in Providence, Rhode Island at the Alchemy venue. Hit up your local venues for ticket information regarding these four limited weekends of “Best Wishes” Cro-Mags shows during the summer of July 2023.

What is New York Hardcore?

The second chapter of Tony Rettman’s book NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980 1990 is an incredible insight into the intense DIY music scene of downtown New York City. This chapter focuses on the hardcore punk movement born out of downtown venues and neighborhoods filled with social unrest and poverty. Rettman paints a vivid picture of a scene in which bands created their own sound amidst pervasive political themes, and youth culture flourished despite its chaotic surroundings.

Rettman discusses the importance of self-expression within this genre, highlighting how it allowed fans to communicate their frustrations through powerful songs that would influence future generations. He details how punk helped shape the socio-political climate while serving as a platform for artists to express themselves freely without fear or censorship.

From “The Legacy: Set It Off” Chapter Two NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980 1990:

Howie Abrams (A&R, In-Effect Records; editor, Occasional Irregularity fanzine): One day around 1988 Roger Miret walked into In-Effect with this cassette of like three or four minutes of a little kid singing in front of what could be Agnostic Front’s “United Blood, Part Two.” It was a recording of his little brother [Freddy Cricien], what was to become Madball’s Ball of Destruction EP. We released that as a 7-inch in 1989.

Fast-forward a few years, and Madball started to gain some interest. They were getting invited to play in places like South America because Agnostic Front was touring there. The 7-inch had traveled, and people were asking about Madball. The band had become a myth. So that’s when Hoya Roc came in on bass, Willie Shepler on drums, and Matt Henderson on guitar. Stigma was a part of that lineup as well. They didn’t have serious intentions of being a band.

By 1993, they made it known that they wanted to be a real band. I ended up sitting down with Freddy, who was seventeen then, and Hoya. They wanted to make an actual album and become one of those bands that did albums and tour cycles. So we went and did Set It Off. Madball took the old version of the NYHC formula and presented it in a new package and it worked. People really connected with it.

Toby Morse (vocalist, H2O; roadie, Sick of It All): I started going to South America and Europe with Sick of It All. I wasn’t the best roadie in the world. I would help break down the drums and do a bunch of stage dives. I was just a friend they brought on tour. They brought me around the world as a kid. That was pretty much my college. When I returned, the scene was driving with V.O.D., Madball, Subzero, and Crown of Thornz. It was a whole new generation of NYHC, and it was awesome.

Howie Abrams: The ’90s era of bands like H2O and Crown of Thornz comprised roadies, fans, and scenester kids. All the kids you would see on the road with Sick of It All, Madball, or Killing Time started their own bands.

Toby Morse: I started H2O because I would sing with Sick of It All as a joke. H2O did their first show in Queens opening for Murphy’s Law. There was so much of the tough-guy chugga-chugga stuff when we came out. People were like, “Oh shit, what’s this?” It was a breath of fresh air to some people because we had a melody.

Howie Abrams: [Crown of Thornz’s Lord] Ezec (Danny Diablo) and Toby had been around the scene for quite a while, and both were super-charismatic guys. They decided they wanted to have bands, but both went in two different ways musically. H2O had the NYHC vibe but also had a West Coast punk vibe with influences like Descendents and Bad Religion. They didn’t just play mosh parts. But Crown of Thornz had been influenced by the crossover era of Agnostic Front. Both bands also paid a shitload of respect to the Cro-Mags and Murphy’s Law, but each band had an identity of its own.

Michael Scondotto (vocalist, Inhuman, the Last Stand): Around that time, Brooklyn exploded with new bands too. In 1990 alone, Merauder, Patterns, my band Confusion, Lament, and Life of Agony all formed. Other bands from that era were Nobody’s Perfect and Social Disorder. L’Amour and the Crazy Country Club were both having hardcore shows. A lot of the members of these Brooklyn bands were going to CBs in the late ’80s but didn’t get to play there due to being too young. This was all happening simultaneously with Biohazard making the rounds. Carnivore was the beginning point for all of the bands in Brooklyn, really.

Drew Stone: I saw Biohazard at a hardcore matinee in the late ’80s. I remember watching two songs and thinking, “Two skinheads, two longhairs. Half hardcore, half metal. I get the gimmick.” But things worked out well for them later on, and they got better and better. Biohazard opened the doors for many bands that came in toward the 1990s. Many guys saw what was going on with Biohazard and got inspired. Look at the Biohazard video I shot for “Punishment.” Most of those guys in the video ended up in that next wave of bands. There are guys from Merauder and Sub Zero, plus Ezec and the guys from Madball. That’s what most people know as NYHC today.

Toby Morse: When CB’s got shut down, shows were going on at Coney Island High. Oh my God, Coney Island High! Another wave of amazing shows were put on by Jimmy G and Steve Poss, who were doing Creepy Crawl Productions, and a whole new wave of kids went to those shows.

Howie Abrams: During the ’90s era, none of the hardcore bands that influenced the NYHC thing sounded like NYHC when it first came out. Everything was stripped away and started anew. Of course, everyone still respected the people who started it: Crown of Thornz carried on the influence of Agnostic Front throughout their career. But hardcore as a separate thing from metal, the kind of hardcore that still recognized punk as a distant cousin, that stuff was pretty much wiped away. The genuine community aspect of the scene remained. That was still undoubtedly NYHC. That spirit will always be there, and I think that’s fascinating. In fact, for that to survive in a city this big and this diverse, with kids coming from so many different places, not only is it fascinating — it’s almost a miracle.

Vinnie Stigma: The early NYHC thing was a true moment in time. It was where the worlds of music crossed: punk, hardcore, Oi!, and metal. These days, people try to tweet themselves to fame. They have no idea that you have to earn your bones. You have to write good music. You have to be there for the people.