New York Hardcore

New York hardcore is the hardcore punk style that formed in New York City in the early 1980s around bands such as *Agnostic Front*, *Cro-Mags* and *Warzone*. Heavier and more groove-centred than the first American hardcore, it fuses punk's speed with metal's down-picked riffing, breakdowns built for the dance floor and gang-chanted choruses, in songs that rarely pass two minutes. Scenes at CBGB and A7, and labels such as #Revelation#, produced a self-consciously tough, street-level identity — shaved heads, athletic dress, straight edge and crew loyalty — that has remained the benchmark for hardcore worldwide.