NY Hardcore Chronicles Film 1.5.

NY Hardcore Chronicles Film 1.5.

 On "Tubi" once again I found a great music documentary called N.Y. Hardcore Chronicles…. The film gave great enlightenment to the hard core metal bands in the early 80's. Like the punk rock seen it was based on the lower East Side of Manhattan. 

 As it turns out, Hardcore Metal has been around now longer than Disco, Punk and even Rock and Roll. Drew Stone directs this documentary with interviews from many of the people who played in bands in New York City during the 80's. Bands like Anthrax, Agnostic Front, Murphy's Law, Cro Mags and Youth of Today where very big in the hardcore seen. 

 Playing out of clubs like: Club 87, A7 and in Brooklyn's L'Amour, these metal groups had many of the same crowds as punk; and with the same philosophy… rage against society; rage against the system. From the "Straight Edge" movement to the "Neo's", the blighted out East Village was perfect for the genre. The East Village back in the day was dangerous, it was riddled with junkies, homeless and very unsavory people. 

 The rise of the metal movement was the late 70's, however, it really ramped up in the early 80's. Clubs like CBGB were all to happy to host many of these original bands. Metal was not as drug fueled as the punk movement, however, violence was at its core. Many fights would break out in clubs for no apparent reason. 

 The movie brings to light how metal was dying out by 1987 only to have a massive resurgence. Metal is still popular today. The original movement was spurn by kids that lived in the East Village neighborhood. Kids as young as 12–13 years old got there start playing music in clubs like 87- A7 and the like. 

 The documentary also focuses on how dangerous it was for people from the outside coming into this area. The East Village in the 80's was by far the most dangerous area in Manhattan; that is saying a lot because most of Manhattan in the 80's were dangerous. Thompson Square, otherwise know as needle park was the most dangerous park in New York City. As dangerous as Times Square was, it paled in comparison to The Lower East Side. 

 The Lower East Side was the right place at the right time for the punk/metal seen. The dystopian area know as" The Lower East", with its burnt out buildings and hopeless people who occupied it, gave resolution to the two movements. Even though the dress was different between punk and metal,the ideology was the same for the most part.

 Like punk rock in New York City, many of these metal bands got to tour all over the world. People who had little opportunity were able to make very decent money playing music nightly throughout Manhattan and the Boroughs. The Lower East side left its mark on the two genres, punk and metal; the nightclubs that showcased these bands too were legendary. Clubs like CBGB, The Mudd Club, Danceteria, The Ritz, Webster Hall, and many more would house the punk as well as the metal seen.

The big question watching the movie to me was: how did this genre make it longer than rock and roll? To me it was a lot of screaming and body surfing, coupled with fighting. it seemed to me that a lot of the metal fans were violent. Fighting in the clubs was a nightly occurrence. Even the way the people danced was violent; not that punk didn't have violence. The body slamming put a lot of people in wheelchairs and comas.

CBGB, The Mudd Club, Webster Hall, Club 87, A7 nightclub, The Lower East Side, Heavy Metal Music, Anthrax, Murphy's Law, Cro Mags, The Sex Pistols, Youth of Todasy. New York City, Toimes Square.