“Words falling like bricks, for a New England wish…”
These lyrics come from one of the best known and, often argued, most beloved hardcore acts to come from New England in recent memory. That act is Give Up the Ghost.
With the way music changes within every genre, it is important to note how sub-genres change as well. Hardcore, a derivative of punk, was kicked into overdrive in the ’80s and brought forth acts such as Minor Threat, Black Flag and Bad Brains. Back then the major geographical locations to house these acts was Southern California, Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston. More recently Boston, and specifically New England, has been at the forefront of a new breed of hardcore.
Give Up the Ghost formed originally under the title American Nightmare. After a lawsuit, the band had to give up the A.N. and adopted Give Up the Ghost. Fronted by former Ten Yard Fight roadie Wes Eisold, G.U.T.G wrote aggressive heart-on-their-sleeve lyrics. The lyrics often focused on a plot of love, despair and abandonment, and were set in the band’s native Boston. With strong response to a demo released on Bridge Nine Records, G.U.T.G set a fever on the scene with a release on Equal Vision Records. Shortly thereafter, it appeared G.U.T.G was going to be a dominant force. But, suddenly, the fever was over as G.U.T.G disbanded in 2004.
What G.U.T.G did accomplish was to open a door where hardcore could still progress without losing its aggression. 2002 saw the formation of New Bedford, M.A. act Have Heart. Bearing the pride of being straight edge, Have Heart was set to hit their mark with the Bridge Nine Records release of their first full length “The Things We Carry” in 2006. Have Heart became a New England staple and more t-shirts bearing the “H.H.” logo could be found in any M.A. VFW Hall show. Some would say the band was going to carry the mantle for Bane, a Worcester, M.A. based band that often carried the straight edge flag in New England since the mid-’90s. Have Heart released their latest effort for Bridge Nine Records in July of this year. The album, entitled “Songs to Scream at the Sun,” reached 193 on “Billboard Magazine’s” top 200 albums.
Though M.A. seems to dominate the hardcore scene within New England, let us not forget Haverhill, M.A. Nike enthused band Guns Up!. I believe the loudest voice in hardcore today is coming from the colonies’ smallest state. Providence, R.I. band Verse has made a momentous mark within the New England scene. I cannot say enough about Verse’s release, “Aggression,” this summer on Bridge Nine Records. Verse is a politically and socially conscious band that often calls for the listeners to, “rebuild a sense of community,” as found in the title track “Rebuild” (2004).
Keeping it aggressive and punk driven, Outbreak hails from New Hampshire’s big brother Maine. Outbreak’s violent imagery, aggressive lyrics and thrash-like riffs leave it old school while still keeping it fresh. Like most bands in the area, Outbreak were able to spread their infection by gaining popularity while touring with Bane and Conn. based band With Honor. Outbreak has releases on both Think Fast! and Bridge Nine Records.
While this list is small, I feel these bands to be the crux of what is coming down the pipeline for future hardcore acts. The older (and some younger) generations have Bad Brains and Black Flag, but our generation never saw them in their “glory days.” Today’s hardcore “students” will do well to study the bands mentioned in this column. For those readers looking to find out more about local hardcore or punk acts, check out the flyer wall at your local independent music store. Or, check out Bridge9.com and/or Thinkfastrecords.com.