Episode 226: Post 1990s Youth Crew
What’s up, everyone? Killer episode this week on the pod. Check it out here, here, or here and check out the playlist here or here.
This week we dove into what came after the 1990’s Youth Crew revival scene died out. Consider it a follow up to Episode 217. We all know what killed it, but what came out of it?
I’d say in the roots hardcore lane in 1999-2002, you had a handful of buckets emerge. Some overlap timeline-wise, some overlap style-wise and I’m sure there are plenty of other things we missed, but here’s my simplified version a quarter century after the fact:
Tad-meaner lane: Some bands took pretty much the same formula of the 90’s Youth Crew bands and just made it a little meaner. Notable bands/records I’d put into this bucket would be Right Brigade, Shark Attack, Striking Distance, and the 3rd Carry On 7”. The emphasis was on both speed AND the mosh. Some bands like No Warning incorporated more 90’s NYHC into their sound. You also had Terror form in 2002 out of the ashes of Carry On. They combined elements of 90’s NYHC and CTHC to become of of the greatest and most prolific hardcore bands of all time.
Tragedy lane: This had been percolating. Bands like Deathreat, His Hero Is Gone, and Skitsystem were already playing a similar style before Tragedy, but when the self titled Tragedy LP came out in the year 2000, everything changed. Even if you didn’t like any Crust or D-Beat, you probably still at least fucked with a few Tragedy tracks. You know the sound: heavy as all get-out and enough octaves to make my man Octavio blush. A million clones popped up and opened every show - none were remembered. Regardless, a shit-ton of hardcore kids who never owned anything with a patch on it still have those first two Tragedy LPs in their collection.
Fast lane: This lane has less emphasis on mosh and speed is the critical element. I’d put Life’s Halt, What Happens Next?, and Tear It Up in here. Fast but not powerviolence. I’d also include bands like Kill Your Idols and any band that they or Tear It Up did a split with here. These bands were influenced more by USHC 1981-84, not 86-89 like the 90’s Youth Crew bands. An unfortunate sub-category, bandana thrash, would come out of this lane as well giving a gimmick to music that didn’t need it.
AN lane: Like Tragedy, American Nightmare changed everything. Musically, this stuff could have a foot in the fast lane and a foot in the tad-meaner lane, but what made it its own bucket was fashion and lyrics. Cargos out; expensive clothes in. The lyrics got more poetic. The Carry On LP and Panic would be other examples of bands in this lane. Like Tragedy, there were a million clones that no one remembers.
This piece of merch defined an era. Mid-tempo lane: This will be an offensive catch all to some but I was there and this is how I see it. These were basically bands playing mid-tempo but having some of the fashion and/or lyrical sensibilities of the AN-lane. I’d put Suicide File, Modern Life Is War, and The Hope Conspiracy here.
A final note:
Since we’re talking about the 90’s Youth Crew scene being completely dead, we should mention that The First Step demo came out in 2001, and if it came out in 1996 or 1997 it would’ve been one of the best demos of the era. They’d break up in the late 00’s and Mindset would pick up where they left off. Both bands were masters of the style and should be remembered for being great bands who wove the flag for a specific lane of roots hardcore when it wasn’t cool anymore.
Now who’s going to step up and be the next Mindset? I can’t wait to see it.
- ZN