New Jersey hardcore

New Jersey hardcore (NJHC) refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New Jersey and to the subculture associated with that music.

Evolution from punk rock

New Jersey had many early punk bands, circa 1977-'80, including The Misfits, Shrapnel, and The Pleasure Hounds. Many of these fledgeling early punk bands would later alter their sounds in the early 80's when hardcore punk originators like Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat toured and gained national exposure.

• The Burnt - formed 1979 in Midland Park
• East Paterson Boys Choir - formed 197? in Elmwood Park
• The Misfits - formed 1977 in Lodi
• The Pleasure Hounds - formed 1978 or 1979 in Seaside Heights
• The Radicals - formed 1978 in Paterson
• Shrapnel - formed 1977 in the Jersey Shore area
• The Worst - formed 1977 in the Jersey Shore area

1980-1986 - The first wave

New Jersey had developed several regional, overlapping hardcore punk scenes by 1981-'82. Proximity to New York City and Philadelphia has long tended to draw punk and hardcore bands away from New Jersey, with historic examples including Bergen County bands such as The Misfits defecting in one direction, and South Jersey bands such as Sadistic Exploits defecting in the other. Adrenalin OD was one of the more important early hardcore punk bands to identify primarily with New Jersey, however there were and continue to be multitudes of others, many of whom are nationally popular, and some who have gone on to international success.

It was during this period that several New Jersey-based record labels specializing in hardcore punk were formed and began releasing albums. While there were many, two of the most influential were Mutha Records from West Long Branch, and Buy Our Records in Bergen County.

• The Undead - formed 1980 in New Milford
• Adrenalin OD - formed 1981 in Elmwood Park
• U.S. Chaos - formed 1981 in Paterson
• Seeds of Terror - formed 1982 in Camden
• Hogan's Heroes - formed 1984 in Toms River
• Mucky Pup - formed 1985 in Bergenfield

1986-1991 - The second wave

During the late 1980s, hardcore bands started to experiment with their sounds, taking their cues from other national scenes. Some would imitate the crossover thrash/skate punk of [...] Tendencies, while others would incorporate more melodic sounds similar to the early emo scene developing in Washington DC. Still others would draw influence from the nearby New York hardcore scene, including the youth crew movement, or bands Madball and Sick of it All.

• C.C.4.J. - formed 1988
• Turning Point - formed 1988
• Rorschach - formed 1989
• Dog Eat Dog - formed in 1990
• Lifetime - formed 1990

1992-1998 - The third wave

During the early 1990s, regional scenes within NJ started to develop as the emphasis moved away from NYC and more towards local bands and venues. The NJHC separated into 3 distinct scenes with its own bands, idealogy and sound. The Northern NJHC scene was centered around Studio One and The Pipeline in Newark, NJ. The Central NJ scene centered around Middlesex County College, and The Down Under in New Brunswick. The South Jersey scene centered around the Fastlanes and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.

Differences in MusicAL Styles
Each regional scene developed a distinct sound and idealogy. In the central NJ scene, the musical style was more melodic. The "Middlesex Scene" as it became known, involved youth crew and early "emo" style bands. In the southern NJ scene the musical style was based on a much harder version of crossover punk and hardcore with a hard metallic edge. In the north NJ scene, the musical style was influenced primarily on NYHC with an emphasis on metallic riffing and double bass drum playing. The north NJ scene was also influenced by hip/hop. Some bands, such as Dog Eat Dog and The Human Offense included rapping and hip/hop style beats in their music as early as 1990. Although, every scene in NJ had links to NYHC, due to the close proximity as a whole, the northern NJ was also linked to the NYHC through bands that had members in both states, such as Bulldoze and 25 ta Life. Both the north and south NJHC scenes also were influenced by the growing death metal movement and by local death metal bands like Ripping Corpse and Human Remains. The "Middlesex Scene" was the most resistant to the influence of metal. As national acts came through NJ and played at various venues in the state, more and more local bands were added to the bills which caused the NJHC to explode.

National and International Recognition
As these scenes started to grow and gain popularity, so did the bands that emerged from these scenes. Alternatively, some second generation NJHC bands like Dog Eat Dog, signed to larger national labels and became internationally recognized. In 1995, they were voted Breakthrough Artists of the Year at the MTV Europe Music Awards. This drew international attention to the NJHC scene. By 1996, bands like 25 ta Life, Vision, and Fury of Five were pushing NJHC further into the limelight through extensive touring, tape trading and their outspokenness of the NJHC scene. Smaller bands, such as E-town Concrete, Floorpunch, For The Love Of, Second to None, Mouthpiece, Ensign, One4One and NJ Bloodline, amongst countless others started to gain recognition and by 1997, were releasing material with American, European and Japanese labels, drawing even more attention to the NJHC scene. However, the success and reputation of the NJHC scene wasn't all based on the music.

A Change In Hardcore Dancing
In the early 1990s, as the scenes started to grow, a fresh crop of young people converged into these each scene. All ages shows at easily accessible VFW halls became an easy way to put on a hardcore shows, without dealing with the venues, the club owners, and the laws related to alcohol and minors in clubs. The lack of security lead to shows becoming more carefree. and thus more violent. Differences in dance styles quickly started to emerge. Old school moshing of the 80's Punk era quickly gave way to newer styles of hardcore dancing which was based less on the chaos of moshpits and more on "move" orientated techniques. In the central NJ scene, Youth Crew dancing was the norm (Finger pointing, stage diving, crowding the stage and sing alongs). In southern and northern NJ, many dance techniques were refined, like the "creepy crawly" (picking up change), "wall bashing", and the "two step". However, in the north Jersey scene, the dancing became harder and harder due to the influx of NYHC bands and fans. NYHC already had a violent reputation when it came to hardcore dancing, and through venues like Studio One, harder-edged dancing was imported by NYHC fans and bands.

A new hybrid form of hardcore Dancing mixed with martial arts moves, otherwise known as "kickboxing" (later known as "ninja fighting") became the most violent and thus popular addition to the northern NJ scene. Fred, from 25 ta Life, is often credited with bringing the "kickboxing" form of HC dancing to the north Jersey scene via The Pipeline, Newark, NJ. Due to the ferocity of this new dance, the hardest dancers from the north and south NJ scenes embraced this new form of dancing. The addition of kickboxing moves also started to change the way many northern and southern NJHC bands wrote their music. Breakdowns became much heavier and slower to accommodate this new technique. As northern and southern NJHC bands started to playing other parts of NJ, NYC and PA, they brought The New "kickboxing" technique with them. Although clashes erupted over this new dance technique, especially in central NJ, over time, "kickboxing" became a staple of NJHC dancing with bands immortalizing the technique through video, their music and merchandise such as the "Tiger Style kickboxer" tee shirt design by NJ Bloodline. The "kickboxing/ninja fighting" technique has since spread across the globe and is considered a staple dance technique in most hardcore scenes.

Examples of bands associated with each scene

Northern NJ Scene Bands

• 25 ta Life (also considered NYHC)
• Backlash
• Bulldoze (also considered NYHC)
• E-Town Concrete - formed in 1995 in Elizabeth
• Fatnuts
• The Human Offense
• NJ Bloodline - formed in 1992
• one4one
• Rest Assured? - formed in 1994 in Dumont
• Train of Thought
• Worldwide

Central NJ Scene Bands

• Curbjaw
• Ensign
• Floorpunch
• For the Love of - formed in 1995
• Hundredfold
• Mouthpiece
• Resurrection
• Strength 691 - formed in 1991
• Vision

Southern NJ Scene Bands

• Clubberlang
• Fury of Five
• Locked up in Life
• OS101
• Position of Power
• Second to None
• Shattered Realm

See also

• hardcore dancing