|
 |
  
 
 |
|
Nihilistics
Posted by Laila Hanson on 29-May-08 @ 01:07 PM|
FILE UNDER: Scathing, thrashy hardcore from Long Island YEARS OF EXISTENCE: 1979-present RECORD TO START WITH: Nihilistics (1983, Brain Eater) AFTER THAT, CHECK OUT: Al-Qaida Detonator (2002, Visionary) GO DOWNLOAD: "Misanthrope," "Welfare For The Rich," "Death And Taxes," "Combat Stance," "Kill Yourself," "Life's Process," "Black Sheep," "My Creed" THE MUSIC, THE MESSAGE: We all know hardcore bands like Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law and often associate the genre with New York City's five boroughs. But from the idyllic suburbs to the east of Long Island came some of the most vitriolic hardcore punk of the era in the form of Nihilistics. The band?Ron Rancid (vocals), Chris T. (guitar), Troy (drums) and Mike (bass)?jelled around 1979 and made an appearance on the legendary who's-who-of-NYHC compilation New York Thrash in '82. A year later, the band released their scorching 20-song self-titled album, a record that was devastatingly raw, dark and angry. The music matched their moniker, with scratchy, flailing guitars, bouncy bass and unceasing, pounding drums. Vocally, Rancid's pissed-off delivery spat vitriol on the status quo and stuck it to The Man with songs like "Welfare For The Rich" (singing about war: "I just think it's a corporate ploy/Once again our tax dollar they'll enjoy/Scheming and lying is all they do/Do you really think they care about you?") and the anti-cop romp "The Murderers In Blue." Some songs are just thrashy, smash-and-bash madness, including "Here And Now," "No Friends," "Kill Yourself" and "Badge Of Shame," while others belie ugly subject matter and have a (believe it or not) pop sensibility-sort of; namely "Death And Taxes," the depraved "Black Sheep" and "My Creed," but none more so than the dancey "Combat Stance." PUNK-ROCK RELEVANCE: One of the only hardcore punk bands to come from Long Island in the late '70s/early '80s, Nihilistics showed through their aforementioned anger and disgust of society that life in the suburbs wasn't so pretty, just as bands like the Adolescents and TSOL did on the West Coast. And what cynical kid can't relate with this most famous mantra from "Life's Process": "Go to school, go to work/Go to hell you fucking jerk/This is life, little more/What the hell we livin' for?". CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Before the venue's unfortunate demise, one could find the Nihilistics' "tour hearse" parked outside CBGB's for gigs. Nihilistics have continued playing and releasing records throughout the years, including 2002's Al-Qaida Detonator (catch them live and you might see them bring up a dude doing a jig dressed like Osama bin Laden); they also had a song on 2006's Poultrygeist soundtrack, which also featured the Dwarves and MU330's Dan Potthast, among others. -Janelle Jones |
