Harley riles the Trenton crowd, Cro-Mags at City Gardens, Photo: Ken Salerno
Well the results are in, and personally I'm a little surprised. For starters, we definitely missed a couple intros that easily could have been in here. Murphy's Law, Outburst, Supertouch, and I'm sure even something I'm blanking on now. Maybe we'll do a round two. Here's the results for round one.
BOLD was perhaps a controversial one to put in there, but it definitely jumps out in our minds and pulled in some votes, though still taking a expected last place. Personally, I had it closer to the top...it may not be NYHC personified, but it's heavy, moody and triumphant sounding all at once. Maybe it is safe to say it makes me want to stage dive more than it makes me want to mosh. The recorded version isn't the greatest, but some live recordings show that it really kills.
In a shocking fourth place was Leeway's legendary "Rise And Fall." I honestly expected this to take second place. It's still covered by current bands, and Leeway's popularity seems to have not faded amongst the new breed today. Mind numbingly powerful, with perhaps one of the best guitar sounds ever recorded, A.J. Novello's SG crunching still makes me want to smash my head into a hard, stationary object when I hear it.
Leeway madness at City Gardens, Photo: Ken Salerno
WarZone's Intro Bust grabbed a few more votes than Leeway and took a solid third place with the first track from the classic DFTS, DFTS album. One of the faster, mid-tempo intros, the Intro Bust is as classic as it gets, yet retains a fun, almost upbeat vibe that doesn't feel quite as overpowering as some of the others. Nonetheless, still sick, and such a fitting way to kick off a flawless album.
Sick Of It All snagged second place, a slot I was personally surprised to see them grab. Not that this isn't a timeless intro, I just have a hard time gauging where a jam like this fits into everyone's list these days. Apparently many still love it, and the Alleyway Crew boys grabbed 21% of the vote.
As I expected, and as I voted, the Cro-Mags ran away with first place for "We Gotta Know." What is there to say...Mackie's drumming is possibly best epitomized here as it is mercilessly hard and technically tricky, yet somehow understated and perfectly fitting. I've heard it described as an off-time jazz fusion behind-the-beat groove, but I'm a drummer and I don't even know what the hell that means. What I do know is that the drums alone in this make me want to do some weird dance that will never be seen in public...it's not even moshing, it's like violent fornication. Three guitar chords...pretty much the heaviest in standard tuning, are all that is required. I'd love to know how this intro was created...it really is pretty much the best thing ever written and recorded. When I'm 90 years old I still feel like I will hear this and start punching my arthritic fist into my other arthritic palm and do this weird grimace where I bite my entire lower lip and close one eye.
NYHC Intros...maybe the best thing there is in the world. And the Cro-Mags take the cake. -Gordo DCXX
Sick Of It All at City Gardens, always a house favorite, Photo: Ken Salerno
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Best New York Hardcore Intro - Poll Results
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
we gotta know was an easy first choice for me too. when i saw the cro-mags a few years ago in NYC - with both John and Harley! - they opened with that song. i hadn't heard it in probably almost ten years but it literally made me almost start shaking with energy. hearing that intro live was like having mountain dew injected into my veins.
Tim, you hit the nail on the head with the Bold intro.it definetly deserved to be on the list...
I personally voted for Warzone. Mostly because of teh intro to the intro.
"Yo, forget bout that cause this jam is gonna bust the house down."
i think gordo wrote this, not tim, and even though i disagree with him about the bold intro still being top 5 worthy (its good but not great), the description of we gotta know had me DYING:
What I do know is that the drums alone in this make me want to do some weird dance that will never be seen in public...it's not even moshing, it's like violent fornication.
the best band makes the best intro. no surpise. no mystery.
i honestly think that if apocalypse now was just cut down to an intro, it would rival the we gotta know intro...either way, it is seriously mind numbing that the same band (apocalypse was written in 87 maybe?) wrote both jams...insanity
Would have def voted for Warzone because of the ...'bust the house down'
But in reality. I'm Probably opening up a completely different can of worms here. I know they are not a NYHC band, and I am ont even sure the tune they played is called "intro". None the less.. the Pagan Babies intro was always the best in my opinion. Hard.. Driving.. and at the end, just busts right into In A Lifetime.
What, no Beyond `Save Ourselves`?!
"If I was gonna fight Mike Tyson I would come into the ring to 'We Gotta Know' by the Cro-Mags."
Regis Guerin, during the intros for Tyson-Ruddock I, March 18, 1991.
Cro-Mags had to be the winner here, that intro personifies hardcore. The Leeway intro however is just absolutely crucial and should have been second, and I dont even like leeway
Thinking about the We Gotta Know intro longer than 30 seconds gets my heart pumping, and the weird/funny/sad thing is, I'm not even kidding.
After reading this I want to start a band called Violent Fornication.
bartthefleX.
Post a Comment