Agnostic Front Interview – Roger Miret, Vinnie Stigma – 25 Years of ‘Victim in Pain’

by | Feb 2, 2010

If you are unfamiliar with Roger Miret and Vinnie Stigma of Agnostic Front, you don’t know shit about hardcore. The Village Voice recently claimed that the band’s 1984 record, “Victim in Pain”, is as important and influential to New York music as any classic Velvet Underground or Ramones album. In fact, Agnostic Front is the band that spearheaded the New York hardcore scene of the 80s.

Now this isn’t modern commercial hardcore – skinny jeans, shaggy hair, a MySpace page with widgets of every band members’ tweets – but New York hardcore: a community, a family.

What started out in the early 80s with 30 kids playing in bands at CBGB’s, the New York hardcore scene has undoubtedly made a profound impact on generations of artists. Now, 25 years after the release of “Victim in Pain”, I had a chance to sit down with the members of Agnostic Front to discuss the origins of hardcore and the secret to their success and longevity:

“There were never an ego…no jealously, no money,” states Stigma. “It was us versus them.”

The Safety Fire Interview: Derya “Dez” Nagle on Setting the Music Scene Ablaze

Just weeks before The Safety Fire’s sophomore album, Mouth Of Swords, came out in September, guitarist Derya “Dez” Nagle was involved in a cycling accident and had to undergo surgery. “Few weeks of rest and all will be well,” he said back in late July about the...

Ontronik Interview: Ex SOAD Drummer / Apex Theory Vocalist’s First Interview in Years

If you want to hear a crazy rock story, meet Andy Khachaturian. He was original drummer for System Of A Down and frontman for the now defunct Armenian-American quartet The Apex Theory — ever wonder what happened to those guys? If you were born after 1990, you...

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS Interview with Kim Benzie & Clint “Vinnie” Vincent

It’s been a while since we’ve talked with Dead Letter Circus. Five years to be exact. Back when we did our previous interview with the Australian band, they had just started touring in the States, and were trekking across the country with a bunch of metal...

Pelican Interview: A Retrospective with Trevor de Brauw & Bryan Herweg

“We teepeed Thrice while they were playing,” says Pelican bassist Bryan Herweg. “We went out and actually wrapped them up in toilet paper.” Chatting at a park bench on a calm street in Pomona, Herweg and guitarist Trevor de Brauw reminisce of...