New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is

This 1988 compilation paints a clear portrait of the New York hardcore scene of the late ’80s, which centered around weekend afternoon “matinee” shows at the legendary Bowery punk club CBGB. Several of the best-known bands from that era — Sick Of It All, Warzone, Youth Of Today, Gorilla Biscuits — are featured, getting two songs each. Warzone were back-alley thugs; Gorilla Biscuits had melody and tempo changes; Sick Of It All were brutal, but they’d evolve; Youth Of Today’s prominent bass lines and shared vocals gave their music a Minor Threat-ish intensity. But some of the also-rans are just as fascinating: Nausea were a rare crust-punk band in a world of hardcore acts, and Breakdown’s “Sick People” has a heavily reverbed sound so cavernous it’s almost death metal.