Hardcore Punk began in the early 1980s with post punk bands like Black Flag, the Germs, Middle Class, Fear, Fugazi, Sick of It All, Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and the Rollins Band. Hardcore bands in the beginning were rhythmically Hardcore Punk Rockloose and heavier then their forerunners like The Clash, and the Sex Pistols and played with more intensity and drive than punk bands typically did. Later the movement began to tighten rhythmically and the intensity increased as bands incorporated the energy of genres like heavy metal into their sonic repertoire. Also the style incorporates the social activism and political consciousness, anarchism of other movements with it to create a movement very distinct from its punk roots. The west coast group D.O.A. may be the first to coin the name hardcore in relationship to punk with the release of Hardcore 81 which was very influential and did much to fuel the genre but there are examples of hardcore bands which go back to the late 70's like Black Flag, The Pagans, The Viletones, The Germs, Chain Gang, The Misfits and others.
The movement is divided much as rap music is with east coast and west coast although other subdivisions exist as well. East coastHardcore Punk hardcore tends to be more smooth, with grooves that flow in context with the vocalist who sings or shouts the lyrics. West coast hardcore tends to be harder with rhythms that start and stop with intense bursts and vocals that combine screaming and low growling lyrics." Hardcore originated primarily around major cities like LA, DC, NYC, and Boston, as a vehicle for expressing resentment at collective double standards within the punk scene itself and outside. From about 1980 to 1984 the two most popular hardcore bands were Minor Threat from Washington D.C. and Black Flag from Los Angeles. Minor Threat were greatly inspired by Washington D.C.'s Bad Brains. Minor Threat combined a loose experimentalism reminiscent of the original punk movement while Black Flag released their album Damaged which defined the musical aggression of hardcore to some fans. Discharge were among the first to simplify the genre with speed driven blasts of intense rhythms within a simple three chord song structure.
In the 1980s hardcore music combined with heavy metal with bands such as DRI, and Sick of It All. There have been many sub movements within hardcore like the straight-edge movement which got its name from a Minor Threat song which advised avoidance of drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex. More recent hardcore bands like NoMeansNo, Fugazi, D.O.A, and The Ex, continue in this tradition to carry on the mantle of hardcore punk rock.
By the end of the 1980s, hardcore became more diverse, branching off into two sounds: one traditionally punk-based and the other evolving into something still heavier, slower, and more intense, being influenced by heavy metal. The punk-focused sound retains much of the style and feel of the original hardcore punk bands, while the more metallic sound, sometimes labeled metalcore, tends to be heavier and often more technical. Sick of It All's second studio album, "Just Look Around" was a bit revolutionary in this respect in 1991. The intensity, heaviness and slower, even brutal rhythms issued in a new era after their faster, more standard first breakout album "Blood, Sweat and No Tears."
Judge, Integrity, and Hogan's Heroes were some of the earliest bands to bring this level of intensity to hardcore – an amalgamation of deep, hoarse vocals (though rarely as deep or guttural as death metal); downtuned guitars and thrashy drum rhythms inspired by earlier hardcore bands; and slow, staccato low-end musical breaks, known as breakdowns. Thrash metal and melodic death metal elements are also common in metalcore. Some metalcore, such as Biohazard and Candiria, are also influenced by hip hop music, and their music is sometimes described as rapcore. Other important groups of the era, such as Inside Out from California and Burn from New York, retained elements of classic hardcore along with more progressive rhythms, chord progressions, and lyrics. In 1998 thrash metal band Sepultura released their first hardcore punk album Against.The aforementioned "godfathers" of hardcore punk took strong political stances, most notably against President Ronald Reagan, who served in office from 1981 to 1989. Reagan's policies, which included cutting taxes and slowing the increase of federal social spending, while increasing military spending, gave these bands plenty to write about, Bands such as Dead Kennedys and MDC were anarchist. In contrast, some hardcore bands were relatively conservative, such as The FU's, The Undead, and Antiseen.
Straight edge ideas can be found in songs by the early-1970s band The Modern Lovers, particularly their songs "I'm Straight" and "She Cracked". Hard rock icon Ted Nugent also inspired the early straight edge movement with his frequent declaration that he did not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco or marijuana.However, straight edge was most closely associated with punk rock, particularly the faster subgenre of hardcore punk that developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which was partly characterized by shouting rather than sung vocals. Straight edge people of this early "old school" era often associated with the original punk ideals such as individualism, disdain for work and school, and live-for-the-moment attitudes.
Although straight edge started on the east coast of the United States in Washington D.C. and New York, it quickly spread through the US and Canada. By the 1980s, bands on the west coast of the United States, such as America's Hardcore (A.H.C.), Stalag 13, Justice League and Uniform Choice, were gaining popularity. In the early stages of this subculture’s history, concerts often consisted of non-straight edge punk bands along with straight edge bands. However, circumstances soon changed and the old school era would eventually be viewed as the time "before the two scenes separated". Old school straight edge bands included: the Washington D.C. bands Minor Threat, State of Alert (S.O.A.), Government Issue and Teen Idles, Reno, Nevada's 7 Seconds, Boston's SSD, DYS and Negative FX, California bands as mentioned above, and New York City bands such as Cause for Alarm.
The letter "X" is the most prevalent symbol of straight edge. Commonly it is worn as a marking, symbol or tattoo on the back of one or both hands, though it can be displayed on other body parts as well. Some followers of straight edge have also incorporated the symbol into clothing and pins. According to a series of interviews by journalist Michael Azerrad, the straight edge "X" can be traced to the Teen Idles' brief U.S. West Coast tour in 1980. The Teen Idles were scheduled to play at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens, but when the band arrived, club management discovered that the entire band was under the legal drinking age and therefore should be denied entry to the club. As a compromise, management marked each of the Idles' hands with a large black "X" as a warning to the club's staff not to serve alcohol to the band. Upon returning to Washington, D.C., the band suggested this same system to local clubs as a means to allow teenagers in to see musical performances without being served alcohol. While the practice was never widely adopted by D.C.-area music venues, the mark soon became associated with the straight edge lifestyle. Recently, however, after a slow pickup, more and more music venues have been employing this system.
Sometimes the number 24 is used to represent straight edge, because X is the twenty-forth letter of the alphabet. A variation involving a trio of X's (xXx) originated in artwork created by Minor Threat's drummer, Jeff Nelson, in which he replaced the three stars in the band's hometown Washington, DC flag with X's The term is sometimes abbreviated by including an X with the abbreviation of the term "straight edge" to give "sXe". By analogy, hardcore punk is sometimes abbreviated to "hXc
During the youth crew era, which started in the 1980s, the influence of music on the straight edge scene seemed to be at an all-time high. The new branches of straight edge that came about during this era seemed to originate from ideas presented in songs. Notable youth crew bands included: 7 Seconds, Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold, Youth of Today, Chain Of Strength and Slapshot.
Starting in the mid-1980s, the band Youth of Today became associated with the straight edge movement, and their song "Youth Crew" expressed a desire to unite the scene into a movement.The most identifiable theme that arose during the youth crew era was an association of straight edge with vegetarianism. In 1988, Youth of Today released the song "No More", which initiated this new theme within the subculture. Lead singer Ray Cappo displayed his vegan views in the lyrics: "Meat-eating, flesh-eating, think about it. So callous this crime we commit
By the end of the 1980s, straight edge bands all over the United States and Canada sang about animal cruelty. During the late 1980s, not all people who claimed to be straight edge identified with animal rights issues, although bands such as Earth Crisis had continued the animal rights trend.