Cro-Mags

Born in the New York hardcore scene of the early 1980s, Cro-Mags took shape in the city around Harley Flanagan and were active early on in the CBGB and Lower East Side milieu. Cro-Mags developed a sound at the crossroads of hardcore punk and thrash metal, characterized by heavy rhythms, abrupt accelerations, and a constant tension between punk urgency and metal power. Their debut album, Age of Quarrel (1986), established this formula, while Best Wishes (1989) emphasized the more metallic direction. Alpha Omega (1992) and Near Death Experience (1993) continued this evolution with a denser register without abandoning the band's hardcore roots. After Revenge in 2000, Cro-Mags' history became more turbulent, marked by lineup changes and disputes over the name, before the release of In the Beginning in 2020. Associated with the rise of crossover and the transformation of American hardcore in the 1980s, Cro-Mags occupy a lasting place in the punk, hardcore and metal scenes, with a repertoire built on short, aggressive tracks strongly influenced by New York culture.