Agnostic Front at the Bowery Electric

Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret

Guitarist Vinnie Stigma (born Vincent Capuccio) was born and raised in New York City's Little Italy, just a few blocks from what in the early 1980s would become the central vein of the hardcore punk scene at CBGB's. He formed Agnostic Front in 1980 to fit that scene, but initially could not seem to hold onto band members until 1982, when he recruited Cuban-born vocalist Roger Miret, formerly the bassist in the Psycho. With other musicians still coming and going, Stigma and Miret anchored both the band and the local hardcore community. Rather than repeating its music, Agnostic Front was among the hardcore bands that began to embrace and merge thrash metal into its sound without ever leaving its punk roots. The band finally split in 1992, with Stigma and Miret working on separate projects. They reformed Agnostic Front in 1996. The present band consists of Miret, Stigma, guitarist Craig Silverman, bassist Mike Gallo, and drummer Pokey Mo. Agnostic Front released its 12th and most recent studio album, Get Loud!, on November 8, 2019.

Sharing a bill tonight at the Bowery Electric with Sick of It All, Agnostic Front cut like a massive razor blade. Hard and fast, the band tore into its catalog and rallied the audience with angry, defiant anthems. As Miret grunted the lyrics through smoky vocals, audience members huddled tightly to chant choruses alongside him. Meanwhile, the musicians behind Miret played a thick barrage of smoking aggression, thrusting forward powerfully and speedily with no caution or sense of nuance. While other bands from that era eventually evolved into power pop, heavy metal or even progressive music, Agnostic Front is the band that has remained most faithful to its original hardcore sound. Agnostic Front's performance proved that the band is authentically hardcore for life.