Agnostic Front
Dead Yuppies
Epitaph
This late in Agnostic Front’s career (going on two decades), it’d be pretty damn foolish to expect another Victim In Pain or Cause For Alarm – hell, even a Liberty & Justice For… (my personal fave). To put it simply, I don’t need AF to deliver another masterpiece as awesome in its context as the aforementioned records – I’ll rely on other, newer bands in the hardcore realm to push the envelopes worth pushing; however, I do need AF to keep recording to keep my faith in hardcore intact. Their latest, Dead Yuppies, proves this out in few uncertain terms: Roger, Vinnie, and company can still furnish furious hardcore that belies their accelerated age, and for that reason alone is why the album is required listening, convert or not. Not so much the grab-bag of sundry punk/HC idioms its predecessor, Riot Riot Upstart, was, Dead Yuppies finds the Front sticking to their patented NYHC they – and they alone – jumpstarted, with no metal leanings anywhere to be found, possibly sounding a tad more updated through modern recording and playing techniques. The greased/roughed-up street-punk dabblings that earmarked their last two records are here, but (usually) immediately bookended by total barnstormers (see the couplets of “Liberty”/”Club Girl” and “Love to Be Hated”/”No Mercy”). Sure, you could say AF are washed up, but you’d be grossly missing the point – in any case, an exceedingly enjoyable half-hour from a jolly old crew of punters.
