Youth Crew - History

History

Youth crew was most popular from 1984 to 1990, primarily in New York City and, to a lesser degree, Los Angeles. The sound was largely defined by a series of releases by Revelation Records, including albums by Youth of Today, Chain of Strength, Gorilla Biscuits, Bold, Judge, Side By Side, and Uniform Choice. Like 7 Seconds, these bands were all straight edge, and lyrical concerns included brotherhood and community values. However, many of these bands were more aggressive in their attitudes. Ray Cappo eventually converted to the Hare Krishna faith, and 108 and the Cro-Mags also participated in the Krishnacore offshoot. The California band Vegan Reich established the hardline wing of straight edge youth crew hardcore. Although hardline had few adherents, its attitudes and militancy had a notable effect on later bands such as Earth Crisis and Racetraitor. The "Youth Crew" scene also included the participation of skinheads, many of whom were fans of Warzone, Cro-Mags and Youth Defense League. Youth crew bands were contemporary to, though noticeably distinct from, crossover thrash, thrashcore, crust punk, melodic hardcore, and emo bands.

In the 1990s, bands inspired by this scene became increasingly influenced by thrash and death metal. These bands, including Earth Crisis, Snapcase, One Life Crew, Integrity, Strife, Hatebreed and Blood for Blood, recorded for Victory Records, and were partly responsible for the contemporary metalcore scene. Groups on Trustkill Records, such as Walls of Jericho, Racetraitor and Shai Hulud, were also part of this current. There were some bands, such as Mouthpiece, who were still keeping the original sound of youth crew.

Youth crew bands first achieved visibility in popular culture through CIV (featuring the former singer of Gorilla Biscuits). Later youth crew-derived music became increasingly associated with metalcore, particularly in the cases of Earth Crisis and Strife. The late 1990s saw a revival of the youth crew style, revisited by bands such as In My Eyes, Floorpunch, Ten Yard Fight, and Ray Cappo's Better Than a Thousand.