HS's History of Hardcore Thread

Hello everyone and welcome to the definitive history of HARDCORE. I've noticed that there are no hardcore threads in this forum ( mmmm?, why is that? ), so I thought I'd give everyone an insight into the history of hardcore, the beginning, the evolution, the dispersement and the revival of hardcore through the ages. I'm going to select defining tracks from the specific eras, the early underground hardcore and old skool hardcore, through to the emergence of hardcore techno from 1993 on and into the new age of gabba and industrial hardcore. The tracks will be selected in no particular order, though I guarantee I will hand pick some of the many absolute gems from the underground scene at defining times throughout the history of the genre.


What you will not find in this thread is the hardcore that makes me sick, and is probably the style of hardcore that most people associate with when thinking of it. That cheesy chipmunk vocalled wanky bollocks that you see on the telly. All the happy hardcore sh*te that broke up the original hardcore scene in 1993 and commercialised the scene for years to come. Force & Styles, Billy Bunter etc., they make me f**king sick!

What you will find is hardcore in it's purest form, hence my old DJ name, 'Tha Purist'.All selected monster tracks will be videos made by myself, I am not an advocate of cut and paste etc. I am only now learning how to make YouTube videos so the first few will be quite mediocre. All soundfiles will be recorded directly from my own collection of vinyl, any purists will notice the difference in tempo from the originals as I play them as I used to in my sets.

Many people dismiss hardcore as 'bang - bang - bang - bang'. I have to laugh at them in all honesty as any fool knows that all music, regardless of genre, is repetitive by it's very nature. I assure you all, it is much more than that. Too often people only hear the dominance of the basslines and kickdrums and fail to notice the sampling and synths and other instruments that lurk in the background.

What I will ask is this, I hope you have a good sound system connected to your laptop or PC so that you can fully appreciate the majesty of the hardcore vibe. To listen to it through your PC speakers is a crime and will not do the tunage any justice at all. I also ask that you listen to the whole track so that you can give an informed opinion on it. I can't see this thread getting many views as it is an acquired taste, but if I convert one person then it will all have been worthwhile. Enjoy!

My first selection is Cooking Up Yah Brain by 4 Hero on Reinforced Records, underground hardcore in it's element................

4 Hero - Cooking Up Yah Brain

Can I "Let my Whistle Blow" & start gurning now?

I thought this was gonna be a porn thread.

Can I "Let my Whistle Blow" & start gurning now?

Of course you can sir, please check back for regular updates. Trust me, there are going to be some absolute monsters appearing here, a vault of purist classics. Get the MDMA out and open you mind!

Last one for the day from me, one of the greatest hardcore tracks of all time. A tune that in reality is 4 tunes in one, an absolute breakbeat blaster of monstrous proportions. Breakbeat stabs, Mary Poppins samples and probably the greatest piano breakdown of all time. NRG never failed to produce big big tunes and this may well have been his biggest. Made famous by none other than Easygroove, rumour has it that NRG dropped the White Label Promo into Easygroove's bag @ Fantazia Second Sight, he dropped it into his set and the rest  goes down in hardcore folklore!................

Liquid Crystal - Power Within - Bizzare Records

                                      Liquid Crystal - Power Within

4Hero. Just remembered theyre on my ipod.. Ha ha nice one.
Thanks Hardcore

4Hero. Just remembered theyre on my ipod.. Ha ha nice one.
Thanks Hardcore

Plenty more hardcore classics on their way mate. You got the early 4 Hero hardcore stuff or the later drum 'n' bass, Neo Soul, Broken Beat stuff?

Since I'm dutch, it might not be a surprise to anyone that I know my way around hardcore.
Hope you don't mind hardcoresoldier(if you do, tell me), but thought I'd throw a track in here too:
Public Energy - Three O' Three ( 1993 )

A classic in my country.

 

Since I'm dutch, it might not be a surprise to anyone that I know my way around hardcore.
Hope you don't mind hardcoresoldier(if you do, tell me), but thought I'd throw a track in here too:
Public Energy - Three O' Three ( 1993 )

 

A classic in my country.

 

Not at all mate. That is a Classic acid track from back in the day. I remember Dave Angel and Colin Favor beasting this @ Universe and Helter Skelter! This tune reminds me of micro dots........MMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM.......... Lovely stuff mate

Got to admit though that the UK produced some awesome hardcore before the commercialisation of the scene in 1993. Happy hardcore started the rot, but Clarkee, Scorpio, DJ Producer, HMS, Loftgroover, Lenny Dee, Easygroove, Trevor Rockliffe and the like kept the harder edge alive in this country. Ruffneck vinyl being my all time favourites, along with Rotterdam Records, Mokum and Terror Traxx to name but a few. What pissed me off was that with the emergence of the cheesy sh*te happy hardcore scene, hardcore techno got pushed aside from the main arenas and segregated into the technodromes as it was deemed just a tad mental for the new breed of cheesy quavers!

Went to Nightmare in Rotterdam last year and also went to Ground Zero, met Patrick van Kerckhoven ( DJ Ruffneck ), my all time hero! Have to admit that the production in Holland is second to none, the scene still retains it's hardcore element. Been to loads of raves in Holland and absolutely love them. Out of all of our Ruffneck Alliance i am the only one left, but that doesn't stop me.

Plenty more hardcore classics on their way mate. You got the early 4 Hero hardcore stuff or the later drum 'n' bass, Neo Soul, Broken Beat stuff?

Apologies but my ipod has finally bit the dust and I have no idea what the albums are called

I guess Hardcore in Europe is not the same as Hardcore in the States. I was lucky enough to grow up in the NY/NJ in the late 80's and 90's and went to a shitload of Hardcore shows at CBGB's, Wetlands, Roseland, La Mour... But it was bands like Gorilla Biscuits,Sick Of It All, Judge, S.O.D, Murphys Law, Fugazi, Minor Threat. Their was a massive scene in New York and New Jersey I miss those days..Great times.

I guess Hardcore in Europe is not the same as Hardcore in the States. I was lucky enough to grow up in the NY/NJ in the late 80's and 90's and went to a shitload of Hardcore shows at CBGB's, Wetlands, Roseland, La Mour... But it was bands like Gorilla Biscuits,Sick Of It All, Judge, S.O.D, Murphys Law, Fugazi, Minor Threat. Their was a massive scene in New York and New Jersey I miss those days..Great times.

I was about to bring up the exact same thing.

....and i came on to read about the same ^ ^ ^ to be honest....oops. 

I guess Hardcore in Europe is not the same as Hardcore in the States. I was lucky enough to grow up in the NY/NJ in the late 80's and 90's and went to a shitload of Hardcore shows at CBGB's, Wetlands, Roseland, La Mour... But it was bands like Gorilla Biscuits,Sick Of It All, Judge, S.O.D, Murphys Law, Fugazi, Minor Threat. Their was a massive scene in New York and New Jersey I miss those days..Great times.

I was about to bring up the exact same thing.

....and I came on to read about the same ^ ^ ^ to be honest....oops. 

Sorry to disappoint you lads. I take it you're on about the thrash metal scene? Loads of psychos going mental in mosh pits? Have a listen to some of the tracks, you may like them?. I'll be starting an Industrial Hardcore thread soon so maybe that may be a bit more up your street?.