Agnostic Front
Live at CBGB - 25 Years of Blood, Honor and Truth

THE REVIEW

The combination of Agnostic Front/CBGB's is one of the strongest and most enduring in the history of hardcore punk. From the birth of the New York group in 1982 until the historic venue's closure in September 2006, Roger Miret and Vinnie Stigma always made CBGB their second home, their headquarters, let's say, gifting the city's hardcore kids with countless legendary concerts. This partnership has produced, over the band's nearly three-decade history, no less than three live albums, always recorded at the venue: "Live At CBGB" in '89, "Last Warning" in '93, and finally, the album in question, which also represents Agnostic Front's first live DVD.

It was recorded on March 7, 2006, a night that promised to be fiery from the opening with the earth-shattering "The Eliminator": the audience goes wild, participating with chants, stage diving, and pogo in the best hardcore tradition, and the band (for the occasion comprising Miret and Stigma, along with Lenny Di Sclafani on second guitar and brothers Mike and Steve Gallo on bass and drums) rewards them with a deluge of their best pieces, a setlist covering the entire discography.

From the early days of the "United Blood" EP and the blazing debut LP "Victim In Pain", excellently represented by "Last Warning", "Friend Or Foe", "Victim In Pain", "Blind Justice", "Your Mistake", to the devastating "Liberty And Justice For" and "One Voice", which consecrated the New Yorkers ("Anthem", "Undertow", "New Jack", "One Voice"  and a spectacular "Crucified") up to new classics like "All is Not Forgotten", "Peace"  and the anthem "Gotta Go".

The five give their best, proving themselves monsters in terms of energy and connection with the crowd: it almost seems that everyone, band and audience, knows that this is one of the last concerts  of Agnostic Front at CBGB, and they want to give 200% to make the night unforgettable. All the songs are for the occasion modernized  and, why not, metalized, evident in the solos, rendered much more thrash-like, and in the double bass drum hits inserted just about everywhere; it shouldn't be too surprising, on the other hand, considering they already released "Cause For Alarm" in '86, a fundamental album for the evolution of the thrashcore hybrid.

 A must-listen for the band's fans, especially for the newcomers who appreciated the turn towards punk metal in "Warriors".