Can We Start Again?

     Being a part of the hardcore (punk) community for quite sometime, I have seen many terrible things happen to many good people. Mainly, the trend in violence in the scene is  said to be only increasing as time slowly passes. A show that I just recently went to, for example, a quite large man intentionally windmill punched a small girl in the eye. After the incident, the girl came out of the mosh pit with tears streaming down her face with blood flowing everywhere. This is only one of the countless injuries I have seen over the past few years and honestly have to agree with the myth that hardcore is becomingly increasingly violent over time.

     It wasn't always like this, however. In the eighties, when hardcore was just beginning to become a "scene," going to shows was a cathartic experience. People would mosh and dance with the sole intention of having a good, safe time. If someone fell down, a total stranger would almost immediately help them back to their feet. Hardcore was a community of complete strangers being a large family for a few hours. Hardcore was about friendship, and not being afraid lying on a stretcher at the night's end. It was about being open minded and having a good fucking time.

     Perhaps this upheaval in violence is reflected in the genre's new "sound." For one, most modern hardcore bands have a much more metal vide to them. I have seen that most hardcore bands have forgotten their punk roots and how are mixing metal into the scene to form a genre called "metalcore." This genre offers much deeper chords with louder screaming and undistinguishable, often violent lyrics.

     I can only hope that one day hardcore will go back to what in truly is about. Perhaps Bane best represents this hope in their song "Can We Start Again":

     Can we start again?

     Go back to what in meant back then?

     Open minds and open hearts

     The things that set us apart