Agnostic Front Classics Get Bridge Nine Re-Releases

Agnostic Front's 'United in Blood' EP and 'Victim in Pain' albums, released in 1983 and 1984 respectively, are some of the most sought after collectibles from the era of New York hardcore gone by. Bridge Nine Records made the releases available in the marketplace on Nov. 17, issuing CD versions of both albums combined. The label will also re-release 'United Blood' on seven-inch format and 'Victim in Pain' on a 12-inch LP. With printed dust jackets and embossed covers with original artwork, collectors and scenesters will have their holy grail.

So why now? Frontman Roger Miret told Noisecreep, "I feel like it's about time. They haven't been available to the public since 1985 and I think it's about time they are released again, 25 years later."

Even though two-and-a-half decades have flown by since these albums were created, Miret sees them as timeless for a multitude of reasons. "They are just as relevant lyrically," he said. "I pick them up today and have the same feelings I had as when I wrote the lyrics. Even years from now, I believe someone else will pick it up and feel it is as relevant as it is right now. As long as there are people living under oppression, those lyrics will not be dated."

Miret's take on the albums' status as 'classics' in the NYHC genre is unsurprisingly simple. "They're nostalgic and they are our first albums," he said. "They are vintage and put New York hardcore on the map. If not for those albums, the genre may have been under the ropes. There were singles being released by great bands, but no one ever did albums at that time. We did."