The Cro-Mags
are/were a hardcore punk band from New York City.
The band, which had a strong cult following, released many records, their first two considered the most influential.
They were among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal and were associated with the birth of a tougher attitude within the hardcore scene in the late 1980s. They were also one of the first hardcore punk bands associated with the Hare Krishna movement.
History
They first released a demo with songs that would eventually find themselves on their debut album The Age Of Quarrel (1986).
The bass player Harley Flanagan and singer John Joseph were not the best of friends and eventually Joseph would part ways with the band leaving Harley to sing on the following Cro-Mags release.
After The Age of Quarrel, the band released the record, Best Wishes (1989). The record had a more heavy metal-influenced sound which alienated many of their original fans.
The band released another record Alpha Omega (1992), that saw the return of Joseph, and the departure of guitarist and songwriter Parris Mitchell Mayhew, a record that was only embraced by the most devoted of their fanbase, and followed by Near Death Experience (1993).
After suffering from many lineup changes and frequent breakups, the group finally disbanded, seemingly for the last time, after this record. However, in 2000 they released a record that would almost make up for their past two releases.
With Revenge the Cro-Mags came back to their early hardcore roots with songs that were comparable to their first release plus some songs with a more melodic/punk rock feel. After the release of Revenge the band broke up once again, and the internal hostility amongst band members (mainly between Mayhew and Flanagan) has never been resolved.
In 2008 John Joseph started playing shows, including one at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, using the name Cro-Mags (jam). The band included drummer Mackie Jayson, Craig Setari of Sick of It All on bass, and AJ of Leeway on guitar.
Current line-up
Franklin Rhi - Bass (2002-)
John Joseph "Bloodclot!" McGeown - Vocals (1981, 1984-1987, 1991-1999, 2002-)
A.J. Novello - Guitar (2002-)
Gary "G-Man" Sullivan - Drums
Former/past member(s)
Drums:
Dave Hahn (1981)
Maxwell Mackie Jayson (1982-1986, 1996-1999)
Petey Hines (1986-1989)
Dave DiCenso (1989-1995)
Ryan Krieger (1999-2001)
Leo
Guitar:
Dave Stein (1981)
Kevin "Parris" Mitchel Mayhew (1982-1991, 1999-2001)
Doug Holland (1985-1989, 1991-1993, 1996-1999)
Rob Buckley (1989-1991, 1993-1995, 2001)
Gabby Abularach (1991-1995)
Scott Roberts (1996-1999)
Rocky George (1999-2001, 2002-2003)
Vocals:
Eric J. Casanova (1982-1984)
Harley Flanagan (also Bass) (1981-1993, 1999-2002)
John Berry
Bass:
Craig Setari (1996-1999)
Guest
Roger Miret
Additional notes
Cro-Mags are a classic example of a band which played the popular NYHC sound of the 80's during the American hardcore movement.
Harley Flanagan has made the site Hardcore Hall of Fame, dedicated to the origin of Hardcore and Punk.
The whole "Age Of Quarrel" album can be downloaded from their official website.
At various times in the 90s and 00s both Harley and John Joseph simultaneously led 2 separate versions of the Cro-Mags with completely different line-ups.
These groups billed themselves as "Cro-Mag Jam", "Cro-Mags-NYC", "Age of Quarrel" or "Cro-Mags" (whether or not the name was owned legally by the certain version of the band in question).
Sometimes only one original member would be present, sometimes two or three, and sometimes even both John Joseph and Harley together.
are/were a hardcore punk band from New York City.
The band, which had a strong cult following, released many records, their first two considered the most influential.
They were among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal and were associated with the birth of a tougher attitude within the hardcore scene in the late 1980s. They were also one of the first hardcore punk bands associated with the Hare Krishna movement.
History
They first released a demo with songs that would eventually find themselves on their debut album The Age Of Quarrel (1986).
The bass player Harley Flanagan and singer John Joseph were not the best of friends and eventually Joseph would part ways with the band leaving Harley to sing on the following Cro-Mags release.
After The Age of Quarrel, the band released the record, Best Wishes (1989). The record had a more heavy metal-influenced sound which alienated many of their original fans.
The band released another record Alpha Omega (1992), that saw the return of Joseph, and the departure of guitarist and songwriter Parris Mitchell Mayhew, a record that was only embraced by the most devoted of their fanbase, and followed by Near Death Experience (1993).
After suffering from many lineup changes and frequent breakups, the group finally disbanded, seemingly for the last time, after this record. However, in 2000 they released a record that would almost make up for their past two releases.
With Revenge the Cro-Mags came back to their early hardcore roots with songs that were comparable to their first release plus some songs with a more melodic/punk rock feel. After the release of Revenge the band broke up once again, and the internal hostility amongst band members (mainly between Mayhew and Flanagan) has never been resolved.
In 2008 John Joseph started playing shows, including one at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, using the name Cro-Mags (jam). The band included drummer Mackie Jayson, Craig Setari of Sick of It All on bass, and AJ of Leeway on guitar.
Current line-up
Franklin Rhi - Bass (2002-)
John Joseph "Bloodclot!" McGeown - Vocals (1981, 1984-1987, 1991-1999, 2002-)
A.J. Novello - Guitar (2002-)
Gary "G-Man" Sullivan - Drums
Former/past member(s)
Drums:
Dave Hahn (1981)
Maxwell Mackie Jayson (1982-1986, 1996-1999)
Petey Hines (1986-1989)
Dave DiCenso (1989-1995)
Ryan Krieger (1999-2001)
Leo
Guitar:
Dave Stein (1981)
Kevin "Parris" Mitchel Mayhew (1982-1991, 1999-2001)
Doug Holland (1985-1989, 1991-1993, 1996-1999)
Rob Buckley (1989-1991, 1993-1995, 2001)
Gabby Abularach (1991-1995)
Scott Roberts (1996-1999)
Rocky George (1999-2001, 2002-2003)
Vocals:
Eric J. Casanova (1982-1984)
Harley Flanagan (also Bass) (1981-1993, 1999-2002)
John Berry
Bass:
Craig Setari (1996-1999)
Guest
Roger Miret
Additional notes
Cro-Mags are a classic example of a band which played the popular NYHC sound of the 80's during the American hardcore movement.
Harley Flanagan has made the site Hardcore Hall of Fame, dedicated to the origin of Hardcore and Punk.
The whole "Age Of Quarrel" album can be downloaded from their official website.
At various times in the 90s and 00s both Harley and John Joseph simultaneously led 2 separate versions of the Cro-Mags with completely different line-ups.
These groups billed themselves as "Cro-Mag Jam", "Cro-Mags-NYC", "Age of Quarrel" or "Cro-Mags" (whether or not the name was owned legally by the certain version of the band in question).
Sometimes only one original member would be present, sometimes two or three, and sometimes even both John Joseph and Harley together.