NYC Mayhem anthology released on 2 CDs

August 31, 2011

by BBG

Featuring members who would go on to join Straight Ahead, Youth of Today, Sick of It All, Agnostic Front, and many notable others, NYC Mayhem was a short-lived hardcore band that flirted with death metal and crossover in 1985. While that lineup may indicate a particular aesthetic, NYC Mayhem definitely owed as much to metallic greats like Slayer, Venom, and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles as they did to Necros, Void, or Negative Approach, using negative hardcore, thrash, and blast beats to blur the lines between metal and punk.

During their uber-brief run, NYC Mayhem was comprised of Gordon Ancis on Guitar, Tommy Carroll on Drums, and Craig Setari on Bass (Tony Marc in the early days). Over the years various demos, numerous rehearsal tapes and even an aborted 7″ have bubbled to the surface, floating around the tape-trading realm and the blogosphere. But now Hells Headbangers Records have compiled the entire anthology along with some live material for The Metal & Crossover Days, a two-CD set out now via the label. Check out three tracks from the release below, alongside some live video from CBGB’s below.

Recommended for fans of negative hardcore, crossover, early death metal/grind, or anything violent and with tons of attitude.

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NYC Mayhem – Wardogs (Live in NJ April 1985)

NYC Mayhem – Violent City from Unreleased 7″

NYC Mayhem – Want Authority from Unreleased 7″

NYC MAYHEM live at CBGB in 1985