AGRESSION

The Music, The Message: Part of Oxnard, California's nascent "Nardcore" scene that also featured bands like Ill Repute and Dr. Know, Agression were the product of four skaters-Mark Hickey, Henry Knowles, Bob Clark and Mark Aber-who, along with bands such as JFA and Big Boys, minted the hardcore sub-genre skate-punk in the early '80s. it only seemed natural, melding the two youth based, outcast-driven sub-cultures-skateboarding and hrdcore-punk-into one entity. Both, after all, were explosive fast, intense adrenaline-rushes. And Agression certainly were intense, showcasing their first material on the now-legendary BYO comp Someone Got thier Head Kicked In! alongside notables such as Adolescents, Battalion Of Saints and a young Bad Religion. In 1983, Agression unleashed their debut full-length Don't Be Mistaken, which had a fiercer sound than the tracks on the BYO comp, and featured consitently sub-two-minute blasts with sneering vocals care of Hickey. Not only did the singer base some songs' subject matter on their sport of choice("Have you ever seen a skateboarder surfing in a pool/flying over the coping with a skateboard as his tool", from "Intense Energy" after a brief soundbite of wheels hitting the pavement), but more often he delves into the topic de rigueur for hardcore bands of the day: critiquing American society. Conformity is harangued in "Brain Bondage" and "Rat Race", and "Stop The Clock" and "Money Machine" find Agression mocking the status quo and the American dream. The band put out later material on Mystic, including '85s AGRESSION LP, but Don't Be Mistaken is essentially Agression at the shining apex of their career. PUNK ROCK RELEVANCE: Without bands like AGRESSION paving the way for skate-punk , other bands following in that vein may have never achieved huge success-at least in punk terms(Pennywise and Guttermouth, anyone?). Think about the long running Vans Warped Tour and the success it has found packaging punk bands with action sports. Similarly, we now have skate companies that have started their own record labels. CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Sadly, Hickey died in 2000 of liver failure, and in 2002 guitarist Knowles succumbed to lukemia. With only two members left(drummer Mark Aber and bassist Big Bob Clark), Agression released Grind Kings in 2006 as a tribute to the memory of Hickey and Knowles and to keep the music alive. New Agression release for mid 2010 on DC-Jam Records!!!
-Janelle Jones Alternative Press August 2007



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