Agnostic Front “Cause for Alarm” 1986. Combat Core Records. Our copy a recent acquisition from a good friend who definitely bought this new in ’86 from a local (now defunct) record store chain in the Fox Valley as indicated by the price on the shrink wrap ($6.99!). Rippinginly fast mid-80’s hardcore punk with some speed metal elements, Cause for Alarm is Agnostic Front’s second full-length release. Like a lot of 80’s punk, the content is in-your-face angry and super-critical of the world: government, older people (aka not young punks), religion, etc., ie the line from “Your Mistake” – which is also one my more-liked songs on the album –  “We hate society and we’re here to fight.” Not subtle. The more speed-metal leaning “Toxic Shock” decries the poisoning of the environment by businesses dumping chemicals and puts the blame squarely on the government: “Politicians allowing the dumping must be forced to stop. I hope they live on an abandoned waste site and die of toxic shock.” However, the track “Public Assistance” is, unfortunately, Reagan-era, maga-level assholism (pretty sure band member Peter Steele, also of Caveman and later Type O Negative, was not being ironic or sarcastic) with the lyrics “You spend your life on welfare lines, looking for handouts. Why don’t you go find a job. You birth more kids to up your checks so you can buy more drugs.” And then “Shoot His Load” suggests pro-gun vigilantism. Both tracks have an undercurrent of racism, too. Yeah, there’s no way can I get behind shit like that. Anyway, it’s good to remember that not all 80’s hardcore punk was progressive across the board. I feel like I may have seen an Agnostic Front show “back in the day” but I can’t find any evidence (flyers, etc.) and it’s hard to remember all the shows from close to 40 years ago. From some not-exhaustive reaserch it looks like they may have played The Unicorn in Milwaukee in December ’86 (I definitely was not there) and supposedly played the Memorial Union Terrace in Madison in December ’87 (highly unlikely as it would have been frozen, covered in snow, etc.); the website that has this kind of info is clearly not to be trusted so it’s possible they played in the Fox Valley between ’86-’88 when I was going to these kinds of shows.