The Age of Quarrel

It's not the

same as Age of Choral, though.

It's almost like a Metallica record or something.

It has longer songs.

It's different feeling on the drums.

I'm not saying it's bad.

I actually like that record, but it's just like after hearing Age of Choral and then hearing that record, it's kind of like...

i don't know it's not it's almost like a different band even though i know harley wrote it all both they

Your Best Wishes.

Age of Quarrel, Best Wishes for you.

Yeah.

Age of Quarrel.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

This is nothing like.

They're both great, but yeah, Age of Quarrel.

Doing that whole post-hardcore screamo shenanigans before boom, in comes that huge chorus.

big love to waves of defeat right next up we're going to go for a vintage track that's been re-recorded to return with a little bit of extra savagery chromag's recently reissued their age of quarrel as part of the 40th anniversary world peace is the song they've chose to say hey don't forget this record slaps Well, what do you reckon? I mean, let's face it, I mean, Age of Quarrel is an absolutely savage record.

Reworking it to give it an extra lease of life and an extra bit of sonic oomph, I cannot say I blame the band.

That was Cro-Mags and World Peace from 40 years, from Age of Quarrel, 40 years of Quarrel.

It's been reworked and rejigged and brought back all as part of it.

Because, yeah, was it Wired for Chaos, the documentary about Harley Flanagan and all the bits and bobs that he was doing? um and he chose to you know there was a fresh new song was released brand new as part of it and he got as many people from the original stuff back together to redo the bits and bobs um yeah 40 years of quarrel go give it a spin go check it out it's

Welcome to the History of Punk Rock podcast.

Today we’re diving into Cro-Mags’ groundbreaking debut Age of Quarrel and how it seeded metallic hardcore.

The Age of Quarrel was The Cro-Mags’ debut, dropping in September eighty-six on Profile before it hit the underground like a grenade.

And it wasn’t until ninety-four’s Another Planet reissue that more ears could actually get their hands on those six minutes of fury.

The album was a 1978-style, high-octane hybrid of hardcore punk and thrash metal riffage that turned a lot of New York’s brick wall venues into fire pit playgrounds.

Some reissues have added high-quality remasters to bring out details that were previously muffled by analog gear constraints.

Despite its age, the album still commands respect among new generation metalheads who see it as a foundation.

Ultimately, Age of Quarrel wasn’t just a debut.

Welcome to the History of Punk Rock Podcast.

Today, we're digging into how the Cro-Mags blended New York hardcore punk with heavy metal riffs on 1984's Age of Quarrel and charted the scene, label, touring, and influence that followed.

Let's dive in.

If you think punk was all about shouting against a cheap cassette in an abandoned basement, then you're missing the real meat of what the Cro-Mags were cooking up.

This blend of the hardcore drum machine-like tempos, think 180 to 200 BPM, with the downtuned, distorted guitar tone that was starting to creep into bands like Slayer and Black Flag, meant that Flanagan and his band were sitting at a crossroads between two growing subcultures.

One that rebelled against corporate America in an anarchic howl, and another that demanded technical precision, aggressive riffing, and a sense of being outside the box, as it would become known as crossover thrash.

So when you talk about the Age of Quarrel, you're really looking at a document that was born out of this melting pot of raw power, technical ambition, and the very real question of what defines punk versus metal in 1984 New York.

The album itself, recorded between late 1984 and early 1985, over two months on an almost four-track tape machine that could barely keep up with the band's frantic energy, was released on Profile Records in September 1986.

Mad, innit?

Yeah, its legacy is literally up there with the all-time greats, innit? Like Age of Quarrel, whatever you wanna chuck out there.

Um, because this album's become, like, the blueprint for modern hardcore.

Like, if you look at how strong the genre is now and how many young bands are coming through, and I would hazard a guess at that this would've been many of them's first hardcore record.