New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front will be playing a show at London’s Underworld this November 20, in celebration of their seminal debut album Victim In Pain’s 35th anniversary plus the release of their recent full-length documentary The Godfathers Of Hardcore. Frontman Roger Miret commented: “We're super excited to play London town again in celebration of 35 years of Victim In Pain! London has always been a favourite to us. It's like being back home in New York City for the celebrations! See you in the pit!”

The Godfathers Of Hardcore is the acclaimed full-length documentary by Ian McFarland, celebrating Roger Miret, Vinnie Stigma and Agnostic Front as linchpins of the New York hardcore scene. They all played a key role in defining, shaping and establishing the sound and cultural code of conduct for the still-thriving movement. In a landscape of increasing apathy and complacency, the messages Agnostic Front present are as relevant today as they were in the ‘80s when the band members were impoverished, scrappy and ambitious, often fighting for their very survival as well as the perseverance of their volatile but highly inspirational band. Roger and Vinnie remain the very embodiment of hardcore, representing endurance, perseverance, brotherhood, strength against oppression and the will to keep going, obstacles be damned. Agnostic Front exist on a level all their own. . . a level of their own creation.

Agnostic Front have always levelled criticism against modern oppressors and their corrupting influence on society, and there's no stopping them. What started out as a four piece initiated by guitarist Vinnie Stigma in 1983 with the ground-breaking EP United Blood, soon became renowned as one of the fastest and most aggressive hardcore bands; not only in New York but the whole East Coast and world. Influenced by the spirit of punk, they developed their unique sound dominated by catchy tunes, thunderous drums and the buck-wild shouting of Roger Miret. Due to their indisputable authenticity, Agnostic Front were able to gain a loyal community of fans who have stuck by them through thick and thin.

Victim In Pain (1984) remains one of hardcore’s most celebrated releases, and the band’s very first full length LP. Clocking in at just over 15 minutes of riotous mayhem, it contains 11 tracks boiling with anger and grit - the sound of four guys at a pivotal moment in their career. No other New York hardcore band had released an album at this point in time - it is without doubt a creation born of New York’s Lower East Side in the early ‘80s, and the burgeoning hardcore scene which Agnostic Front were in the thick of.

Avant-garde artist Empara Mi has shared the captivating video for her latest single, ‘Blood In The Water’. The video is a visual representation of a pre-breakup mental state symbolising phases of love, argument, and fighting amid vibrant allegory. “The video is the journey of the breakup,” says Empara Mi. “It begins in a dreamlike state where everything feels safe, but suddenly you can’t control the involuntary warnings flooding your brain. Slowly the walls begin to crack and the other person’s colours start to show.”

“I feel like everyone acts out the end of a relationship in their heads before it happens. Maybe as a coping mechanism; to prepare ourselves for the worst and to see how we will take it. This video was meant to capture that mental snapshot, the beginning of the end and all the fighting and anxieties that come with it.”

‘Blood In The Water’ follows the recent release of ‘Crying’, the highly intoxicating introduction to the vision of Empara Mi in 2019. Released alongside a stunning video inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, and produced by Lemonthebeat, ‘Crying’ was the first taste of her captivating blend of pop, R&B and hip-hop as well as her striking visual aesthetic.

‘Crying’ lead the likes of Wonderland Magazine to say, “Otherworldly is an accurate adjective that could be used to describe Guernsey-born enigma Empara Mi. Her cutting blend of pop, R&B and hip-hop sears like a burn, sometimes ghostly, sometimes a hurtling force of nature – but always a striking sonic and visual blast.”

Since emerging in 2016 with her critically acclaimed debut single ‘Wanderlust’, Empara Mi has since gone on to clock up almost 3 million streams on Spotify alone, while she has also collaborated with Kojey Radical on her track ‘Spoon’. With an uncompromising vision for her magnificent post pop, Empara Mi has returned and 2019 heralds the unfolding of her dramatic, ambitious and emotional musical direction.