The life and times of legendary New York hardcore crew Agnostic Front is set to be captured on the big screen in a new film, The Godfathers of Hardcore.
For over 30 years, Roger Miret and Vinnie Stigma have shared something inside they couldn’t scream loud enough. Something they couldn’t play hard enough. Something they couldn’t stop, even if they wanted to. Agnostic Front is the combined roar from the hearts of two guys who have fought their whole lives, and whose pain, passion and power ignited a movement.
Starting in the 80s on the streets of the Lower East Side, Agnostic Front rose to play a key role in defining, shaping, and establishing the sound and code of conduct for a still-thriving, now worldwide culture — fighting those who tried to silence them, and laying down their
lives for the music they believed in.
And unlike the dozens of bands that have come and gone, Agnostic Front are still going strong — because the music they make is truly who they are.
Despite their differences and the countless challenges they experienced, Roger and Vinnie became inseparably united in delivering a message that millions of disenchanted, outcast, forgotten kids were literally dying to hear. It lit up the dark corners and the alleys,
bringing strength, solidarity and often the first taste of hope to runaways, street kids, punks and other social misfits.
Part of their tremendous impact and appeal is due to the tight and sometimes bizarre friendship between Roger and Vinnie, two strong but very different individuals, whose iconoclastic personalities perfectly complement one another.
Roger, a Cuban refugee from an abusive home, and Vinnie, a second generation NYC Italian, could not be more different; yet, their relentless dedication to the band and one another has been unshakable, albeit, hazardous — like when Miret was sent to prison, facing a four-year to life sentence, or more recently, when severe health problems jeopardized the very existence of the band. And through it all, the two iconoclastic figureheads have stood by one another, sometimes at their own peril.
Today, Roger, 50, and Vinnie, 60, continue to release music filled with integrity and authenticity on a regular basis while playing over 100 shows a year, including numerous hardcore and European festivals. They remain the very embodiment of hardcore, representing endurance, perseverance, brotherhood, strength against oppression and the will to keep going, obstacles be damned. Agnostic Front exists on a level all their own — a level of their own creation
The film has been picked up by a handful of Oscar Qualifying film festivals, including DocNYC and Raindance Film Festival, where it enjoyed two sold out screenings.
Sean Stack of National Geographic called it “Superbly crafted”, Eric Gulliver of American Experience PBS stated GFoHC “…delivers the unexpectedly human side of hardcore.”
And within the world of metal and hardcore there has been no shortage of fulsome praise.
