Charles Bronson (band)

Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson performing live in 1997
Charles Bronson performing live in 1997
Background information
OriginDeKalb, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Years active1994–1997
Labels
SpinoffsDas Oath
Past membersMark McCoy
Jon Arends
Ebro Virumbrales
James DeJesus
Mike Sutfin
Aaron Aspinwall
Jeff Jelen
Max Ward
Websiteihateyouthattack.com

Charles Bronson was an American powerviolence band from DeKalb, Illinois, that was active from 1994 to 1997. Formed by vocalist Mark McCoy and bassist Jon Arends, the band were known for their very short, often fast-paced songs with lyrics that satirized the hardcore punk scene. During their existence, they released a sole studio album, Youth Attack!, along with a series of singles and split records which were all eventually compiled into a posthumous double CD in 1999, titled Complete Discocrappy.

History

McCoy met Jon Arends at the end of McCoy's first year at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, and the two agreed to start a fast hardcore band when classes resumed in the fall of 1994. They recruited James DeJesus and Ebro Virumbrales, and rehearsed weekly in Arends's parents' basement. The band's first release was a 14-song extended play on Six Weeks Records, the label run by Jeff Robinson of Capitalist Casualties, followed by a split record with the Northern Californian group Spazz; by that point guitarists Mike Sutfin and Aaron Aspinwall had joined. The band shared members with other hardcore groups, including Los Crudos and MK-Ultra.

McCoy ended the band in 1997, saying he felt it had done what he wanted and that he intended to leave the Midwest. The group toured the East Coast in its final months, and McCoy recorded the vocals for Youth Attack! in Chicago after it had already broken up. He founded the label Youth Attack Records in 1999 to reissue the band's recordings, saying it had become considerably more popular after splitting up.

Musical style

The band borrowed from the early powerviolence of Infest. Laurent Barnard of Louder wrote that the group took the powerviolence template established by Spazz and added more humor to it, bridging grinding noise, youth crew hardcore and thrash punk. McCoy has cited The Neos' extended play Hassibah Gets the Martian Brain Squeeze as a template for the band's sound. Lyrically, the group tended towards satirical commentary on the hardcore punk scene. The group has been described as a "fast, screaming mess of tall, skinny guys with a lot to say (which you would only know if you read the liner notes)". Writing in Maximum Rocknroll, Felix Havoc of Code 13 dismissed the group as a parody band.

Discography

Albums

Demos and singles

Compilations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ramirez, Carlos (September 5, 2016). "Interview: Mark McCoy (Charles Bronson, Youth Attack, Absolute Power, Das Oath, Suburbanite)". No Echo. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Sharma, Sameet (February 10, 2015). "Forcing Nostalgia on Mark McCoy, 20 Years After Charles Bronson's First Show". Vice. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Powerviolence: The Dysfunctional Family of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrgghhh!!". Terrorizer. No. 172. July 2008. pp. 36–37. Middle America brought Illinois' Charles Bronson, a band that took a page both from Infest's youthcrew/grind combo and Spazz's unabashed sense of humor on their many EP, 7-inch, and comp. appearances
  4. ↑ Barnard, Laurent (January 29, 2015). "This Is Hardcore: Charles Bronson – Youth Attack!". Louder. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
  5. ↑ Pearson, David (2020). Rebel Music in the Triumphant Empire: Punk Rock in the 1990s United States. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-19-753488-5. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Mason, Jeralyn (August 1, 2006). "Das Oath: Das Oath". Prefix. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
  7. ↑ Felix Von Havoc. "Column". Maximum Rocknroll. No. 219. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008 – via Havoc Records.