Mus News

Sweaty bodies, microphone feedback, shouting, chanting, tattoos, and more shouting - no, I’m not talking about the Republican National Convention. I’m talking, of course, about the New York hardcore punk/thrash scene. And perhaps no other band summed up the frenzied, anarchic energy of that scene than the legendary Vision of Disorder.

With a strong underground following that lasted up until their temporary termination in 2002, V.O.D. formed in 1992. The line-up has always remained the same throughout the band’s tenure: vocalist Tim Williams, guitarists Mike Kennedy and Matt Baumbach, drummer Brendon Cohen, and bassist Mike Fleischmann. At one point, Fleischmann left the band and the group decided to carry on performing without a bassist. He eventually returned.

In 2002, after a lack of support from record labels and mounting frustration, V.O.D. took an extended hiatus and eventually disbanded. But in 2006, the group reunited for a few shows. Footage was shot of those shows and gathered to make a DVD. That DVD is Dead in New York.

For anyone that has ever braved the crowd at a hardcore punk/thrash show in a smaller venue, one knows the dangers that come with the territory. Flailing limbs, pushing and shoving, spit, blood, and testosterone are in high order. A V.O.D. show takes these elements, amplifies them times ten thousand, and explodes in a mass of blood, sweat, and pure passion. The crowd is a part of the show and it is often difficult to tell the band and the fans apart.

Filmed by Bill Yukich, Dead in New York takes all of the best elements from a V.O.D. show and cuts them together for those wanting the audio/visual experience without the chipped teeth and broken noses. Yukich does an excellent job at shooting the show, gathering the essence of the tattooed crowd as they react and collide with the music.