New York hardcore trailblazers Agnostic Front have unleashed Sunday Matinee, the latest video from their brand-new album Echoes In Eternity, out today via Reigning Phoenix Music. The track pays tribute to the iconic CBGB Sunday shows that helped shape the band’s musical and cultural DNA, as well as the global hardcore movement that followed.
Frontman Roger Miret reflects on the spirit that inspired Sunday Matinee, saying the song celebrates “the gathering of friends, families and the joyous times when we all looked forward to our Sunday Matinee”, particularly during the classic CBGB era. Those Sunday afternoon bills at the legendary Bowery venue were more than just shows, they were the birthplace of lifelong alliances, scene solidarity and a raw, unfiltered sense of community. “Basically, true social media at its finest!” Miret says.
On Echoes In Eternity, Agnostic Front capture the urgency that has defined their sound since day one, pairing unpolished ferocity with messages of unity, resilience and authenticity. The record is a reminder that the voice of working-class New York streets still carries weight far beyond its neighbourhood origins, inspiring multiple generations over four decades.
Agnostic Front formed in the early 1980s, emerging from Manhattan’s Lower East Side at a time when the city was in decay and punk was splintering into new directions. While early New York punk had already become a cultural force thanks to bands like The Ramones and Television, Agnostic Front delivered a tougher, street-born iteration: hardcore. Their 1983 EP United Blood set the tone, but it was 1984’s Victim In Pain that helped define New York hardcore as a global movement.
CBGB, already hallowed punk territory, became the epicentre of this new violent, unvarnished sound. With Roger Miret on vocals and Vinnie Stigma’s unmistakable guitar attack, Agnostic Front’s shows turned into the blueprint for hardcore culture: a fusion of punk ferocity, communal loyalty and a refusal to compromise. Their influence paved the way for crossover thrash, connecting the hardcore underground with the metal world years before it entered the mainstream.
The group weathered lineup shifts, controversy, police attention and the collapse of CBGB, but never lost momentum. Releases like Cause For Alarm (1986), Liberty And Justice For… (1987), One Voice (1992) and Something’s Gotta Give (1998) pushed the sound forward while holding fast to its street ethos. Even when major scenes drifted toward polished commercial punk in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Agnostic Front stayed grounded in their mission: straight-ahead hardcore built for the people who lived it.
They reunited original members for special shows, returned to CBGB before its closure, inspired documentaries and sustained a touring presence that few hardcore acts can match. Their influence is etched across the scene, shaping everyone from Sick Of It All and Biohazard to later heavyweights like Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage.
More than 40 years on, Agnostic Front remain one of the genre’s most vital voices. Echoes In Eternity continues their tradition of confronting inequality, lifting up working-class struggle and challenging social division. While the world has changed, the message is as relevant as ever: authenticity counts, community matters, and the fight for dignity never ends.
Echoes In Eternity Tracklist
Way Of War
You Say
Matter Of Life & Death (feat. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of RunDMC)
Tears For Everyone
Divided
Sunday Matinee
I Can’t Win
Turn Up The Volume
Art Of Silence
Shots Fired
Hell To Pay
Evolution Of Madness
Skip The Trial
Obey
Eyes Open Wide
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