Alexandros Anesiadis: Crossover The Edge - Where Hardcore, Punk and Metal Collide, Book

During the 1980s, a time of conflict among alternative and increasingly tribal musical subcultures, an interesting compromise began to take form - partly out of necessity, partly born of the ongoing search for further unexplored extremes – in the hardcore, punk and metal worlds. Blending the musical and visual elements of all three, this scene within several scenes came to be known as Crossover.

Pulling together bands from diverse subcultural backgrounds (including the Skinhead, Oi and Anarcho scenes) to create a unique fusion whose appeal reached out to a large proportion of each of their fans, the movement was nevertheless overlooked by purists from each side, its specific mix sometimes balancing uncomfortably between those tribes. But inarguably, Crossover (or ‘Speedcore’ as some came to call it), lent a fresh air to a metal scene at risk of stagnation, and brought a welcome atmosphere of experimentation to punk rock in the face of competition from harder, faster and more recent movements.

Crossover The Edge contains in-depth features on over a hundred key bands from the scene’s 1980s heyday, including Agnostic Front, Cro Mags, Crumbsuckers, Leeway, Gang Green, Nuclear Assault, Lethal Aggression, D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Impulse Manslaughter, Verbal Abuse, Attitude Adjustment, Suicidal Tendencies, Excel, Beowulf, Dr. Know, Septic Death, Cryptic Slaughter, Accused, Dayglo Abortions, Discharge, Broken Bones, English Dogs, Sacrilege, Warfare, Raw Power, Rumble Militia, Lobotomia, Overkill L.A., Mentors, Void and Amebix. Another five hundred bands are also featured however briefly.

With a foreword by critically acclaimed author on all things loud, hard and fast Ian Glasper, Crossover The Edge is undoubtedly the definite account of this place and time, and is sure to appeal to fans of multiple genres.

Alexandros Anesiadis was born in 1981 in Greece. Currently living in Luton whilst on his final year of PhD in Media and Arts, he is a fan of, and authority on, an ever-increasing range of musical genres. He also describes himself as a “maniac record collector” (with a collection of over 8,000 records), a happy father and husband and an avid supporter of P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki football team