The seeds of Rancid were in the influential early-'90s Californian punk-ska outfit Operation Ivy. Two members of Ivy persevered to form a band that more explicitly nodded to their roots in vintage punk. Heavily influenced by the Clash, Rancid took th…

NOFX formed in 1983, but these goofy California punk rockers didn't make their first full-length album until 1988, when Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz offered to record the band. More musically adventurous than many of their peers, NOFX and their humo…

Hardcore revivalists-turned-goth-punks AFI ascended to a new level of stardom when they decided to slap on some eyeliner and embrace their inner Robert Smiths. After several independent releases, the Southern California-based outfit released their ma…

Still chugging away since their 1980s formation, the best of the socially conscious pop-punk bands continues to put out quality material. Best known for (sadly retired) Brett Gurewitz's music and the polysyllabic lyrics of singer Greg Graffin, Bad Re…

The Clash was one of the first and most important British punk bands. In the 1970s, they were the Beatles to the Sex Pistols' Stones, and went on to incorporate elements from all the roots music they loved--reggae, rockabilly, soul, blues--without ev…

Of the multitude of pop punk bands that emerged during the 90s, the majority seemed to come from the west coast of the USA, but there was a number of east coast counterparts during this era, such as the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Bouncing Souls.…

Making their debut at a local Pittsburgh radio station in 1993 Anti-Flag got together for the sake of responding to their disgust at religion nationalism and fascism Justin Sane vocalsguitar Andy Flag bassvocals and Pat Thetic drums bopped around the…

Nirvana finally made it acceptable for U.S. top-40 fans to embrace punk rock, and bands like Green Day and the Offspring followed up the charts in their wake. While California's Offspring had been slugging it out since the late-'80s, it wasn't until …

Formed in New Jersey in 1977, the Misfits combined the aggressive charge of punk rock with an outlandish sci-fi/horror-movie aesthetic. With their signature "Fiend" skull mascot, bizarrely sculpted "devilock" hairstyles, and songs about zombies and s…

The Casualties formed in 1990 out of a desire to return to the heyday of punk an era that hung on into the early 80s and then started to fall by the wayside in favor of the very early grunge movement as well as hair metal synth pop and new wave But t…

From Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the Dropkick Murphys, (their name taken from a local rehab centre) initially formed in 1996 with the sole intention of jamming punk cover versions. Original members, Mike McColgan (vocals), Ken Casey (bass), Rick Bart…

One of the finest, most distinctive American punk bands of the late 1970s/early '80s, the Dead Kennedys combined righteous political anger with a biting sense of satire. Wildman Jello Biafra's high-pitched yelp and East Bay Ray's twangy, surf-influen…

Coming out of the grass-roots Gilman St. punk scene of the early-1990s Bay Area, Green Day exploded into the mainstream with their third album, 1994's DOOKIE. The trio's punk energy and pop hooks, influenced by first-generation punks like the Buzzcoc…

Musically minimalistic and visually outrageous, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were at the center of the revival of post-punk and garage rock that made New York City a rock & roll hotspot again in the early 2000s. After the success of the Strokes, the trio (led…

Goldfinger sprang from a new wave of ska-punk bands formed in California, USA, in the wake of Green Day and the Offspring's international breakthrough. Based in Los Angeles, Goldfinger blend elements of ska and punk (a la Rancid and Reel Big Fish) wi…

One of the burgeoning army of American punk/ska bands to gain success in the wake of Rancid and the Dropkick Murphys' breakthrough, Los Angeles' Less Than Jake are led by singer Chris Demakes. The band was founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1992 by D…

Boston punk quintet the Explosion was formed in the autumn of 1998 by vocalist Matt Hock guitarist Dave Walsh ex-In My Eyes bassist Damian Genaurdi and drummer Dan Colby the subsequent addition of former Trouble guitarist Sam Cave completed the lineu…

In 1976, the Ramones almost single-handedly invented punk rock and taught the likes of the Sex Pistols and the Clash how it was done. They combined a love of '60s pop melodies with a predilection for short, fast, loud songs and thick, chugging guitar…

California skate-punk trio Blink 182 employed a snappy mix of punk-pop and humor that appealed to a whole new generation of rock fans too young to have fully appreciated Green Day's initial impact. These third- (or fourth-) generation punks became th…

Unbeknownst to most Nirvana fans, its drummer David Grohl was also a singer/guitarist/songwriter who wrote numerous songs during his tenure with the band. After Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, Grohl decided to head out on his own and formed the Foo Figh…