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 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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

The four neo-punk/pop upstarts from Toronto who make up Sum 41 formed the band while they were all still in high school, and the youthful exuberance of those days can still be strongly felt in their 2000 debut EP HALF HOUR OF POWER. The endearingly b…

Though they were part of the same early-1990s West Coast pop-punk scene as Green Day and the Offspring, Pennywise never reached the same commercial heights as their peers. Nevertheless, they proved nearly as influential to subsequent generations of y…

Chicagos Rise Against began in 1999 when ex-88 Fingers Louie bassist Joe Principe tapped area vocalist Tim McIlrath for a new project rooted in the sound and social vision of traditionalist hardcore Joined by fellow 88 Fingers vet Dan Precision on gu…

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…

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…

System of a Down may be seen as part and parcel of the nu-metal explosion of the late-'90s, but their style is less akin to the likes of Limp Bizkit and Korn than to vintage thrash from the '80s, spiced with a touch of hardcore punk. The band's sound…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

Long Beach County skate-rockers Sublime played an infectious mix of ska, punk, hip-hop, and acoustic music that earned them both a devoted underground following and mainstream success during their run in the mid-1990s. Sublime were proud purveyors of…

Inspired by funk, reggae, and heavy rock, not to mention the rap-rock innovations of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 311 formed in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1990. They toured relentlessly, releasing several albums before getting their big break in 1996 with the…

Originally hailing from West Chester PA the roots of CKY stretch back to 1992 when friends Deron Miller vocals guitar and Jess Margera drums met in high school math class eventually forming the group Foreign Objects together they issued the five-song…