Going beyond the music, “American Hardcore” addresses many of the themes that were prevalent in the scene at the time, such as the sentiments of disgust and anguish over where our country was heading, anti-Reaganism, and the false sense of traditional morals that no longer seemed to be relevant in our society at the time.

The hardcore/punk rock movement of the early 1980s was a brief and bombastic avalanche of chaos that screamed in defiance to everything that was rotten about rock ‘n’ roll music at the time.

It was short-lived, poorly documented and as abrasive as a belt sander applied to an open stomach wound. The prominent bands of this movement wanted to remove the unnecessary excess and banalities of rock music and dissolve the absurd notion of the glorified rock star.

Hardcore groups reduced the length of songs to minute and a half blasts of pandemonium, shows were oftentimes completely self-promoted, and the concept of fame was perceived as an implausible absurdity. Dismissed and grossly misconstrued by all aspects of society at the time, these bands laid the groundwork for much of the do-it-yourself work ethic that permeates most underground music scenes today.

Soon to be released on DVD, director Paul Rachman’s documentary titled “American Hardcore” captures much of the essence of the rise and fall of hardcore music from 1979 to 1986. Roughly based on Steve Blush’s book “American Hardcore: A Tribal History,” this documentary showcases rare footage of the most prominent bands in the hardcore movement along with interviews with many artists who played crucial roles in the genre.

Going beyond the music, “American Hardcore” addresses many of the themes that were prevalent in the scene at the time, such as the sentiments of disgust and anguish over where our country was heading, anti-Reaganism and the false sense of traditional morals that no longer seemed to be relevant in our society at the time.

Following the rise of the genre, Rachman gives ample space to bands such as Black Flag, Bad Brains and Minor Threat, and the crucial role they played in establishing hardcore music in America.

In-depth interviews conducted recently with former musicians go beneath the surface of the music and explain how and why this genre manifested itself. Rachman paints a movement generated by mostly angst-ridden kids who felt completely alienated from their surroundings, whose only solace was to create a violent and elitist scene.

Digging deep into archival footage, “American Hardcore” pays homage to such important bands as Flipper, Millions Of Dead Cops, Articles Of Faith, SSD and Milwaukee’s own (the hugely underrated) Die Kreuzen.

The film also addresses the bitter demise of the movement. Interviews with Ian McKay (Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, The Evans) and Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins Band) portray the violent aspects of the scene in harrowing details. From the aggressively primal behavior at shows to the unheard of level of police brutality that many endured, the extreme level of violence became one of the proverbial nails in the coffin for many of the movement’s contributors. Coupled with the alienation that many fans felt when the bands began to slow their music down in grotesque attempts at mainstream success, hardcore punk rock met its tragic end in 1986.

“American Hardcore” will be released on DVD with a whole gang of bonus outtakes on Feb. 20.

Buy the soundtrack too. It is spectacular.

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