Armed With Anger

Following on from his successful trilogy of books about the UK's underground punk scene of the Eighties, Ian Glasper's 'Armed With Anger: How UK Punk Survived The Nineties' is the fourth and final book in this well-received, critically-acclaimed series, this time focusing on the much-maligned period of the Nineties. Thought by many to be an absolute nadir in the history of UK punk, this overlooked era still spawned many important and intriguing bands, and no stone is left unturned when uncovering the inspirations and motivations that drove the acts of the time. From the likes of Therapy?, Understand and Lost prophets, who all went on to major label success after starting in humble underground hardcore bands, through to bands who only released one demo or one 7-inch but still left their mark in some vital fashion, 'Armed With Anger: How UK Punk Survived The Nineties' examines almost a hundred bands, allowing them to tell their own stories in their own words, and is brimming with previously unseen photographs and long-thought-lost gig flyers. The many disparate sub-genres of the scene are all minutely examined; from old school punk rock through pop-punk, ska-punk, raging hardcore, militant straightedge, metalcore and even love-it-or-hate-it emocore, the leading lights of all these styles (and many more, of course), reveal their warts 'n' all stories with honesty and conviction. And, as well as the music, 'Armed with Anger...' also ponders the importance of sincere politics, underground fanzines and DIY labels, standing by your friends and never betraying your roots. A must for anyone who enjoyed the first three books, this 'fourth book in the trilogy' pulls together many of the threads started in those earlier volumes and brings Glasper's celebration of the UK's underground punk heritage to a very satisfying, informative conclusion.