Calling the Proletariat a hardcore band is a big stretch, at least if you're talking about hardcore as a musical style. While the other Boston bands were defining a local sound based on speed and brutality, the Proletariat were melding the styles of their heroes the Sex Pistols and Gang of Four to create sparse, edgy, but always hyper-aggressive melodic punk rock. Although they had no experience when they formed in southeastern Massachusettes in 1980, by 1981 they were already terrorizing New England with obscene Pistols' covers and their own developing tunes.

Read more about The Proletariat on Last.fm.