Warzone (band)

Warzone (formerly known as Rat Poison)[1] was a New York hardcore punk band formed on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1983. The band helped develop the New York hardcore sound, the hardcore skinhead style and the youth crew subgenre. During the band's 14 years and many line-up changes, their primarily hardcore sound was flavored by influences ranging from Oi! (they toured several times with The Business and played a cover of their song "The Real Enemy") to traditional punk rock to heavy metal (on their self-titled LP). Their fan base was diverse, with their concerts usually attended by skinheads, straight edge teens, metalheads, and punks of all ages. Vice has written that "one could argue that [Warzone] spearheaded the second and larger wave of hardcore bands that erupted in the NY scene in 1986-1987".[2]

This article is about the band. For other uses, see Warzone (disambiguation).
Warzone
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
GenresHardcore punk, street punk, thrash metal
Years active1983–1997
LabelsCaroline, Another Planet, Victory, Revelation
Associated actsAgnostic Front, The Arsons, The Chelsea Smiles, Chrome Locust, D Generation, Danzig, Gorilla Biscuits, Grey Area, Higher Giant, Homewreckers, Judge, Kill Your Idols, Moondog, Murphy's Law, No Redeeming Social Value, Project X, The Psychos, Quicksand, Rejuvenate, Rival Schools, Sick of it All, S.S.S.P., Son of Sam, Straight Ahead, Trip 6, Two Barrels Burning, UltraViolence, Vision, Walking Concert, Walter Walter, Youth Defense League, Youth of Today
Past members
  • Raymond Barbieri
  • Brad Davis
  • Todd Scofield
  • Sebastian "Tito" Perez
  • Charlie Scalfani
  • Thomas Carroll
  • Luke Abbey
  • Jeff Rivera
  • Walter Schreifels
  • Frank Stracuzza
  • Paul Canade
  • John Ullman
  • Jay Vento
  • Eric Komst
  • Vincent Verga
  • Todd Hamilton
  • Brian Goss
  • Jason Lehrhoff
  • Tommy Rat
  • Lee Harrison
  • John Marino
  • Greg Cahill

Frontman Raymond "Raybeez" Barbieri was the band's only consistent member through the vast majority of its years. He joined the band as the drummer in 1983 (the same year he played drums on the debut Agnostic Front 7" EP United Blood), later taking over vocal duties[3] after Warzone had already been in existence for two years (noting later, "in a band that [had] been running for so long, there has to be something there").[4] Raybeez remained the singer of Warzone until his death on September 11, 1997 due to pneumonia.[5] A U.S. Navy veteran,[6] he was receiving treatment in a VHA facility when the illness damaged his liver and took his life at the age of 35.[7] A tribute sign reading "R.I.P Ray" hung outside CBGB for some time following his death, and for more than a year afterward, every release on Victory Records was dedicated to his memory, as were two independent compilations. These albums, as well as benefit concerts, raised funds for several non-profit groups Ray had worked for which helped at-risk youth.[8]

Discography
  • Skinhead Youth CBGB (1984)
  • As One (Demo) (1986)
  • Some Records Tape (1986)
  • Live on WNYU (7/23/87) (1987)
  • Lower East Side Crew (1987) - EP
  • Don't Forget the Struggle/Don't Forget the Streets (1987) - LP
  • Open Your Eyes (1988) - LP
  • Warzone (1989) - LP
  • Live at CBGBs (1993) - live EP
  • Old School to New School (1994) - LP
  • Cause for Alarm/Warzone split with Cause for Alarm (1995) - split 10" EP
  • Lower East Side (1996) - EP
  • The Sound of Revolution (1996) - LP
  • Fight For Justice (1997) - LP
  • The Victory Years (1998) - partial discography LP

References
  1. Rettman, Tony. "Racist Skins Weren't Welcome in Warzone's LES War Zone". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  2. "Brotherhood and Sisterhood: Looking Back with New York Hardcore's Warzone Women". Noisey.vice.com. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2014-09-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Revelation Records : Warzone". Revelationrecords.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. "Warzone's Raybeez Dies Of Pneumonia". Mtv.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. Ramone, Andy. "Dead Punk Stars † Raybeez † Sep. 11, 1997". Deadpunkstars.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2014-12-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Warzone". Punknews.org. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
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