There was a time when the Cro-Mags were the greatest band on earth. High-octane punk bombast wrapped in a vicious metallic riffage, the Cro-Mags weren't only New York's most important hardcore band, they were a way of life. Frighteningly fearless and fatally frenetic, tattooed and down for life, they broke the sonic and cultural barriers in the highly stratified music world. For those of you unfamiliar with underground rock history suffice it to say that every New-Jack corporate punk-metal crossover band owes its musical livelihood to the path blazed by these musical marauders. Most "upstart" rock acts talk tough; these motherfuckers would rip out your spleens if you started up with 'em.