Heartattack, The Last War 1980 - '84

Heart Attack was an early New York hardcore band.

Heart Attack formed in late 1980. They are generally acknowledged for releasing the first New York Hardcore record, the three song 7" EP God is Dead. Formed in the suburban area of Whitestone, Queens, they were probably the youngest punk band in the NYC area at the time, according to some flyers and fanzines. The first line up was formed by people from 12 to 16 years old. Their first demos ("Hitler demo" and "The mojo sessions") was heavily influenced by English punk rock, especially Sex Pistols and The Clash, with hilarious lyrics, but soon after attending a CBGB show of the Bad Brains, Jesse Malin and Jackie Flanagan decided to switch genres to the latest wave of punk: hard core, so they stepped on the gas and became very fast, abandoning the cod English accent of their beginnings. The hardcore style is a rough, violent and aggressive kind of punk rock, not totally into hard core, Malin's vocals are typical "let's kick some ass", out of tune screaming, and it makes a strong contrast to compare these first steps with his present career, which is more poppy and obviously influenced by rock icons such as Bruce Springsteen.

Heart Attack existed for less than four years, part of the NYC hardcore scene with other bands such as the Beastie Boys, Kraut (band), Bad Brains, The Undead, The Mad (no reference), and Even Worse (band). Heart Attack was the first band of the area to go on tour in the rest of the United States. The band's demise coincided with the sudden end of the hardcore scene as its latent violence erupted and its fans destructive urges closed venues and brought down police pressure. All their songs are now published in the "The Last War 1980-84" CD, a comprehensive compendium of the Heart Attack adventure in music together with photography that captures the look of the time.

Their swan song was on July 4 at CBGB, they've played with H.R. from Bad Brains, Agnostic Front and with the Cro-Mags in their public debut.

The band rate a minor mention in the film that documents the US hardcore movement: American Hardcore (film)

A blistering collection of nails-tough early hardcore from the pioneers of the New York scene HEART ATTACK. Featuring the then-twelve-year-old JESSE MALIN (ex-D GENERATION, current BELLVUE), Toxic Lullabyes contains all the tracks from their 1980 debut single (a collector's holy grail), along with their Keep Your Distance and Subliminal Seduction EPs, plus outtakes from each session, and some unreleased demos. To be featured in STEVE BUSH's (Seconds Magazine) book American Hardcore.