The Formative Years – Marginal Man
Marginal Man were a five piece hardcore punk band from Washington DC that rose from the ashes of Artificial Peace’s breakup, whose emissions were more on the rudimentary end of the spectrum, and one of the first hardcore bands from the DC scene that featured two guitars.
Marginal Man’s their first LP, "Identity" was released on Dischord Records in March 1984 and while getting exposure and appreciation, remains one of the more underappreciated and overlooked records in hardcore punk history.
Marginal Man combined the unbridled, raw energy of bands like Minor Threat and Crucifix and paired it with varying artistic influences of Dead Kennedys, straddling the line between the aggressive style of first-wave ferocious hardcore and the more melodic, thereby providing fertile ground for slow grinding emotional struggles that records like Black Flag’s My War riffed on long before “emo” became a thing.
Marginal Man’s Identity album, the primary theme of which is the existential quest for one’s purpose and place in society, stands out from Dischord Records’ flawless discography in that it captures the imagination and wiry agility of hardcore punk yet pulls back to delve into more refined realms substantiated with unrivalled melodic sensibilities and incredible guitar work that was way ahead of its time.
