Darkside NYC

Darkside NYC is an American hardcore band with extreme metal and punk influences. Formed in 1991 as simply "Darkside" by Alan Blake, formerly of Sheer Terror, the band released 3 demos and a 7" in the early 90's before disbanding in 1996 for a period of ten years. The band officially became "Darkside NYC" in 1992, although most flyers and advertisements took several years to finally acknowledge the name change. A 7" entitled "Suffer In Silence" released in late 1993 included 4 tracks from a 6-song 1992 demo of the same name. A CD entitled "Ambitions Make Way For Dread" released in 1998 included 2 tracks from a 3-song 1994 demo of the same name, along with several previously unreleased studio tracks from a 1993 session.

The classic-era of the band played about 80 shows, mostly around the New York City area, focusing almost entirely in lower Manhattan (CBGB, Wetlands, Bond St. Café). Darkside NYC - on a few occasions - played in Brooklyn (L'Amour), New Jersey (Studio One), Connecticut and Long Island, but those appearances were uncommon. The band made occasional forays north into upstate New York (Newburgh, Troy), Massachusetts (The Rathskeller), and south into the Baltimore / DC area. Darkside NYC's best out-of-state crowd responses were mostly in Pennsylvania (Unisound, Sea-Sea's, etc.). Darkside NYC frequently shared bills with New York hardcore bands such as WarZone, Breakdown, Madball, and metallic hardcore bands such as Merauder, All Out War, Confusion, Next Step Up and Starkweather. In 1994, the band had the distinction of being the only band to perform at both the "Superbowl of Hardcore" and the "New York Deathfest" shows, convincingly showcasing an ability to appeal to two completely different music scenes.

The earliest incarnation of the band featured Blake on guitar, along with Baron "Thorn" Misuraca (bass, vocals) and Jason Martin (drums), both also former Sheer Terror members. The band's core and best known lineup consisted of Blake, with Rich O'Brien (vocals) and Joe Branciforte (drums). The bass slot was, at times, a revolving door, but Jeff Morlos, Scott Helland, Joe Heller and Baron appeared on recordings. In 1995, Blake retired from playing music and Matt Melnick (Disassociate) filled in on guitar for a handful of shows.

The band reunited for one show in January 2003 at CBGB for the "Tribute to Frank Collins" show, in which fifteen bands played in honor of the former Confusion guitarist who died in a motorcycle crash the previous year. The line-up was Rich, Joe, Matt and Joe V on bass.

The band reformed in late 2006, and played several shows in 2007 and 2008 before spending the next few years keeping a low profile while writing a several albums of material. In 2011, the band played some select dates as a three-piece with Rich drumming and singing. In 2013, armed with a new rhythm section (Mark Sokoll - bass and Rick Beedners - drums), Darkside NYC began performing regularly in the NYC and surrounding areas. After playing Ieperfest in Belgium, Darkside NYC have decided to return to Europe for a small venue tour and have been added to the roster of M.A.D. right before the pandemic.

In 2014, "Optimism Is Self-Deception: Vols. 1 & 2" was finally released. "Optimism Is Self-Deception: Vols. 3 & 4" is currently slated for a 2021 release.