Iron Cross

Before Iron Cross, Oi! punk was made almost exclusively by and for working-class England; it drew from specifically British influences (The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Sham 69), and was colored by its own local scene politics (skinheads, frustrated Cockneys, neo-Nazis, the racist National Front party). Iron Cross absorbed the sound and style of Oi! and transplanted it to Washington, D.C., then the epicenter of the burgeoning straight-edge hardcore movement. Removed from its natural habitat, Oi! in the hands of Iron Cross proved even more controversial than in the U.K.; just the vague connotations of the style were enough to rub some D.C. scenesters the wrong way. The majority of Iron Cross were skinheads, and while they never advocated racism, that was lost on a number of fans already intimidated by the violent elements of the skinhead movement. Similarly, the group's name -- and logo -- flirted with German imagery, and while the Iron Cross was a symbol of the country's military, not the Third Reich, it was a subtle distinction ripe for misinterpretation.

Read More