On November 10th, 1992, Biohazard emerged with their sophomore full-length Urban Discipline. A streetwise album that reflected the turmoil of their surroundings, the album was a huge success on all fronts. Especially when you consider that nu-metal didn’t quite exist yet – but its powerful blend of hardcore punk, hip-hop, and metal would prove very influential on a legion of bands that came after.
In fact, they were one of the first prominent hardcore/metal bands to specifically collaborate with hip-hop artists, whether it was with Cypress Hill or with Onyx on “Slam” or even the title track to the Judgment Night soundtrack. On Urban Discipline, though, this was truly groundbreaking stuff. While hip-hop and metal had joined forces previously, this album was arguably the first time that a New York hardcore band had openly flirted with hip-hop. This album was released a week after Rage Against The Machine set the world on fire with their self-titled debut album, of course.
Buoyed by huge single “Punishment” (which has a Dolph Lundgren quote, insane), the album no doubt proved influential to many burgeoning artists later in the decade. While not the first band to merge disparate styles of this nature, there’s no denying Biohazard helped pioneer a style that would become extremely popular later on.
