Breakdown

Breakdown emerged from New York City in the 1990s as one among several acts fusing gritty alternative metal with the raw intensity of classic hardcore punk. Fronted by vocalist Jeff Perlin and guitarist Mike Dijan, the group spent more than a decade circulating through the city’s underground before aligning with Thorp Records, a neo-hardcore imprint. Under that agreement they completed Battle Hymns for an Angry Planet, an album issued in spring 2001 that showcased guitar work from A.J. Novello, previously of Leeway and Both Worlds.