Youth Defense League


Youth Defense League was an Oi!/New York Hardcore band formed in 1986.

History

The band was featured in the Revelation Records compilation album New York City Hardcore, which featured several NYHC bands, including Sick Of It All and Gorilla Biscuits.
The band's usage of nationalistic slogans and struggle for the downtrodden working-class man has garnered much support from fascist groups worldwide despite the band denying such claims, arguing that they merely promoted an inclusive positive attitude towards the US and not fascism. Though their lyrics were never explicitly racist, the band’s politics leaned far-right-wing, attracting many fans who did, apparently, believe in white supremacy. Y.D.L. reportedly tried to thread this needle by arguing that they believed in white pride, but not racial hegemony. However, pictures from a concert show the band performing commonly associated with the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, a militant group that historically advocated for the political and racial hegemony of South Africa’s white Afrikaner population. Additionally, the lead singer was photographed in 2012 with the bassist of Skrewdriver, a band that was openly racist.

Discography

Albums