[3] Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre.

[3] Formed in 1980 with Vincent "Vinnie Stigma" Capuccio (formerly of the Eliminators) on lead guitar,[4] with Diego on bass, Rob Krekus (aka Robby Crypt Crash)[5] on drums and John Watson on vocals.

Despite being billed at their first concert as the Zoo Crew, Stigma introduced them as Agnostic Front, saying that the poster had been made prior to deciding on the name.

[7] After Watson was arrested, the band hired James Kontra as their vocalist, who eventually quit before a performance at Great Gildersleeves after a disagreement with Capuccio about how to hand out stickers.

[8] Although never having spoken to him before, Stigma told some of his friends to ask Roger Miret (former bass player of the Psychos) if he wanted to be the vocalist of Agnostic Front, because he liked his style of slam dancing.

This led to a belief among some that the band espoused ultra-nationalist or fascist politics, an assertion denied by vocalist Roger Miret in a 1985 Flipside interview:

[citation needed] 1986's Cause for Alarm was a difficult album to record, due to constant lineup changes and personnel problems.

With other bands such as Suicidal Tendencies and Stormtroopers of Death, this album would mark AF's foray into the world of crossover thrash.

[13] Stigma and Miret reformed Agnostic Front in May 1996 and did a few reunion shows in December 1996, signing to Epitaph Records and recruiting Jimmy Colletti on drums and Rob Kabula on bass,[13] who was playing with Against the Grain at the time.

The album, however, did receive some criticism from fans and the press for apparently changing their music to fit the current wave of 'tough guy' bands.

Later, the track "Peace" was contributed to the mash-up album Threat: Music That Inspired the Movie, where it was remixed by Schizoid and renamed "World at War".

On November 6, 2007, Agnostic Front released the album Warriors with the hit "For My Family" which was largely a continuation of the band's crossover thrash sound.

For the 25th anniversary of their debut LP Victim in Pain, Bridge Nine Records released remastered versions of said album along with their first EP, United Blood, on November 17, 2009.