Fear

Fear are a Los Angeles punk band formed in 1977 by singer Lee Ving, one of the most confrontational and influential acts to emerge from the American hardcore scene. Alongside bands like Black Flag and X, Fear helped define the aggressive, fast, and darkly comic sound of early West Coast punk, mixing raw guitar riffs with Ving’s sneering, provocative delivery.

The band gained wider notoriety through their chaotic appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1981, an event now considered a landmark moment in punk history, and through their prominent role in Penelope Spheeris’s documentary The Decline of Western Civilization. Songs such as «Let’s Have a War» and «I Love Livin’ in the City» became genre staples, known for their satirical, deliberately offensive humor aimed at social norms.

Despite lineup changes over the decades, Lee Ving has kept Fear active, and the band remains a touchstone reference for hardcore punk’s formative years, cited as an influence by countless later punk and metal acts.