Tragedy's music is characterized by its unrelenting, heavy hardcore punk sound, often punctuated by melodic interludes and downshifts in tempo. The band remains strongly aware of its roots but often takes the genre in newer, more innovative directions, pioneering a new breed of hardcore punk along with close friends and contemporaries From Ashes Rise, as well other bands residing in Portland and throughout the world. (See: Severed Head of State and Remains of the Day)

Though most of these bands maintain a progressive attitude as to the nature of their sound, there is a staunch refusal to separate themselves categorically from their hardcore punk provenances. Tragedy draw from many various early hardcore punk bands as influences, most prominently in the vein of d-beat, ranging from Discharge themselves to Japanese d-beat groups such as Deathside. Their name is taken from a 1994 Disclose LP. Some consider Tragedy to be part of the crust punk subgenre, due to their heavy, dark and apocalyptic nature.

Tragedy's first and subsequent albums have met with critical acclaim within the DIY hardcore community, and many see the band as at the forefront of a modern hardcore renaissance of sorts. Nevertheless, despite the band's cult following and near celebrity status among underground hardcore circles, they remain largely mysterious, refusing thus far to utilize the internet and including minimal information in album inserts.