Post-hardcore
Encyclopedia
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk
, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock
movement. Like post-punk
, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups. Many emerged from the hardcore punk scene, or took inspiration from hardcore, while concerning themselves with a wider degree of expression.
The genre took shape in the mid- to late-1980s with releases from bands from the Midwestern United States. Particularly, from the scenes in Washington, D.C.
such as Fugazi as well as slightly different sounding groups such as Big Black
and Jawbox
that stuck closer to the noise rock
roots of post-hardcore.
, which had typically featured very fast tempos, loud volume and heavy bass levels, as well as a "do-it-yourself" ethic
. Allmusic states that "these newer bands, termed post-hardcore, often found complex and dynamic ways of blowing off steam that generally went outside the strict hardcore realm of 'loud fast rules'. Additionally, many of these bands' vocalists were just as likely to deliver their lyrics with a whispered croon as they were a maniacal yelp." The music database also says that the bands found creative ways to build and release tension rather than "airing their dirty laundry in short, sharp, frenetic bursts". Jeff Terich of Treblezine states, "Instead of sticking to hardcore's rigid constraints, these artists expanded beyond power chords and gang vocals, incorporating more creative outlets for punk rock energy." British post-punk
of the late 1970s and early 1980s has been seen as influential on the musical development of many of these bands. As the genre progressed some of these groups also experimented with a wide array of influences, including soul
, dub
, funk
, jazz
, and dance-punk
. It has also been noted that since some post-hardcore bands included members that were rooted in the beginnings of hardcore punk, some of them were able to expand their sound as they became more skilled musicians.
states that the genre began with "the actual hardcore bands themselves", remarking how as acts like Black Flag
"began to bore with the formulaic constraints of hardcore, more experimental sounds began to appear in their music". Groups such as Saccharine Trust
, Naked Raygun
, and The Effigies
, which were active around the early 1980s, are considered as forerunners to the post-hardcore genre. Chicago
's Naked Raygun, formed in 1981, has been seen as merging post-punk
influences of bands such as Wire
and Gang of Four
with hardcore, while author Steven Blush notes the band's use of "oblique lyrics and stark post-punk melodies". Similarly, The Effigies, who also hailed from the Chicago scene, released music influenced by the hardcore of Minor Threat
and the British post-punk of bands like The Stranglers
, Killing Joke
, and The Ruts
.
During the early-to-mid 1980s, the desire to experiment with hardcore's basic template expanded to many musicians that had been associated with the genre or had strong roots in it. Many of these groups also took inspiration from the '80s noise rock
scene pioneered by Sonic Youth
. Some bands signed to the independent label Homestead Records
, including Squirrel Bait
(as well as David Grubbs
-related Bastro
and Bitch Magnet
) and Steve Albini
's Big Black
(just as his subsequent projects Rapeman
and Shellac
) are also associated with post-hardcore. Big Black, which also featured former Naked Raygun guitarist Santiago Durango
, made themselves known for their strict DIY ethic
, related to practices such as paying for their own recordings, booking their own shows, handling their own management and publicity, and remaining "stubbornly independent at a time when many independent bands were eagerly reaching out for the major-label brass ring". The band's music, punctuated by the use of a drum machine
, has also been seen as influential to industrial rock
, while Blush has also described the Albini-fronted project as "an angst-ridden response to the rigid English post-punk of Gang of Four". After the issuing of the "Il Duce" single (and between the release of their only two studio albums, Atomizer
and Songs About Fucking
), Big Black left Homestead for Touch and Go Records
, which would later reissue not only their entire discography, but would also be responsible for the release of the complete works of Scratch Acid
, an act from Austin, Texas
described as post-hardcore, that, according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "laid the groundwork for much of the distorted, grinding alternative punk rockers of the '90s".
Outside the United States, the genre would take shape in the works of the Canadian
group Nomeansno
, related with Jello Biafra
and his independently-run label Alternative Tentacles
, and that had been active since 1979. A reviewer noted that the group's 1989's release Wrong
was "one of the most aggressive and powerful opuses in post-hardcore ever made".
scene (also known as "harDCore"), a new movement appeared and "swept over" the scene. This movement was led by bands associated with the D.C. independent record label Dischord Records
, home in the early 80s to seminal hardcore bands such as Minor Threat, State of Alert
, Void
and Government Issue
. According to the Dischord website: "The violence and nihilism that had become identified with punk rock, largely by the media, had begun to take hold in DC and many of the older punks suddenly found themselves repelled and discouraged by their hometown scene", leading to "a time of redefinition". During these years, a new wave of bands started to form, these included Rites of Spring
, Lunchmeat (later to become Soulside
), Gray Matter
, Mission Impossible, Dag Nasty
and Embrace, the latter featuring former Minor Threat singer and Dischord co-founder Ian MacKaye
. This movement has been since widely known as the "Revolution Summer". Rites of Spring has been described as the band that "more than led the change", challenging the "macho posturing that had become so prevalent within the punk scene at that point", and "more importantly", defying "musical and stylistic rule". Journalist Steve Huey writes that while the band "strayed from hardcore's typically external concerns of the time -- namely, social and political dissent -- their musical attack was no less blistering, and in fact a good deal more challenging and nuanced than the average three-chord speed-blur", a sound that, according to Huey, mapped out "a new direction for hardcore that built on the innovations" brought by Hüsker Dü
's Zen Arcade
. Other bands have been perceived as taking inspiration from genres such as funk
(as in the case of Beefeater) and 60s pop
(such as the example of Gray Matter).
According to Eric Grubbs, a nickname was developed for the new sound, with some considering it "post-harDCore", but another name that floated around the scene was "emo-core
". The latter, mentioned in skateboarding magazine Thrasher, would came up in discussions around the D.C. area. While some of these bands have been considered as contributors to the birth of emo, with Rites of Spring sometimes being named as the first or one of the earliest emo acts, musicians such as the band's former frontman Guy Picciotto
and MacKaye himself have voiced their opposition against the term. In the nearby state of Maryland
, similar bands that are categorized now as post-hardcore would also emerge, these include Moss Icon
and The Hated
. The former's music contained, according to Steve Huey, "shifting dynamics, chiming guitar arpeggios, and screaming, crying vocal climaxes", which would prove to be influential to later musicians in spite of the band's unstable existence. This group has also been considered as one of the earliest emo acts.
The second half of the 80s saw the formation of several bands in D.C., which included Shudder to Think
, Jawbox
, The Nation of Ulysses, and Fugazi, as well as Baltimore's Lungfish
. MacKaye described this period as the busiest that the Dischord Records label had ever seen. Most of these acts, along with earlier ones, would contribute to the 1989 compilation State of the Union
, a release that documented the new sound of the late 80s D.C. punk scene. Fugazi gained "an extremely loyal and numerous global following", with reviewer Andy Kellman summarizing the band's influence with the statement: "To many, Fugazi meant as much to them as Bob Dylan
did to their parents." It has also been noted that the group's "ever-evolving" sound would signal a more experimental turn in hardcore that paved the way for later Dischord releases. The band, which included MacKaye, Picciotto, and former Rites of Spring drummer Brendan Canty
along with bassist Joe Lally
, issued in 1989 13 Songs
, a compilation of their earlier self-titled
and Margin Walker
EPs, which is now considered as a landmark album. Similarly, the band's debut studio album, 1990's Repeater
, has also been "generally" regarded as a classic. The group also garnered recognition for their activism
, cheaply-priced shows and CDs, and their resistance to mainstream outlets. On the other hand, Jawbox had been influenced by "the tradition of Chicago's thriving early-'80s scene", while The Nation of Ulysses are "best remembered for lifting the motor-mouthed revolutionary rhetoric of the MC5
" with the incorporation of "elements of R&B
(as filtered through the MC5) and avant jazz
" combined with "exciting, volatile live gigs", and being the inspiration for "a new crop of bands both locally and abroad".
(originally a side-project of Brendan Canty and Eli Janney, which would later incorporate members of Soulside), The Jesus Lizard
(formed by ex-members of Scratch Acid), Quicksand
(fronted by former Youth of Today
and Gorilla Biscuits
member Walter Schreifels
), Rollins Band
(led by former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins
), Tar
(which raised from the ashes of a hardcore outfit named Blatant Dissent), and Slint
(containing members of Squirrel Bait). Acts such as Shellac and Louisville
's Slint have been considered as influential to the development of the genre of math rock
, with the former featuring "awkward time signatures and trademark aggression" that has come to characterize "a certain slant" on math rock, while the latter presented "instrumental music seeped in dramatic tension but set to rigid systems of solid-structured guitar patterns and percussive repetition". According to reviewer Jason Arkeny, Slint's "deft, extremist manipulations of volume, tempo, and structure cast them as clear progenitors of the post-rock
movement".
Allmusic has noted that younger bands "flowered into post-hardcore after cutting their teeth in high school punk bands". In Washington D.C., new bands such as Hoover
(as well as the related The Crownhate Ruin
), Circus Lupus
, Bluetip
, and Smart Went Crazy
were added to the Dischord roster. Hoover has been cited by journalist Charles Spano as a band that had "a tremendous impact on post-hardcore music". In New York City
, in addition to Quicksand, post-hardcore bands such as Helmet
, Unsane
, Chavez
and Texas Is the Reason
emerged. Quicksand and Helmet have also been associated with alternative metal
. Chicago, which alongside the Midwestern United States
has been important to the progression of math rock, also saw the birth of post-hardcore acts such as the examples of Shellac, Tar, Trenchmouth
, and the Jade Tree-released group Cap'n Jazz
(as well as the subsequent related project Joan of Arc
, which also released their work through Jade Tree). Steve Huey argues that the release of Cap'n Jazz's retrospective compilation album Analphabetapolothology
helped spread the band's influence "far beyond their original audience", while also considering the group as influential for the development of emo in the independent music scene. Champaign
, also in Illinois
, was known for an independent scene that would give way to groups like Hum
, Braid
and Poster Children
. The American Northwest
saw the creation of acts such as Karp
, Lync
and Unwound
, all hailing from the Olympia, Washington
area. The latter's music has been considered by critic John Bush as a combination of "the noise of Sonic Youth's more raucous passages" with a "rare energetic flair which rivals even that of Fugazi". Texas
saw the formation of groups such as The Jesus Lizard (later to be based in Chicago) and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
in Austin
, and At the Drive-In
from El Paso
. This last band was known for their energy in both performances and music, and for their "driving melodic punk riffs, meshed together with quieter interlocking note-picking".
The genre also saw representation outside of the United States in Refused
who emerged from the Umeå
, Sweden
music scene. The band, which made itself known earlier in their career for its "massive hardcore sound", released in 1998 The Shape of Punk to Come
, an album that saw the group take inspiration from The Nation of Ulysses while incorporating elements such as "ambient textures
, jazz breakdowns", metal and electronica
to their hardcore sound.
The early-to-mid 90s would see the birth of several bands in the San Diego, California
music scene, some of which would lead a post-hardcore movement associated with the independent label Gravity Records
. This movement would eventually became known as the "San Diego sound". Gravity was founded in 1991 by Matt Anderson, member of the band Heroin
, as a mean to release the music of his band and of other related San Diego groups, which also included Antioch Arrow
and Clikatat Ikatowi. The label's earlier releases are known for the definition of "a new sound in hardcore rooted in tradition but boasting a chaotic sound that showcased a new approach" to the genre. Heroin were known for being innovators of early 90s hardcore and for making dynamic landscapes "out of one minute blasts of noisy vitriol". These bands were influenced by acts like Fugazi and The Nation of Ulysses, while also helping propagate an offshoot of hardcore that "grafted spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics". This movement has been associated to the development of the sub-genre of screamo
, while it also should be noticed that this term has been, as with the case of emo, the subject of controversy. The label also featured releases by non-San Diego bands that included Mohinder
(from Cupertino, California
), Angel Hair and its subsequent related project The VSS
(from Boulder, Colorado
), groups that have also been associated with this sound. The VSS was known for their use of synthesizer
s "vying with post-hardcore's rabid atonality".
Out of the Gravity roster, another band that played an important role in the development of the "San Diego sound" was Drive Like Jehu
. This group, founded by former members of Pitchfork
, was known, according to Steve Huey, for their lengthy and multisectioned compositions based on the innovations brought by the releases on Dischord, incorporating elements such as "odd time signature
s, orchestrated builds and releases", and "elliptical" melodies, among others that would result in one of the most "distinctive and ferocious" sounds to come out of the post-hardcore movement. Huey also says that while many critics at the time "lacked the frame of reference to place their music in a broader context" and the term "emo" hadn't yet come into wider use, Drive Like Jehu played an important role on its development in spite of the band's music not resembling the sound such term would later signify.
's Nevermind
attracted the attention of major labels towards the Dischord imprint and many of its bands. While the label rejected these offers, two Dischord acts, Jawbox and Shudder to Think, would sign deals with major labels. The former's signing to Atlantic Records
would alienate some of the band's long-term fanbase, but it would also help with the development and recording of the 1994 release For Your Own Special Sweetheart
, considered by Andy Kellman as "one of the best releases to come out of the fertile D.C. scene of the '80s and '90s". The subsequent tour for the album and the MTV
rotation of some videos would introduce the band to a handful of new crowds, but ultimately the album would remain "unnoticed outside of the usual indie community".
Likewise, out of the Dischord label, Interscope Records
would sign Helmet after a reportedly "ferocious" bidding war between several major record companies, and while MTV would air some videos by the group, which by the time of the release of Meantime, their major-label debut, was considered then as "the only band close to the Seattle grunge
sound" on the American East Coast and would be hailed as "the next big thing", these expectations would "never be fully realized" in spite of the record's later influence. In another notable case, Hum would sign to RCA
in 1994, selling approximately 250,000 copies of their album You'd Prefer an Astronaut
fueled by the success of the album's lead single "Stars", and while the band had established by this point a strong underground fanbase, this would prove to be "the pinnacle of Hum's media attention", as its follow-up, 1998's Downward is Heavenward
would sell poorly, resulting in the decision of RCA to drop the band from their roster.
, who was credited for popularizing nu metal
with bands like Korn
and Limp Bizkit
in the 1990s, helped welcome the post-hardcore genre into the mainstream in the 2000s. Mehan Jayasuriya of PopMatters
suggested that Robinson's sudden focus on post-hardcore was his "pet project" designed to redeem himself of "the 'Nu-Metal' scourge of the late '90s". Robinson recorded At the Drive-In's Relationship of Command
(2000), Glassjaw
's Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
(2000) and Worship and Tribute
(2002), and The Blood Brothers' ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
(2003); four albums that are said to "stand as some of the best post-hardcore records produced" during the 2000s. In John Franck's review of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence for Allmusic, he stated: "Featuring extraordinary ambidextrous drummer Sammy Siegler
(of Gorilla Biscuits
/CIV fame), Glassjaw has paired up with producer/entrepreneur Ross Robinson (a key catalyst in the reinvention of the aggro rock sound) to take you on a pummeling ride that would make Bad Brains
and Quicksand proud."
Other new bands formed who popularized the style formed around this time. These groups include Thursday
, Thrice
and Finch
. By 2003, post-hardcore had caught the attention of major labels including Island Records
, who signed Thrice and Thursday, Atlantic Records
, who signed Poison the Well
, and Geffen Records
, who had absorbed Finch from their former label Drive-Thru Records
. Post-hardcore also began to do well in sales with Thrice's The Artist in the Ambulance
and Thursday's War All the Time which charted #16 and #7, respectively, on the Billboard 200
in 2003. Across the pond in the United Kingdom
, the Welsh band Funeral for a Friend
gained success with their debt album Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation
in 2003, charting at 12 in the UK Charts, and their 2005 sophomore album Hours
charting in the US as well.
Around this time, a new wave of post-hardcore bands began to emerge onto the scene that incorporated more pop punk
and alternative rock
styles into their music. These bands include: Scary Kids Scaring Kids
, The Used
, Hawthorne Heights
, Senses Fail
,, Taking Back Sunday
, Brand New
, From First to Last
and Emery
in addition to Canadian post-hardcore bands Silverstein
and Alexisonfire
. This group of post-hardcore bands gained mainstream recognition with the help of MTV and Warped Tour
. The Used released some minor radio hits and later received gold certifications for their first two studio albums The Used
and In Love and Death
from the RIAA. Hawthorne Heights' debut album The Silence in Black and White
was also certified gold.
, creating what has been called electronicore or synthcore. These groups make use of metalcore-influenced breakdowns, synthesizer
s, electronically produced sounds, auto-tune
d vocals, and screamed vocals
. Such groups have been formed in England
, The United States, and Canada
. Sumerian Records
notes that "there has been a surplus of 'electronica/hardcore' music as of late". I See Stars
is often recognized as a primary contributor of the style. The group's debut album, 3-D
, was popular "amongst the synthcore scene". Other notable bands that demonstrate a fusion of post-hardcore or metalcore with electronic music include Abandon All Ships
, Attack Attack!
, Asking Alexandria
, We Follow One, Enter Shikari
, and Sky Eats Airplane
.
, a music genre that fuses elements of modern rock with video game music, chiptune
, and 8-bit music, is considered a derivative form of post-hardcore and metalcore.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement. Like post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups. Many emerged from the hardcore punk scene, or took inspiration from hardcore, while concerning themselves with a wider degree of expression.
The genre took shape in the mid- to late-1980s with releases from bands from the Midwestern United States. Particularly, from the scenes in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
such as Fugazi as well as slightly different sounding groups such as Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
and Jawbox
Jawbox
Jawbox was an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., U.S.. Its original members were J. Robbins , Kim Coletta and Adam Wade...
that stuck closer to the noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
roots of post-hardcore.
Characteristics
Post-hardcore is derived from hardcore punkHardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, which had typically featured very fast tempos, loud volume and heavy bass levels, as well as a "do-it-yourself" ethic
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
. Allmusic states that "these newer bands, termed post-hardcore, often found complex and dynamic ways of blowing off steam that generally went outside the strict hardcore realm of 'loud fast rules'. Additionally, many of these bands' vocalists were just as likely to deliver their lyrics with a whispered croon as they were a maniacal yelp." The music database also says that the bands found creative ways to build and release tension rather than "airing their dirty laundry in short, sharp, frenetic bursts". Jeff Terich of Treblezine states, "Instead of sticking to hardcore's rigid constraints, these artists expanded beyond power chords and gang vocals, incorporating more creative outlets for punk rock energy." British post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
of the late 1970s and early 1980s has been seen as influential on the musical development of many of these bands. As the genre progressed some of these groups also experimented with a wide array of influences, including soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and dance-punk
Dance-punk
Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and No Wave movements.-Predecessors:...
. It has also been noted that since some post-hardcore bands included members that were rooted in the beginnings of hardcore punk, some of them were able to expand their sound as they became more skilled musicians.
History
Origins
Ryan Cooper of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
states that the genre began with "the actual hardcore bands themselves", remarking how as acts like Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
"began to bore with the formulaic constraints of hardcore, more experimental sounds began to appear in their music". Groups such as Saccharine Trust
Saccharine Trust
Saccharine Trust is a post-hardcore band from California that was started in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza.The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut Paganicons but left the band to play in...
, Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
, and The Effigies
The Effigies
The Effigies is an early post-hardcore group from Chicago. The band, first formed in 1980, was active for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes, with frontman John Kezdy the only constant, before disbanding in 1990 . The band released 5 LPs and several EPs, most on...
, which were active around the early 1980s, are considered as forerunners to the post-hardcore genre. Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Naked Raygun, formed in 1981, has been seen as merging post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
influences of bands such as Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
and Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
with hardcore, while author Steven Blush notes the band's use of "oblique lyrics and stark post-punk melodies". Similarly, The Effigies, who also hailed from the Chicago scene, released music influenced by the hardcore of Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
and the British post-punk of bands like The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
, and The Ruts
The Ruts
The Ruts were a reggae-influenced British punk rock band, notable for the 1979 Top 10 hit "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was much played and highly regarded by the UK BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, John Peel.-Career:...
.
During the early-to-mid 1980s, the desire to experiment with hardcore's basic template expanded to many musicians that had been associated with the genre or had strong roots in it. Many of these groups also took inspiration from the '80s noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
scene pioneered by Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
. Some bands signed to the independent label Homestead Records
Homestead Records
Homestead Records was a Long Island, NY based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading. It was founded in 1984 by Sam Berger, who was the American Independent buyer for Dutch East India Trading. Berger was finding that many bands who had perhaps released their own first 45 were...
, including Squirrel Bait
Squirrel Bait
Squirrel Bait was an American punk band from Louisville, Kentucky. They were in existence from 1983 to 1988. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock...
(as well as David Grubbs
David Grubbs
David Grubbs , guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale Community Singers....
-related Bastro
Bastro
Bastro was an American post-hardcore band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums.-History:...
and Bitch Magnet
Bitch Magnet
Bitch Magnet was a post-hardcore band during the late 1980s and early 1990s who formed at Oberlin College in Ohio and later moved to North Carolina. They released their first record in 1988. All of the band's full-length albums were released on Communion Records in the US; they were also signed to...
) and Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
's Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
(just as his subsequent projects Rapeman
Rapeman
Rapeman was an American post-hardcore/noise rock group founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass, and Rey Washam on drums.-History:In an interview, Albini reported that "'Rapeman' is .....
and Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
) are also associated with post-hardcore. Big Black, which also featured former Naked Raygun guitarist Santiago Durango
Santiago Durango
Santiago Durango is an American guitarist remembered for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups Naked Raygun and Big Black. Mostly retired from music as of the early 2000s, he works as an attorney.- Biography :...
, made themselves known for their strict DIY ethic
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
, related to practices such as paying for their own recordings, booking their own shows, handling their own management and publicity, and remaining "stubbornly independent at a time when many independent bands were eagerly reaching out for the major-label brass ring". The band's music, punctuated by the use of a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, has also been seen as influential to industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
, while Blush has also described the Albini-fronted project as "an angst-ridden response to the rigid English post-punk of Gang of Four". After the issuing of the "Il Duce" single (and between the release of their only two studio albums, Atomizer
Atomizer (album)
Atomizer is a 1986 album by the American noise rock group Big Black. It is their debut album as all previous releases are EPs. The LP is accompanied by liner notes that explain the stories behind many of the songs...
and Songs About Fucking
Songs About Fucking
Songs About Fucking is the second and final album by the noise rock band Big Black. It placed 54th on Pitchfork Media's 'Top 100 Albums of the 1980s'. Included are covers of Kraftwerk's "The Model" and Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore".-Production:...
), Big Black left Homestead for Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
, which would later reissue not only their entire discography, but would also be responsible for the release of the complete works of Scratch Acid
Scratch Acid
Scratch Acid was an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. When they first began, their lineup was Steve Anderson , David Wm. Sims , Brett Bradford , David Yow , and Rey Washam and Win Vitosky...
, an act from Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
described as post-hardcore, that, according to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "laid the groundwork for much of the distorted, grinding alternative punk rockers of the '90s".
Outside the United States, the genre would take shape in the works of the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
group Nomeansno
Nomeansno
NoMeansNo is a Canadian progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia and now located in Vancouver.The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe...
, related with Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
and his independently-run label Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
, and that had been active since 1979. A reviewer noted that the group's 1989's release Wrong
Wrong (album)
Wrong is the fourth full-length album by the Canadian punk rock band NoMeansNo.The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal called it the band's best album, and rated the album as a 10 out of 10, stating, "Wrong was the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy...
was "one of the most aggressive and powerful opuses in post-hardcore ever made".
The Washington D.C. scene
During the years 1984 and 1985 in the Washington, D.C. hardcoreWashington, D.C. hardcore
Washington, D.C. has had one of the first and most influential hardcore punk scenes in the United States since the early 1980s.Among the earliest DC punk bands were the Bad Brains, Slickee Boys, Teen Idles, Minor Threat, S.O.A., Chalk Circle, Velvet Monkeys, Void, The Faith, DC Youth Brigade,...
scene (also known as "harDCore"), a new movement appeared and "swept over" the scene. This movement was led by bands associated with the D.C. independent record label Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
, home in the early 80s to seminal hardcore bands such as Minor Threat, State of Alert
State of Alert
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980, and disbanded in 1981.-History:State of Alert were fronted by Henry Garfield, who would later rise to fame as Henry Rollins. They formed in October 1980 and disbanded in July 1981...
, Void
Void (band)
Void was a Washington D.C.-based hardcore punk/crossover thrash band. They were one of the first hardcore outfits to fuse hardcore and some heavy metal in a way most hardcore and metal fans could accept, paving the way for bands such as The Melvins. They were one of the first local bands popular in...
and Government Issue
Government Issue
Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an ever-fluctuating lineup that at various times included...
. According to the Dischord website: "The violence and nihilism that had become identified with punk rock, largely by the media, had begun to take hold in DC and many of the older punks suddenly found themselves repelled and discouraged by their hometown scene", leading to "a time of redefinition". During these years, a new wave of bands started to form, these included Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring
Rites of Spring was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. A part of the D.C. hardcore punk scene, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with...
, Lunchmeat (later to become Soulside
Soulside
Soulside were a post-hardcore band from the greater Washington, D.C. area. The original name of the band was Lunchmeat, formed in 1985. The name was changed to Soulside in spring 1986 and they disbanded in summer of 1989, after an extensive European tour and recording the definitive Hot Bodi-Gram...
), Gray Matter
Gray Matter (band)
Gray Matter was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., who played in the 1980s and '90s. They disbanded in 1986, but reformed in 1990.On September 12, 2008, the band reformed for a one off reunion show to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Black Cat, a night club in Washington DC,...
, Mission Impossible, Dag Nasty
Dag Nasty
Dag Nasty was a Washington D.C. punk band formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown...
and Embrace, the latter featuring former Minor Threat singer and Dischord co-founder Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
. This movement has been since widely known as the "Revolution Summer". Rites of Spring has been described as the band that "more than led the change", challenging the "macho posturing that had become so prevalent within the punk scene at that point", and "more importantly", defying "musical and stylistic rule". Journalist Steve Huey writes that while the band "strayed from hardcore's typically external concerns of the time -- namely, social and political dissent -- their musical attack was no less blistering, and in fact a good deal more challenging and nuanced than the average three-chord speed-blur", a sound that, according to Huey, mapped out "a new direction for hardcore that built on the innovations" brought by Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
's Zen Arcade
Zen Arcade
Upon its release Zen Arcade received positive reviews in many mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times and Rolling Stone. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera .....
. Other bands have been perceived as taking inspiration from genres such as funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
(as in the case of Beefeater) and 60s pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
(such as the example of Gray Matter).
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
". The latter, mentioned in skateboarding magazine Thrasher, would came up in discussions around the D.C. area. While some of these bands have been considered as contributors to the birth of emo, with Rites of Spring sometimes being named as the first or one of the earliest emo acts, musicians such as the band's former frontman Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...
and MacKaye himself have voiced their opposition against the term. In the nearby state of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, similar bands that are categorized now as post-hardcore would also emerge, these include Moss Icon
Moss Icon
Moss Icon was an Annapolis, Maryland post-hardcore band from 1986 to 1991. Its original members were singer Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Badertscher joined as second guitarist in 1990...
and The Hated
The Hated
The Hated was an Annapolis, Maryland punk rock band from 1985 to 1990. The original members were Mike Bonner, Erik Fisher, Daniel Littleton, and Colin Meeder...
. The former's music contained, according to Steve Huey, "shifting dynamics, chiming guitar arpeggios, and screaming, crying vocal climaxes", which would prove to be influential to later musicians in spite of the band's unstable existence. This group has also been considered as one of the earliest emo acts.
The second half of the 80s saw the formation of several bands in D.C., which included Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think is an American indie rock group. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records and were a post-hardcore band, although they drew upon a wide range of stylistic influences, including pop....
, Jawbox
Jawbox
Jawbox was an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., U.S.. Its original members were J. Robbins , Kim Coletta and Adam Wade...
, The Nation of Ulysses, and Fugazi, as well as Baltimore's Lungfish
Lungfish (band)
Lungfish is a post-hardcore band formed in 1987 in Baltimore, Maryland. All of their music has been released by the Washington, D.C. punk label Dischord except for their first LP, Necklace of Heads which was released by Simple Machines .Their line-up as of 2005 consists of Daniel Higgs , Asa...
. MacKaye described this period as the busiest that the Dischord Records label had ever seen. Most of these acts, along with earlier ones, would contribute to the 1989 compilation State of the Union
State of the Union (album)
State of the Union: D.C. Benefit Compilation is a compilation album, compiled by Mark Andersen, that was released on Dischord Records. It catalogued the DC sounds of the late 80's, and was created for the American Civil Liberties Union and Community for Creative Non-Violence. All proceeds from...
, a release that documented the new sound of the late 80s D.C. punk scene. Fugazi gained "an extremely loyal and numerous global following", with reviewer Andy Kellman summarizing the band's influence with the statement: "To many, Fugazi meant as much to them as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
did to their parents." It has also been noted that the group's "ever-evolving" sound would signal a more experimental turn in hardcore that paved the way for later Dischord releases. The band, which included MacKaye, Picciotto, and former Rites of Spring drummer Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi....
along with bassist Joe Lally
Joe Lally
Joe Lally is a bass guitar player, vocalist and label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.-Fugazi:...
, issued in 1989 13 Songs
13 Songs
13 Songs is a compilation of all the songs from the American post-hardcore band Fugazi's first two EPs. It was released in September 1989.-Background:...
, a compilation of their earlier self-titled
Fugazi (EP)
Fugazi is the first EP by the American post-hardcore band of the same name. Unlike all other Fugazi releases, Guy Picciotto did not contribute guitar to this record; all guitar present was performed by Ian MacKaye...
and Margin Walker
Margin Walker
Margin Walker is an EP by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in June 1989 on vinyl and again in the same year on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the debut EP Fugazi...
EPs, which is now considered as a landmark album. Similarly, the band's debut studio album, 1990's Repeater
Repeater (album)
Repeater is the debut full-length studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was released on April 19, 1990 as Repeater on LP, and in May 1990 on CD bundled with the 3 Songs EP as Repeater + 3 Songs...
, has also been "generally" regarded as a classic. The group also garnered recognition for their activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, cheaply-priced shows and CDs, and their resistance to mainstream outlets. On the other hand, Jawbox had been influenced by "the tradition of Chicago's thriving early-'80s scene", while The Nation of Ulysses are "best remembered for lifting the motor-mouthed revolutionary rhetoric of the MC5
MC5
The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
" with the incorporation of "elements of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
(as filtered through the MC5) and avant jazz
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
" combined with "exciting, volatile live gigs", and being the inspiration for "a new crop of bands both locally and abroad".
1990s
Expansion
The late 80s and early 90s saw the formation and rise to prominence of several bands associated with earlier acts that not only included the examples of Fugazi and Shellac, but also Girls Against BoysGirls Against Boys
Girls Against Boys are an indie rock/post-hardcore band, originally forming in Washington, D.C. in 1988 and currently based in New York City.-Career:...
(originally a side-project of Brendan Canty and Eli Janney, which would later incorporate members of Soulside), The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
(formed by ex-members of Scratch Acid), Quicksand
Quicksand (band)
Quicksand was an American post-hardcore band from New York City founded in 1990 by singer/songwriter Walter Schreifels. Their debut self-titled EP was followed by two major label albums, Slip and Manic Compression...
(fronted by former Youth of Today
Youth of Today
Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk straight edge band, formed in 1985 and still in activity. The band played a major role in establishing the Youth Crew subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of the straight edge and vegetarian lifestyles.-History:Youth Of...
and Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits are a New York City-based vegan straight edge hardcore band consisting of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios, Alex Brown and Luke Abbey. The band is currently signed to Revelation Records.-Early career:...
member Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels is a rock musician and producer from New York City.In the late 1980s, he played in many New York hardcore bands, most notably Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits . After Gorilla Biscuits broke up, he formed the short lived Moondog...
), Rollins Band
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...
(led by former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
), Tar
Tar (band)
Tar was an American post-hardcore band, formed in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The precursor to Tar was a hardcore punk outfit called Blatant Dissent, which formed in DeKalb, Illinois where singer/guitarist John Mohr and drummer Mike Greenlees were attending Northern Illinois University...
(which raised from the ashes of a hardcore outfit named Blatant Dissent), and Slint
Slint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...
(containing members of Squirrel Bait). Acts such as Shellac and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
's Slint have been considered as influential to the development of the genre of math rock
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
, with the former featuring "awkward time signatures and trademark aggression" that has come to characterize "a certain slant" on math rock, while the latter presented "instrumental music seeped in dramatic tension but set to rigid systems of solid-structured guitar patterns and percussive repetition". According to reviewer Jason Arkeny, Slint's "deft, extremist manipulations of volume, tempo, and structure cast them as clear progenitors of the post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
movement".
Allmusic has noted that younger bands "flowered into post-hardcore after cutting their teeth in high school punk bands". In Washington D.C., new bands such as Hoover
Hoover (band)
Hoover was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, DC. Formed in 1992, Hoover went on to produce some of the more intense music to appear on the Dischord Records label in the 1990s...
(as well as the related The Crownhate Ruin
The Crownhate Ruin
The Crownhate Ruin was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C.. Formed by ex-Hoover members Fred Erskine and Joe McRedmond, the band also featured Vin Novara on drums.-History:Hoover disbanded after a 1994 US tour...
), Circus Lupus
Circus Lupus
Circus Lupus was a post-hardcore band based in the area of Washington, DC, U.S.A.. The band originally formed in Madison where one-time Ignition and Soul Side bassist Chris Thomson met guitarist Chris Hamley and drummer Arika Casebolt while attending school...
, Bluetip
Bluetip
Bluetip was a rock band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in 1995 by ex-members of Swiz, and released four albums, an EP, and a number of singles before splitting up in January 2002....
, and Smart Went Crazy
Smart Went Crazy
Smart Went Crazy was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. that recorded two albums, Now We're Even and Con Art, on the D.C. Dischord Records label. Ex-members of the band continued to play and record music in other D.C. bands such as Faraquet, Beauty Pill....
were added to the Dischord roster. Hoover has been cited by journalist Charles Spano as a band that had "a tremendous impact on post-hardcore music". In New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in addition to Quicksand, post-hardcore bands such as Helmet
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
, Unsane
Unsane
Unsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal...
, Chavez
Chavez (band)
Chavez is an alternative rock/math rock band from New York, formed in 1993. After a period of inactivity, the band reformed in 2006. They released two independent non-charting albums in the mid-1990s...
and Texas Is the Reason
Texas Is the Reason
Texas Is the Reason was an American post-hardcore band founded by former Shelter guitarist Norm Arenas and 108 drummer Chris Daly in 1994. They disbanded in 1997...
emerged. Quicksand and Helmet have also been associated with alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
. Chicago, which alongside the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
has been important to the progression of math rock, also saw the birth of post-hardcore acts such as the examples of Shellac, Tar, Trenchmouth
Trenchmouth
Trenchmouth was a Chicago-based post-hardcore band. Throughout its existence, the band consisted of Damon Locks , Chris DeZutter , Wayne Montana , and Fred Armisen on drums. Their third LP, Trenchmouth vs. The Light of the Sun, was released on East West Records, a division of Elektra Records...
, and the Jade Tree-released group Cap'n Jazz
Cap'n Jazz
Cap'n Jazz was an emo band formed in Chicago in 1989 by brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella, who were joined by Sam Zurick and Victor Villareal. After a number of name changes and the addition of guitarist Davey von Bohlen the band began to earn a cult following in the Chicago area and the...
(as well as the subsequent related project Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (band)
Joan of Arc are an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1995, following the breakup of Cap'n Jazz.Singer Tim Kinsella has been the only permanent member of the group; he has also recorded as a solo artist....
, which also released their work through Jade Tree). Steve Huey argues that the release of Cap'n Jazz's retrospective compilation album Analphabetapolothology
Analphabetapolothology
Analphabetapolothology is an anthology album by Cap'n Jazz released in 1998 on Jade Tree Records. It catalogues almost every song recorded and released by the band during their time together. Notable absences include the early single "Naive."...
helped spread the band's influence "far beyond their original audience", while also considering the group as influential for the development of emo in the independent music scene. Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
, also in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, was known for an independent scene that would give way to groups like Hum
Hum (band)
Hum is a post-hardcore band from Champaign, Illinois. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.-Founding and early recordings:...
, Braid
Braid (band)
Braid is an influential emo/post-hardcore band from Illinois that formed in 1993. After forming, the band went through several line-up changes but eventually settled on: Bob Nanna on guitar/vocals, Todd Bell on bass, Chris Broach on guitar/vocals and, Roy Ewing on drums. Roy was replaced in 1997 by...
and Poster Children
Poster Children
Poster Children are an indie rock band formed at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1987. They have issued eleven studio albums. Known for their strong DIY ethic, the band members continue to drive their own tour bus, create their own artwork and T-shirt designs, and operate their...
. The American Northwest
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...
saw the creation of acts such as Karp
Karp (band)
Karp was a post-hardcore band from Tumwater, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998. The band was formed by Chris Smith aka Chris "Slayer", Jared Warren, and Scott Jernigan. They released three full length albums entitled Mustaches Wild, Suplex, and Self Titled LP. Karp was a...
, Lync
Lync
Lync was a 1990's post-hardcore band from Olympia, Washington.Formed in 1992, Lync was composed of vocalist/guitarist Sam Jayne, bassist/vocalist James Bertram and drummer Dave Schneider...
and Unwound
Unwound
Unwound was a United States post-hardcore band based in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington. Formed in 1991, the band consisted of Justin Trosper , Vern Rumsey , and Brandt Sandeno , all of whom had previously been in a band called Giant Henry. Brandt Sandeno quit Unwound in 1992 and was replaced by...
, all hailing from the Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
area. The latter's music has been considered by critic John Bush as a combination of "the noise of Sonic Youth's more raucous passages" with a "rare energetic flair which rivals even that of Fugazi". Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
saw the formation of groups such as The Jesus Lizard (later to be based in Chicago) and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas. The chief creative members of the band are Jason Reece and Conrad Keely . The two switch between drumming, guitar and lead vocals, both on recordings and live shows...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, considered part of the post-hardcore genre and active from 1993 to 2001. They were known for their extremely energetic stage shows which hearkened back to the 1980s hardcore scene...
from El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. This last band was known for their energy in both performances and music, and for their "driving melodic punk riffs, meshed together with quieter interlocking note-picking".
The genre also saw representation outside of the United States in Refused
Refused
Refused was a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998...
who emerged from the Umeå
Umeå
- Transport :The road infrastructure in Umeå is well-developed, with two European highways passing through the city. About 4 km from the city centre is the Umeå City Airport...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
music scene. The band, which made itself known earlier in their career for its "massive hardcore sound", released in 1998 The Shape of Punk to Come
The Shape of Punk to Come
The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts is the third and final album released by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, which was released in October 1998 through Burning Heart Records...
, an album that saw the group take inspiration from The Nation of Ulysses while incorporating elements such as "ambient textures
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, jazz breakdowns", metal and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
to their hardcore sound.
San Diego
The early-to-mid 90s would see the birth of several bands in the San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
music scene, some of which would lead a post-hardcore movement associated with the independent label Gravity Records
Gravity Records (US)
Gravity Records is an underground independent record label from San Diego. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It has been central in developing and promoting the "San Diego sound" - an idiosyncratic form of post-hardcore with loose, chaotic...
. This movement would eventually became known as the "San Diego sound". Gravity was founded in 1991 by Matt Anderson, member of the band Heroin
Heroin (band)
Heroin was a short-lived but influential underground post-hardcore band, originating in San Diego in 1989.-History:Heroin was a forerunner of the screamo subgenre of hardcore punk. They were noted for the psychological intensity of their songs, which tended to be very short and include...
, as a mean to release the music of his band and of other related San Diego groups, which also included Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow, from San Diego, California, was on the seminal post-hardcore label Gravity Records, responsible for putting San Diego on the map in the mid-90's as one of the centers of the movement....
and Clikatat Ikatowi. The label's earlier releases are known for the definition of "a new sound in hardcore rooted in tradition but boasting a chaotic sound that showcased a new approach" to the genre. Heroin were known for being innovators of early 90s hardcore and for making dynamic landscapes "out of one minute blasts of noisy vitriol". These bands were influenced by acts like Fugazi and The Nation of Ulysses, while also helping propagate an offshoot of hardcore that "grafted spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics". This movement has been associated to the development of the sub-genre of screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
, while it also should be noticed that this term has been, as with the case of emo, the subject of controversy. The label also featured releases by non-San Diego bands that included Mohinder
Mohinder (band)
Mohinder was a four-piece post-hardcore band from Cupertino, California. Despite their brief existence, they were considered an important feature of the California hardcore punk scene, and helped to define the musical genre now known as screamo. Mohinder songs tended to be short in duration, and...
(from Cupertino, California
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
), Angel Hair and its subsequent related project The VSS
The VSS
-History:The VSS formed in 1995 after the breakup of the hardcore group Angel Hair. Vocalist Sonny Kay and guitarist Josh Hughes had both played in Angel Hair; the rest of the lineup consisted of bassist Andrew Douglas Rothbard and Dave Clifford...
(from Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
), groups that have also been associated with this sound. The VSS was known for their use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s "vying with post-hardcore's rabid atonality".
Out of the Gravity roster, another band that played an important role in the development of the "San Diego sound" was Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore and alternative rock band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. Formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis following the breakup of their band Pitchfork, the band's lineup also included bassist Mike Kennedy and...
. This group, founded by former members of Pitchfork
Pitchfork (band)
Pitchfork was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1986 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 1990. They are most well known as the first "real" band of guitarist John Reis, who would later gain fame as the frontman in Rocket from the Crypt, and as the first collaboration between Reis and...
, was known, according to Steve Huey, for their lengthy and multisectioned compositions based on the innovations brought by the releases on Dischord, incorporating elements such as "odd time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
s, orchestrated builds and releases", and "elliptical" melodies, among others that would result in one of the most "distinctive and ferocious" sounds to come out of the post-hardcore movement. Huey also says that while many critics at the time "lacked the frame of reference to place their music in a broader context" and the term "emo" hadn't yet come into wider use, Drive Like Jehu played an important role on its development in spite of the band's music not resembling the sound such term would later signify.
Moderate popularity
According to Ian MacKaye, the sudden interest in underground and independent music brought by the success of NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
attracted the attention of major labels towards the Dischord imprint and many of its bands. While the label rejected these offers, two Dischord acts, Jawbox and Shudder to Think, would sign deals with major labels. The former's signing to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
would alienate some of the band's long-term fanbase, but it would also help with the development and recording of the 1994 release For Your Own Special Sweetheart
For Your Own Special Sweetheart
For Your Own Special Sweetheart is the third album by Washington D.C. post-hardcore band, Jawbox. It was produced by Ted Nicely, best known for his work with Fugazi. It was their first album after leaving Dischord Records to sign to Atlantic Records...
, considered by Andy Kellman as "one of the best releases to come out of the fertile D.C. scene of the '80s and '90s". The subsequent tour for the album and the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
rotation of some videos would introduce the band to a handful of new crowds, but ultimately the album would remain "unnoticed outside of the usual indie community".
Likewise, out of the Dischord label, Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
would sign Helmet after a reportedly "ferocious" bidding war between several major record companies, and while MTV would air some videos by the group, which by the time of the release of Meantime, their major-label debut, was considered then as "the only band close to the Seattle grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
sound" on the American East Coast and would be hailed as "the next big thing", these expectations would "never be fully realized" in spite of the record's later influence. In another notable case, Hum would sign to RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in 1994, selling approximately 250,000 copies of their album You'd Prefer an Astronaut
You'd Prefer an Astronaut
You'd Prefer an Astronaut is the third studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records as their major label debut....
fueled by the success of the album's lead single "Stars", and while the band had established by this point a strong underground fanbase, this would prove to be "the pinnacle of Hum's media attention", as its follow-up, 1998's Downward is Heavenward
Downward Is Heavenward
Downward Is Heavenward is the fourth and last studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1998 by RCA Records.-Reception:...
would sell poorly, resulting in the decision of RCA to drop the band from their roster.
2000s
Record producer Ross RobinsonRoss Robinson
Ross Robinson, son of Byron Katie, is an American multi-platinum music producer, who has discovered successful acts such as Korn, At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, Repeater, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. Robinson has also worked with Machine Head, Vanilla Ice, The Cure, Sepultura and many others...
, who was credited for popularizing nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
with bands like Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
and Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
in the 1990s, helped welcome the post-hardcore genre into the mainstream in the 2000s. Mehan Jayasuriya of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
suggested that Robinson's sudden focus on post-hardcore was his "pet project" designed to redeem himself of "the 'Nu-Metal' scourge of the late '90s". Robinson recorded At the Drive-In's Relationship of Command
Relationship of Command
Relationship of Command is the third and final studio album by the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, and was released in September 2000. The band reached mainstream success through the album, if only for a short time before their indefinite break-up....
(2000), Glassjaw
Glassjaw
Glassjaw is a four-piece rock band from Long Island, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and have undergone numerous line-up changes since their inception...
's Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
-Personnel:*Daryl Palumbo - Vocals*Justin Beck - Guitar*Manuel Carrero - Bass guitar*Todd Weinstock - Guitar*Sammy Siegler - Drums*Ross Robinson - Production, mixing*Steve Evetts - Mixing*Chuck Johnson - Engineering*Ted Jensen - Mastering...
(2000) and Worship and Tribute
Worship and Tribute
Worship and Tribute is the second studio album by American post-hardcore/rock band Glassjaw. It marked their first release with Warner Bros. Records after an unpleasant split with Roadrunner Records. As with their first full-length album, Worship and Tribute was produced by Ross Robinson and mixed...
(2002), and The Blood Brothers' ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
Re-issue Bonus Tracks# "Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon" # "Pink Tarantulas"- Performers :* Jordan Blilie – Vocals* Mark Gajadhar – drums* Morgan Henderson – bass, Nord II, piano, G4* Cody Votolato – guitar...
(2003); four albums that are said to "stand as some of the best post-hardcore records produced" during the 2000s. In John Franck's review of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence for Allmusic, he stated: "Featuring extraordinary ambidextrous drummer Sammy Siegler
Sammy Siegler
Sammy Siegler is an American rock drummer, notable for his many contributions to the New York hardcore scene.-With Side By Side:* New York City Hardcore - Together compilation...
(of Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits are a New York City-based vegan straight edge hardcore band consisting of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios, Alex Brown and Luke Abbey. The band is currently signed to Revelation Records.-Early career:...
/CIV fame), Glassjaw has paired up with producer/entrepreneur Ross Robinson (a key catalyst in the reinvention of the aggro rock sound) to take you on a pummeling ride that would make Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
and Quicksand proud."
Other new bands formed who popularized the style formed around this time. These groups include Thursday
Thursday (band)
Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records...
, Thrice
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school....
and Finch
Finch (U.S. band)
Finch was an American rock band from Temecula, California. The band released an EP Falling Into Place and two full-length albums, What It Is to Burn and Say Hello to Sunshine before declaring a hiatus in 2006. Finch reformed in 2007, playing a reunion show on November 23 at the Glasshouse in...
. By 2003, post-hardcore had caught the attention of major labels including Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, who signed Thrice and Thursday, Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, who signed Poison the Well
Poison the Well (band)
Poison the Well was an experimental hardcore band from Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida who were last signed to Ferret Music. Guitarist Ryan Primack and drummer Chris Hornbrook were the only remaining members of the band who were involved since their inception, although vocalist Jeffrey Moreira was...
, and Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, who had absorbed Finch from their former label Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records, established in 1996, was a California-based record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. It has produced various pop punk bands, many with a distinct SoCal sound....
. Post-hardcore also began to do well in sales with Thrice's The Artist in the Ambulance
The Artist in the Ambulance
The Artist In The Ambulance is Thrice's third album, but their first on a major label. The album peaked at #16 on The Billboard 200 charts. As with The Illusion of Safety, a portion of the sales of this CD were donated to a charitable cause. In this case, it was the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment...
and Thursday's War All the Time which charted #16 and #7, respectively, on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 2003. Across the pond in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Welsh band Funeral for a Friend
Funeral for a Friend
Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band, from Bridgend. Formed 2001, they have released five studio albums, seven EPs, sixteen singles, one DVD, and one compilation album.-Formation and Early Years:...
gained success with their debt album Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation
Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation
-Reception:The album received very positive reviews from the British music press with NME and Drowned in Sound giving it 8/10 and 9/10 respectively. It was also #17 in NME albums of the year.- In pop culture :...
in 2003, charting at 12 in the UK Charts, and their 2005 sophomore album Hours
Hours (album)
Hours is the second album by Welsh rock band Funeral for a Friend. The album was released on 14 June 2005, through Atlantic and Ferret Records. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Terry Date, with co-production by the band. Hours is notable for the band showcasing their more melodic side...
charting in the US as well.
Around this time, a new wave of post-hardcore bands began to emerge onto the scene that incorporated more pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
styles into their music. These bands include: Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Scary Kids Scaring Kids was an American post-hardcore band formed in Gilbert, Arizona in 2002. The band's name comes from the Cap'n Jazz song of the same name...
, The Used
The Used
The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah. The band was founded in 2001 and signed to Reprise Records the same year. They rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their self-titled debut album. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third...
, Hawthorne Heights
Hawthorne Heights
Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their line-up currently consists of lead-singer and rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff, lead-guitarist and vocalist Micah Carli, bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ridenour, and drummer Eron Bucciarelli...
, Senses Fail
Senses Fail
Senses Fail is an American post-hardcore band from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Formed in 2002, the line up initially consisted of vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki and being completed by bassist Mike Glita. The band quickly issued their debut EP, From...
,, Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
, Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...
, From First to Last
From First to Last
From First to Last was an American rock band based out of Los Angeles, originally hailing from Valdosta, Georgia and Tampa, Florida. The band released their first EP titled Aesthetic in 2003 with vocalist Phillip Reardon, followed by Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count in 2004 and Heroine in...
and Emery
Emery (band)
Emery is an American four-piece post-hardcore band from Rock Hill, South Carolina currently signed to both Tooth & Nail Records and Solid State Records and based in Seattle, Washington. Emery was founded in Rock Hill, South Carolina with the original lineup consisting of Toby Morrell, Devin...
in addition to Canadian post-hardcore bands Silverstein
Silverstein (band)
Silverstein is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 2000. Their band name is a reference to the famous children's author Shel Silverstein, whom the band had admired and read the stories of as children. They have released a total of five studio albums, three EP's, a...
and Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire was a five-piece, Juno-nominated post-hardcore band that formed in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2001. The band consisted of George Pettit , Dallas Green , Wade MacNeil , Chris Steele , and Jordan Hastings .They describe their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls...
. This group of post-hardcore bands gained mainstream recognition with the help of MTV and Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
. The Used released some minor radio hits and later received gold certifications for their first two studio albums The Used
The Used (album)
The Used is the self-titled debut album by American rock band The Used. It was released on June 25, 2002 and has since been certified gold in the US.- Track listing :- Multimedia content :...
and In Love and Death
In Love and Death
In Love and Death is the second studio album by American rock band The Used. It was released on September 28, 2004 and has since been certified gold. It is their most well-received and successful album to date. This was the first album for which Alex Pardee did the artwork, and he has done all...
from the RIAA. Hawthorne Heights' debut album The Silence in Black and White
The Silence in Black and White
The Silence in Black and White is the debut studio album by American rock band Hawthorne Heights. It was released on June 1, 2004 through Victory Records. The album was the label's highest selling debut at the time of its release...
was also certified gold.
Electronic post-hardcore
Some modern practitioners of post-hardcore have combined their music with electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, creating what has been called electronicore or synthcore. These groups make use of metalcore-influenced breakdowns, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, electronically produced sounds, auto-tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
d vocals, and screamed vocals
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
. Such groups have been formed in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, The United States, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Sumerian Records
Sumerian Records
Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen, who is also a booking agent, and is managed by Shawn Keith. Fellsilent became the first non-US band to be signed to the label, in 2008. The label made a...
notes that "there has been a surplus of 'electronica/hardcore' music as of late". I See Stars
I See Stars
I See Stars is a post-hardcore band formed in 2006 from Warren, Michigan. They have released two full length albums. Their debut album, 3-D, featured a guest appearance from Bizzy Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The album peaked at #176 on the Billboard 200...
is often recognized as a primary contributor of the style. The group's debut album, 3-D
3-D (I See Stars album)
3-D is the debut album from the band I See Stars. The album debuted at number 176 on the Billboard 200, number 5 on Top Heatseekers, and number 22 on Top Independent Albums...
, was popular "amongst the synthcore scene". Other notable bands that demonstrate a fusion of post-hardcore or metalcore with electronic music include Abandon All Ships
Abandon All Ships
Abandon All Ships is a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Formed in 2006, the group is currently signed to Universal Music Group, Underground Operations along with Rise Records and its subsidiary, Velocity...
, Attack Attack!
Attack Attack!
Attack Attack! is an American metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio, formed in 2005. Attack Attack!'s first release, an independent EP titled If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords?, was released in 2008, which lead to the signing of the band to Rise Records the same year...
, Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria are a British metalcore band from York, North Yorkshire. Founded in 2008 when Ben Bruce contacted his old companions upon returning to the UK after residing in Dubai...
, We Follow One, Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari are a British band, that combine post-hardcore with elements of various electronic genres, formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The band is named after a boat belonging to Roughton "Rou" Reynolds' uncle, and a character in a play which he wrote before forming the band, both of...
, and Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane was an American electronic post-hardcore band, formed in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2005. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008....
.
Nintendocore
NintendocoreNintendocore
Nintendocore is a music genre that fuses aggressive styles of modern rock with chiptune and video game music...
, a music genre that fuses elements of modern rock with video game music, chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
, and 8-bit music, is considered a derivative form of post-hardcore and metalcore.