Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and screaming. Nevertheless, the genre has been very diverse, with different bands showcasing very different styles. Many pioneering melodic hardcore bands, have proven influential across the spectrum of punk rock, as well as rock music more generally.
Deathwish Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was Deeper the Wound, a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. Deathwish established itself quickly, working with a diverse group of bands and eventually becoming one of the most respected and innovative labels in contemporary hardcore punk and aggressive music in general.
Only Crime is an American melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbec in 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as Black Flag.
Have Heart are an American straight edge hardcore punk band formed in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 2002. The band recorded a demo that was released in 2003. In 2004, they released the What Counts EP, with their debut full-length, The Things We Carry arriving in 2006. Their last full-length, Songs to Scream at the Sun, garnered much critical acclaim from hardcore critics and fans alike, winning 'album of the year' from many hardcore-oriented websites.
Common Existence is the fifth full-length album from rock band Thursday.
The Ghost Inside, formerly known as A Dying Dream, is an American metalcore band from El Segundo, California. Formed in 2004, the band currently consists of vocalist Jonathan Vigil, guitarists Zach Johnson and Chris Davis, bassist Jim Riley and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk.
La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, formed in 2004. The current lineup is vocalist Jordan Dreyer, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarist Chad Morgan-Sterenberg, guitarist Corey Stroffolino and bass guitarist Adam Vass.
Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other releases, they have released five studio albums: ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse in 2009, Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me in 2011, Is Survived By in 2013, Stage Four in 2016, and Lament in 2020.
Pianos Become the Teeth are an American band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2006. Their early musical style was inspired by post-rock and early screamo acts, and they were a part of the post-hardcore music movement, also represented by Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Defeater, and Make Do and Mend. The group reissued their well-received debut album Old Pride in 2010 through Topshelf Records.
Title Fight was an American rock band from Kingston, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. They released three studio albums – Shed (2011), Floral Green (2012) and Hyperview (2015) – gradually shifting from a hardcore punk-oriented sound towards shoegaze and indie rock. Hyperview was released through Anti-, a record label to which the band signed in July 2014.
Make Do and Mend was an American post-hardcore band from West Hartford, Connecticut, that formed in 2006, who relocated to Boston. They released 2 EPs on Panic Records, a split with Touché Amoré and three full-length albums. While technically members of "The Wave", along with La Dispute, Touché Amoré, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Defeater, the band has since clarified that "The Wave" was merely an inside joke between those bands and does not represent a particular movement or subgenre in post-hardcore.
Travels is the debut studio album by American melodic hardcore band Defeater. The album was released on September 16, 2008, through Topshelf Records and re-released by Bridge 9 Records on February 24, 2009. It depicts the story of a young man born at the end of the Second World War to a struggling family living on the Jersey shores.
No Sleep Records was an American independent record label in Huntington Beach, California. They were founded by Chris Hansen in 2006 and have released records by artists including Balance and Composure, La Dispute, and The Wonder Years. They have released free sampler albums on the internet on a number of occasions and the label closely associates itself with vegan lifestyle and the revived interest in vinyl record sales. On June 25, 2024 it was announced that No Sleep Records would be shutting down.
Being as an Ocean is an American post-hardcore band from Alpine, California, formed in 2011. They have released five studio albums: Dear G-d..., How We Both Wondrously Perish, a self-titled album, Waiting for Morning to Come, released on 8 September 2017, and PROXY: An A.N.I.M.O. Story, released in 2019. How We Both Wondrously Perish was released in May 2014 and charted at number 57 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.
Birds in Row is a French hardcore punk band that formed in 2009 in Laval and is composed of three members, "T.", "Q." and "B.". They signed to Deathwish Inc. in 2011 and released their debut album You, Me & the Violence in 2012.
Balance and Composure is an American alternative rock band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They formed in the winter of 2007, after the breakup of two local Doylestown bands.
Turnstile is an American hardcore punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2010. They have released five EPs and three studio albums. The band's third album Glow On was released in 2021 to critical and commercial success; the songs "Holiday" and "Blackout" earned the band three nominations at the 65th Grammy Awards.
Abandoned is the fourth studio album by American melodic hardcore band Defeater. Abandoned is a concept album, following the story of the Catholic priest in the song "Cowardice" from Travels. This album is Defeater's first release with Epitaph Records. They went on tour in support of the album, supported by Four Year Strong, Expire, Superheaven, Speak Low If You Speak Love, My Iron Lung, and Elder Brother. Derek Archambault was quoted, "[Abandoned] is the overall way that this character feels, be it by this god that he never really believed in, but took a leap for, to pay back this man that saved his life, or be it self-inflicted, where he leaves the woman he loves but takes it out on himself emotionally and through drug abuse. The title itself is the overall feeling of the record." Abandoned was written and recorded after Archambault underwent hip surgery. Archambault used the time to "redouble his connection with his own writing, leaving him clear to truly inhabit what he calls his own Glass family—after the famous J.D. Salinger characters."
Stage Four is the fourth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Touché Amoré. The album was released in the United States and Europe on September 24, 2016, by Epitaph Records. The album's title is in reference to it being the band's fourth album, and due to the central inspiration for most of the album's lyrics being singer Jeremy Bolm's mother, who died of cancer.
Energy is an American punk rock band, from Stoughton, Massachusetts, formed in 2006.
