Emo is a music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.
AFI is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Since 1998, it consists of lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Carson, bassist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Jade Puget. Havok and Carson are the sole remaining original members. Originally a hardcore punk band, they have since delved into many genres, starting with horror punk and following through post-hardcore and emo into alternative rock and gothic rock.
Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Moss Icon is an American post-hardcore band formed in late 1986 in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Its original lineup comprised vocalist Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Badertscher joined as second guitarist in 1990. Moss Icon is considered to be an early influence on the hardcore punk splinter genre known as post-hardcore, as well as on the eventual development of emo, although the band members themselves have repeatedly denied knowingly contributing to the latter genre in any way.
Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Suran (guitar), who originally played with the band between 2000 and 2001, and Chris Jordan (bass), who joined the band in 2022. Founding bass guitarist Nate Mendel was a member of the band during three of its four incarnations.
Screamo is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics". San Diego-based bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow pioneered the genre in the early 1990s, and it was developed in the late 1990s mainly by bands from the East Coast of the United States such as Pg. 99, Orchid, Saetia, and I Hate Myself. Screamo is strongly influenced by hardcore punk and characterized by the use of screamed vocals. Lyrical themes usually include emotional pain, death, romance, and human rights. The term "screamo" has frequently been mistaken as referring to any music with screaming.
Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. Though Born Against received little media exposure while still together, they have since been described as "legendary" by the Chicago Reader and the LA Weekly.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term "post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Initially taking inspiration from post-punk and noise rock, post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black, Jawbox, Quicksand, and Shellac that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. Dischord Records became a major nexus of post-hardcore during this period.
Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band from Bridgend, formed in 2001, who currently consist of Kris Roberts, Gavin Burrough, Darran Smith (guitar), Richard Boucher (bass), and Ryan Richards.
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. The term melodic punk is often used to describe both melodic hardcore and skate punk bands.
Typecast is a Filipino emo band from the Philippines. Originally an underground act, they surfaced on the mainstream Philippine music scene, while managing to hold on to their underground roots.
Men's Recovery Project was an American experimental noise rock band formed by Sam McPheeters and Neil Burke in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1993–2002. The group's post-modern absurdist musical attitude resulted in a diverse and consistently obtuse output, with varied material touching on electronic, avant garde, comedy and spoken word motifs that often alluded to their roots in hardcore punk.
Universal Order of Armageddon was an American hardcore band, active from 1992 to 1994 and reformed in 2010.
Tall Firs are an American, New York City based underground electric folk rock band, originally formed in 1990 by teenagers Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan in Annapolis, Maryland. Their album, Tall Firs, was completed and released sixteen years later in 2006 on the independent music label Ecstatic Peace!.
The Great Unraveling was an American post-punk rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. The band was fronted by Tonie Joy of Moss Icon, Universal Order of Armageddon, and Born Against. They were active from 1995 to 1997.
The Convocation is an American psychedelic rock band from Baltimore, Maryland.
Brooks Headley is an American musician and chef, best known as the drummer in several hardcore punk and indie rock bands.
