Tag: Emocore

The best way I can describe Coolidge is as a sort of ‘prequel supergroup.’ All of the members are now well-known for their contributions to indie rock, though none of them were very well-known at the time, and Coolidge remains a fairly obscure blip on the map of alternative music. Formed in 1992, the band featured Damien Jurado on bass and vocals, David Bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones, Lo Tom) on drums, and Eben Haase (Blenderhead, Don’t Know) on guitar. They played an intense and unique form of emo-core that interweaved lo-fi indie rock into the mix.… Continued →

Embraced was a short-lived hardcore band from Florida, active in the early 2000s. I was able to catch the band live a couple of times at local gigs and mini-festivals, and enjoyed their shows. I always liked their semi-melodic take on hardcore (I mean, they were from Florida, after all!) They were clearly playing HC, but with hints of emo and indie rock at times. Perhaps in a similar vein to Bloodshed, Beloved, and Underoath, but with their own take on it. The band only released one mini-album, the 7-song An Orchestrated Failure, in 2002 for Theory 8 Records (who also an album by The Goodbye Letter and an early split with Copeland and Pacifico, among others).… Continued →

This hardcore band hailed from Colorado Springs. They infused their heavy chugga chugga rhythms with melodic parts without ever getting whiny. This led some fans and writers to dub them post-hardcore, which isn’t fully accurate, but I can see why they said that. What strikes me about this song is the passion behind both the music and the clear-cutting lyrics: Where is the hope? Where is the love? Without these your system will self-destruct While it might seem that the song was aimed at society in general, it is actually pointed at the failures of the Church to stay true to the pure message of the Gospel.… Continued →

Wow, what a great band, with such potential! Sadly, Beloved released only one EP (originally for Vindicated from the Deep Water and later re-issued by Solid State) and one full length. That first EP rocked my world. I got to see the band live 2 or 3 times in this era and they were rapidly becoming my favourite emo-core band. They had a truly unique take on the genre fusing melodic indie rock with emotional emo and brutal hardcore, all in one go! It was really refreshing.… Continued →

Emo seems to be a genre that people either love or hate. Heck, even most of the bands who played in the genre didn’t want to be associated with the name for one reason or another. While Roadside Monument toyed around with various genres like indie rock (Beside This Brief Hexagonal), math rock (I Am the Day of Current Taste), and fusions of the two (Eight Hours Away from Becoming a Man), they also stayed just close enough to the emo genre to never fully break free from the tag.… Continued →

Since the last time I posted about Furnace Fest here on IVM, the Furnace Fest 2020 lineup has literally EXPLODED with bands and hype. Click their official website here to get pumped up with. Beloved, Stretch Arm Strong, Terminal, ZAO, Love Is Red, Open Hand, Life In Your Way, The Appleseed Cast, Hopesfall, Mineral, Juliana Theory, Unwed Sailor, Eighteen Visions, Every Time I Die, Bloodjinn, Avail, Hot Water Music, Andrew WK, Better Off, Knocked Loose, Cave In, Norma Jean, Converger, Unearth, Comeback Kid, Luxury, Glasseater, Boy Sets Fire, Bad Cop Bad Cop, Codeseven, The Casket Lottery, Living Sacrifice, Shai Hullud, The Beautiful Mistake, Few Left Standing, Evergreen Terrace, With Honor, Haste, August Burns Red, and…..my… Continued →

These are some bands that were sort of popular, but didn’t get very far. Hopefully this sheds some light to the underground SFHC Scene or more appropriately, SFMC Scene. 5. One Way/Raid Christian metalcore/hardcore One Way formed in… I don’t know when. The 80’s. The band did not have very much success or really any publications. Other than one in HM in 1991. But Raid, their next band, had a little more success. Same genre as One Way, but with a Straight-Edge message, alongside the uplifting Christian message.… Continued →

Read this review of Zao's The Well-Intentioned Virus