Hexis - XI

Procella by Hexis

Post-Hardcore with even vague Black Metal influences hardly goes down this smooth. Hexis (facebook) is a metallic Hardcore band that takes an approach to their Metal influences not unlike both Celeste and The Secret did before them, layered in feedback, sometimes dissonant sometimes melodic tremollo picking and a compromise between epic and complex structures. When looking at the continuity in quality of their songs, it’s obvious this band is tapping from a wide array of influences, mixing them to a cocktail that could very well deliver (at least equally) amazing songs for a looong time to come.
Last Fm tags as post-metal, post-hardcore, black metal, chaotic hardcore, hardcore

click the image above to buy stuff directly from the band

Maths - Descent

To Be Frozen by Maths

Another contender for screamo release of the year, and judging the other bands and releases that’s gotta count for something. Especially if you consider what a name the other ones have long made for themselves. Maths (facebook) has always been a tribute to the most antique of screamo bands, taking hints from both the typical American as well as European bands, from the tremolo post-rocking to the violent, up-tempo and weeping guitars. Forging into a combo that makes them compare to other current hardcore bands like a Megazord compares to that whimpy blue Power Ranger. Epic. I could never decide which song is best, on this release.
Last fm tags as screamo, hardcore, british, real screamo, post-hardcore

click the image above for your opportunity to buy this record directly from its label

Brain Fever – Brain Fever

the hunt by Brain Fever

LOUD NOISES! Brain Fever (blog) is a screamy and noisy post-hardcore band who’s sound revolves almost entirely around star/stop awkward time-structures and the female vocalist’s frantic and hysterical shouting. The guitars do little other than weep and moan to add an atmosphere of noise and general obnoxious loudness to the epileptic music, while the drums keep the unpredictable instrumentations confined in a neat little package. It’s invigorating to see how this band accomplishes such a broad sound that builds up and breaks down so comprehensively and always in such a short amount of time -the longest ‘song’, by far, is 1 minute 38 seconds(apart from the outro). It’s modern hardcore music elevating their particular influences, of an obsolete style of hardcore, to another level.
Last fm tags as screamo, noise punk, noise, post-hardcore,math

click the image above to buy this record from an online distro, and check that distro out for other stuff (by this band)

Hourvari – 2011 EP

I by Hourvari is half of the EP, so it should give you a good impression

With members from french titans As We Draw as well as Birds In Row, Hourvari (bandcamp) depicts a style of dark music that seems more like the culmination of those projects, in stead of a compromise in between. Trespassing the usual limits of ambient elements in extreme music, this release goes slower, darker and deeper than extreme bands rarely dare to go, with great succes. With droning elements, slowly building up to the point where down-tempo hardcore bands usually start, this is a journey far beyond the confinements that had been set up for a band in that ‘scene’. Moving the touchstone for this style of music miles from where it had rested for a long ass time. Pioneers they are, I tell you!
Last fm tags as post-rock, ambient, post-hardcore, post-metal, french 

check the bandcamp to give them some much deserved support!

Towers with Take Down Your Art

Words From The Doctor by Towers

Towers (Bandcamp) do something entirely different with chaotic music. Influences from hardcore metal, screamo or punk are only traceable to the very basic elements of their songs. Everything else is just screeching and/or discordant guitars, frantic screaming and versatile percussions that all seem to be doing their own thing, rather than dictate the rythm to the guitars , or vice versa. When you listen to the total package, it’s amazing how it all sounds consistent and in sync.

click the image above for another website with downloads to all their music (or get them from their personal Bandcamp)

out Of The Box On Sunday XXV

Partners in Crime by Thy Mighty Contract

Thy Might Contract (facebook) brings something way off the chart. freaky and dreamy noise-rock with mostly shouting/talking yet clean (ex- I Would Set Myself On Fire For You) vocals. the overall product is full of layers of weird effects on every instrument and voice, resulting in a very alienating sound. like a hipster on a bad acid trip. all of it sounds like the product of very spazzy, erratic and random people getting together and just creating music very naturally, without the restrainment of labelling, or basing what they do on what is considererd the right way to do it. this is for the adept musiclover.

Last fm tags as  indie, post-hardcore, female vocale,psychedelic, experimental

Suffocate For Fuck Sake – Blazing Fires And Helicopters On The Frontpage

Blue Lights And Sunshine by Suffocate For Fucks Sake

It might be a close call, but Suffocate For Fuck Sake (myspace) seems like the most ambient atmospheric music with shouting vocals that’s ever graced these ears. This is something far beyond post rock with tormented screeching/screaming (like Devil Sold His Soul)and occasional mellow indie (like EF) singing. In fact, this release probably even has more spoken word samples, in some scandinavian gibberish, but that works for what it is, than actual singing by their vocalist. It works. All of it. The tempo or ambience don’t build up exponentially, but rather brick by brick, making the climax unbearably moving and the overall sound unrelentlessly holding its grip on the listener’s attention, with absolute awe and heart-rending passion.
This all coming from someone who long gave up on the ‘twinkly ambient post-whatever’. I adore this. All of this. I heard people think it’s boring, but I think that’s what happend when you listen but don’t pay close enough attention to nuances and such. Somebody get me this sort of band to do the vocals for.
turns out the full name to this album is "Blazing fires and helicopters on the frontpage of the newspaper. There´s a war going on and I´m marching in heavy boots"

Last fm  post-rock, post-metal, post-hardcore,screamo, sludge 

click the bandpic, above, to order their record directly from their label!

Out Of The Box On Sunday XVII

THE PLOT TO BLOW UP THE EIFFEL TOWER "Exile On Vain Street"

Three One G spearhead The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower (myspace) were not only the greatest and bestest bandname ever, it was also a group that represents the golden age of what was then labeled as ‘ Post-Hardcore’. The band could very well blend in with the sound of bands like Ian Svenonius’ Nation Of Ulysses, the band Antioch Arrow and later even Q And Not U or some other 31G or even the experimental Dischord bands. Out of all chaotic/complex and spastic bands in their branch of extreme music, they gradually developed into a sound that was surprisingly approachable, moving gradually from seizure-inflicting screaming music to a blend of John Zorn-esque jazz and funk-incorporating hardcore/post-hardcore music.

This, sadly, is another band that broke up shortly before a significant album-release, which never saw the light of day because of that band’s sudden inactivity.

Last fm tags as experimental, post-hardcore, hardcore, punk,indie 

support the record label via the link in the image above

Outside The Box Week: Hot Snakes - Audit In Progress (1of4)

This is probably THE most quirky punk rock music in punx-history. Hot Snakes (site) featured members from Drive Like Jehu, and those very members went on to form The Night Marchers. in this band, and especially this album even more than their previous, they delivered very peculiar post-punk (and maybe even noise rock) influenced structures into punk rock. It’s like punk for all the Liars or The Jesus Lizard fanboys and girls and a prime example or reminder how versatile punk music can be to any die hard (up the) punx. This band is long gone but dearly missed.
Last fm tags as  post-punk, post-hardcore, punk, indie, rock

buy their stuff from Swami Records, right here

Out Of The Box X

listen to Transpire by Marionette ID

Marionette ID (myspace) is a Hungarian post-rock band with a very tuneful indie-rock approach. With more vocals entwined in their structures than any non-instrumental postrock band, these dudes bring forth THE most amazing compromise between catchy and ambient music. Something in between haunting indie rock and melodic post-rock, both executed brilliantly, with the most crystal clear vocals in any of those genres and catchy as heck. Heck I tell ya! This band could never be anything more than underappreciated, no matter how appreciated they will ever become. I have added their first full-length and their recent 2-song EP. Somehow I favor the EP, but that might be just because I haven’t listened tot hat release 394 375 times. Yet.
Last fm tags as post-rock, indie, hungarian, post-hardcore,emo

buy their debut album right here

The Ghost Of A Thousand – This Is Where The Fight Begins

 listen to Left For Dead by The Ghost Of A Thousand, as a preview to this record

The Ghost Of A Thousand (myspace) was a post-hardcore band that probably paid close attention to bands like Refused ,The Bronx or the garage punk/rock  (think early The Hives) genre, with highly energetic rock’n roll groove seeping from every song. The shouted vocals sound on the verge of breaking down and add to the raw energy pumping up any listener. You can just imagine ballroom dancing to the catchy rythms,  as well as jumping on a pile-on to scream along with the lyrics. A very innovative take that blends in with a lot of (otherwise stale) hardcore/punk variants. too hard to be just punk-rock, but too versatile to be just hardcore.

Last fm tags as hardcore, hardcore punk, post-hardcore, punk, british

buy merch from their old label, right here

Spark Is A Diamond - Keep Your Eyes Off The Price

 listen to Urgent by Spark Is A Diamond

Spark Is A Diamond (Myspace) was what Death From Above 1979 would sound like, if their vocalist sounded more like the screams from the chick (pardon my language) in Rollo Tomassi or even Oathbreaker. Funky, groovy and highly all in all danceable instrumentation with the most gritty screaming vocals. This band featured members from Morning For The Masses and Fall River’s signature raspy shouting. This is their first release of the two records they ever made.a n intro and 4 songs, of which most made their return on the next full album and were the best on that release, so… there you have it.

another defunct band that can only be found on Interpunk, here

On The Might Of Princes - Where You Are And Where You Want To Be

 listen to For Meg by On The Might Of Princes

ahhhh, ye olde american emo/screamo bands. On The Might Of Princes (Myspace) has everything that I liked best about screamo when I first got into it. I was hooked since first listen, to the melow guitars, like emotional post-rock, that transit into their more discordant peak as the vocals do the same, from whiny yet radiant to screeching and utterly tormented. I adore the bittersweet sound from this wave of screamo bands(like Indian Summer, Kite Flying Society, ...) which seem musically closest to the french screamo breed at its peak.
Last fm tags as screamo, emo, post-hardcore, indie, real screamo

a bit weird, but this is where I found the most merch and records by this band: interpunk (wut?)

Lands - Subtitles

 listen to the song I by Lands

Brittish band Lands (Facebook page) is an ambient post-hardcore band that extracts from all the post- rock, metal and hardcore influences. It seems to be a compromise between these genres that pushes the edge further as far as both ambience and passion goes. From this album, one could get the same feel to it like when first listening to the more early Poison The Well albums without the whining/singing parts. Especially their more elaborate songs, only, -as I said- with a more atmospheric (Cult Of Luna) sound to it.  Gracefully shifting from ambient post-rock to the profound post-hardcore/hardcore. Like back when that wasn’t a unicum for such a label to be put on band’s sound in a positive way.

no merch found. give them a lot of love, shares and likes!

Le Pré Ou Je Suis Mort

 listen to Une Fois De Plus by Le Pré Ou Je Suis Mort

French/Swiss band Le Pré Ou Je Suis Mort(Myspace) ,that had the same name as a french dub of a The X-Files episode, is probably the most 'active' band within the french screamo sound. they excell in building ambient elements to an equally smooth climax, only with a lot more oomph superimposed on the already harmonic yet layered sound. a mix of post-rock and french screamo that portrays the very best of what both have to offer.

they joined La Dispute on that band's first European tour btw!

click the image above to buy the cd from Denovali Records!

Celeste - Pessimiste(s) (remastered 2010)

 listen to Diluons nos souvenirs d'enfance by Celeste

Celeste (Facebook page) is an eclectic band that rose from the ashes of french Screamo masters Mihai Edrisch. they play a coherent mix of diverse influences, from screamo to post-metal to downtempo black metal and a broad-minded range of hardcore music. they have released 4 albums which always had the most incredible artwork, and recently remastered and then repressed the first of those releases. when you place their records alongside eachother, their individual sounds are also very coherent. maybe not enough variation for some, but I'd prefer a straight forward decent band over a band that juggles between beneath average and above average songs any day.
on another note, I would like to mention that this band is probably the coolest band I've ever seen live. they have this gimmick, in which they make the room pitch black, use a stroboscope, an overabundance of smoke from a fog machine and a faint miner light attached to their foreheads. when you add that up you get the eeriest and most alien visual display.  it's the raddest thing ever, especially in combination with this pitch black music.
Last fm tags as screamo, sludge, post-hardcore, black metal, french

click the image above to order records or merch directly from the band!

for this certain release, check the site of denovali records

Selenites - Jeder Für Sich Und Gott Gegen Alle

 listen to Voleurs by Selenites

Selenites (website) is a quirky band from France, that delivers face-melting Post-hardcore with Post-metal build-ups. which basically boils down to up to 6min songs that are 3/4th chaotic hardcore madness and 1/4th epic and breathtaking downtempo music. so, as they pound the 9 sounds into your ear, to the point where it oozes out the other 40 minutes later, there really is no time for regaining one's breath. yet before you know it, this record has reached its end and leaves you with the urge to play it all over. there are a handful of bands that play this model of eclectic music, but I feel each of them stands out in either the chaotic uptempo parts, or the downtempo ones. this band absolutely NAILS both.

Last fm tags as post-metal, post-hardcore, french, post metal,hardcore

click the image above to support this band

Meleeh - Another Low A New Hollow

 listen to Godspeed by Meleeh

Meleeh (website) is a Swedish band that blends melodic Post-Hardcore with melodic Hardcore (punk), which obviously makes for some very melodious music. the vocals are just perfect. the best I've heard in a Hardcore band ever since. very heartful and tormented, which once made the bands foundation in a more screamo/post-hardcore scene (touring with bands like Suis La Lune etc). since this release (somewhere in 2005) they have been constantly evolving. their follow-up to this record had even more atmospheric build-ups and their most recent release displays the best of their melodic style with brilliant input from a more Metalpunk Hardcore sound (like Cursed or Rise And Fall) so check for those if any of that could appeal to you. until then, here's their first ever released record that would give you a good idea from where they built their sound up.
Last fm tags as screamo, post-hardcore, hardcore, swedish,emo 
What can I say. I love these guys. this was the first band I ever organised a show for, without any help from other promoters or anything and did 2 other gigs for them ever since. it's still my favorite band I've worked with musically, but trough working with them they have become my favorite people in music as well.

click the image above to buy some of their merch or their latest record!