Overo

Overo are a four-piece emo/screamo band from Houston, Texas that began in late 2018. They were formed by members of football, etc. and Perfect Future. If you're familiar with those two bands, you've already got a good idea of what Overo sound like, as they blend the melancholic chords and sweeping vocals of the former with the pounding drums and distorted chaos of the latter, with impassioned screams to complete the dual-vocal duo. This band really does sound like a seamless amalgamation of its members past work, which leads to a new and incredibly refreshing listen. Their debut, self-titled LP is being released by both Count Your Lucky Stars and Middle-Man Records, which are essential mainstays in their respective emo/screamo worlds, putting Overo in the center of this metaphorical Venn diagram. Enjoy.

Cold Concrete/Shattered (2019)

1. Cold Concrete

2. Shattered

Overo (2019)

1. The Dead

2. Constellations

3. Pact

4. Summer Wheat

5. Interlude

6. Pine And Black Oak

7. Dark Eyes

8. Diffraction

9. Joseph

Pre-order from Middle-Man Records

Pre-order from CYLS

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Amygdala

Amygdala are a five-piece hardcore band from San Antonio, Texas that began in 2014. Beginning with a self-released tape, they have continually grown with staunch DIY values and a very vocal powerful political message, which is just as crucial to this band as their music. They give a voice to oppressed and marginalized people, including people of colour, members of the LGBTQ community, and women, by directly addressing very current issues affecting these individuals, and relay that message through their lyrics and at their shows. It's a crucial part of the band, and one that makes them one of the most important hardcore bands in recent years. Not to mention, their music is incredible and extremely intense, and blends together elements of early metalcore and screamo through a distinctly hardcore lens. They recently released their newest album on legendary metal label Prosthetic Records, which will hopefully put this band on a much wider radar, because they deserve to be heard. Enjoy,

The Horror Of Never Being Able To Forget (2014)

1. One joy will scatter a hundred sorrows

2. It may be those who do most, dream the most

3. Forever Love

4. Stardust

5. Neurodegeneration

6. Punk has no room for closet misogynists

Amygdala/Saligia (2015)

1. Amygdala - You Can't Handle The Truth

2. Amygdala - Floricanto

3. Saligia - No Halo, No Crown

4. Saligia - Phoenix

Population Control (2016)

1. Rose Buds

2. Punkerxs Del Barrio
3. Apathetic Psychoanalyst

4. These men aren't sorry

5. We are the resistance

6. Healing in a world where we don't exist

7. Wandering Eyes

8. Population Control II

9. Abandon All Patriarchy

10. Counteractive Activist

Our Voices Will Soar Forever (2019)

1. Born Into Abuse

2. Why Can't I Heal?

3. It Takes A Village

4. I Hate To Say It

5. Look Back And Reflect

6. Semillas

7. 18 Years And Counting

8. Our Bodies, Our Choice

9. We Exist//Yo Existo

10. BPD Versus Me

11. I Wish Upon A Shooting Star

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Judiciary

Judiciary are a five-piece hardcore band from Lubbock, Texas that formed in 2014. After making a significant mark in the hardcore scene with a demo, EP, and split, they're finally gearing up for the release of their debut full-length, which is slated for release this year on Closed Casket Activities. Before that dropkicks everyone, check out their material to date if ya haven't yet. They play a two-step friendly style of hardcore, with heavy riffs and a thrash influence comparable to the work of fellow Texans Power Trip. Enjoy.

Demo '14 (2014)

1. Intro

2. Eyes Wide

3. Shackled

4. Since Birth

5. Bite The Bullet

6. No Justice, No Peace

The Axis Of Equality (2016)

1. The Axis Of Equality

2. March Of The Abuser

3. Justice Decays

4. Silent Vice

Mortality Rate/Judiciary (2017)

1. Mortality Rate - Forms Of Fear

2. Mortality Rate - Veins

3. Mortality Rate - Lucid

4. Judiciary - Reign Of Turmoil

5. Judiciary - Pure Fury

6. Judiciary - Overthrone

Surface Noise (2019)

1. Social Crusade

2. Karma's Knife

3. Temple (feat. God's Hate)

4. Stronger Than Thou (feat. Knocked Loose)

5.  Burden Of Truth

6. Pure Fury (feat. Mortality Rate)

7. 7.65mm

8. Zero Hour

9. War (Time Is Nigh)

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Portrayal Of Guilt

Portrayal Of Guilt are a four-piece hardcore/screamo band from Austin, Texas that formed in a year I am unaware of, thought presume it was quite recent. Earlier this year, they put out their debut EP with the help of Deathwish, which is an absolute must-listen. They blend the dark, aggressive sensibilities of blackened hardcore with the chaotic catharsis of bands like pg.99. These three tracks are incredible, and Portrayal Of Guilt are definitely a band to look out for, because I'm sure they're going to be making some waves. They're also on tour now, so check their dates to see if they're passing thru yr hood. I can't recommend this enough. Enjoy.

S/T (2017)

1. Humanity Is Frail

2. The One

3. Mourning Ahead

Spiritual Cramp (2017)

1. Spiritual Cramp (Christian Death cover)

Portrayal Of Guilt/Street Sects (2018)

1. Portrayal Of Guilt - The Nihilist

2. Street Sects - In Contempt

Chamber Of Misery (Pt. I) (2018)

1. Chamber Of Misery (Pt. I)

Let Pain Be Your Guide (2018)

1. Daymore

2. Among Friends

3. A Burden

4. Let Pain Be Your Guide

5. Your War

6. Chamber of Misery (Pt. II)

7. Life Holds Nothing

8. The Hunger

9. Death Is Gentle

10. Until We're Dust

Suffering Is A Gift (2019)

1. Self-Inflicted

2. Scarcity

3. Dissolution

4. Moral Decay

5. A Futile Light

6. Merciless

Portrayal of Guilt/Soft Kill (2019)

1. Portrayal of Guilt - Sacrificial Rite

2. Soft Kill - Tin Foil Drip

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Pop Unknown

Pop Unknown are a five-piece emo/indie band from Austin, Texas that were originally around from 1999 to 2002, though they have played reunion shows in 2009 and 2014. Notably, their original drummer was Gabe Wiley formed Mineral, who started this band just after their initial break-up. However, Pop Unknown made a name for themselves, putting out some fantastic music of their own, mostly through Deep Elm Records. They expanded on the underground "emo" sound that had evolved through the 90's, and added in some progressive punk influence of their own. This band has been getting a ton of requests, so I figured I'd finally throw them on here. Keep in mind there are some splits, compilation tracks, and a demo missing, but both full-lengths and their EP are here, as well as one compilation appearance (which is beyond amazing, I might add). Enjoy.

The Emo Diaries - Chapter 2: A Million Miles Away (1998)

1. Writing It Down For You

Summer Season Kills (1999)

1. Follow You

2. This Guy's Ready For Bed

3. Your Own Personal Wedding

4. Ink & Paper

5. Tipping The Scale

If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra (1999)

1. Head In The Sand

2. Half Of Ninety

3. An Offering

4. Last To Know

5. Lonely Here With Me

6. Tattoo Your Image (On The World)

7. Fallen Star

8. Hanging On A Thread

9. Perfect In Venice

10. Oh Hay

11. Forward Rewind

The August Division (2002)

1. Another Holiday

2. The Invisible Complex

3. As God And Everest

4. Hydroplane

5. Whatnot

6. B-Sides

7. Morphine

8. Contact

9. The Next Big Thing

10. In Spite Of

11. Still In Monochrome

12. Outro

Writing It Down For You EP (2003)

1. That Was Then

2. First Crush Untitled Track

3. Alexander Supertramp

4. Sunday Gone

Note: Thanks to Michael. Misc. tracks from various releases

Sparta

This is Sparta. Sparta was a city-state in Ancient Greece known for its militaristic government led by Gerard Butler. Outdated jokes aside, Sparta was also a post-hardcore/alternative rock band that formed in El Paso, Texas in 2001. After the break-up of At The Drive-In, the band's former members wishbone-d into two halves. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez started prog rock band The Mars Volta, while the band's rhythm section became Spartans. They were guitarist/vocalist Jim Ward, bassist Paul Hinojos (who switched to guitar in Sparta), and drummer Tony Hajjar. After the band's first two records, Hinojos left the band and was replaced by Keeley Davis (who's actually playing guitar in At The Drive-In now in place of Jim Ward).

Naturally, with a similar line-up of At The Drive-In, Sparta definitely shares quite a bit in common with them. Though much more melodic, the dynamics, odd rhythms, and pulsating energy are all present here. Jim Ward's vocals take the forefront, which strike the exact balance between gruff delivery and catchy melody. Really the best thing to do is just listen to them, the songwriting is solid, and fans of good alternative rock will definitely dig it. Plus it does sound like a natural continuation to At The Drive-In, so they're a good fix until the new AtTDI album drops this year. Enjoy.

Austere (2002)

1. Mye

2. Cataract

3. Vacant Skies

4. Echodyne Harmonic (de-mix)

Wiretap Scars (2002)

1. Cut Your Ribbon

2. Air

3. Mye

4. Collapse

5. Sans Cosm

6. Light Burns Clear

7. Cataract

8. Red Alibi

9. Rx Coup

10. Glasshouse Tarot

11. Echodyne Harmonic

12. Assemble The Empire

Porcelain (2004)

1. Guns Of Memorial Park

2. Hiss The Villain

3. While Oceana Sleeps

4. La Cerca

5. Breaking The Broken

6. Lines In Sand

7. End Moraine

8. Death In The Family

9. Syncope

10. Tensioning

11. Travel By Bloodline

12. P.O.M.E.

13. From Now To Never

14. Splinters

15. Farewell Ruins (Bonus Track)

Threes (2006)

1. Untreatable Disease

2. Crawl

3. Unstitch Your Mouth

4. Taking Back Control

5. Erase It Again

6. Atlas

7. The Most Vicious Crime

8. False Start

9. Weather The Storm

10. Red.Right.Return. (Straight In Our Hands)

11. Without A Sound

12. Translations

At The Drive-In

Yes, your eyes don't deceive you. Finally, after days/months/years of complaints about them not being on here, this request needs to be made no more. Here ya go, the greatest of the greats, At The Drive-In. Starting out as a bunch of kids from El Paso, they evolved into one of the 90's most formidable underground post-hardcore acts before nearly exploding into the modern rock mainstream at the peak of their creativity, which happened to coincide with their untimely implosion.

ATDI (as they are commonly referred to) formed in 1993 in the city of El Paso, Texas. Though they went through numerous line-up changes in their early days, two particular members have been with the band from the start. Those are vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist/vocalist Jim Ward (though he has been absent from the band on occasion, but we'll get in to that). The band's early sound often draws comparison to other great bands such as Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate, which were two of their major influences. After a few EP's, the band's debut album, Acrobatic Tenement was released in 1996. Though quite different from the material they would become known for, it still stands on its own as a fantastic record, and spawned some of the band's best songs, including "Ticklish" and "Initiation". The definitive traits of At The Drive-In are all here, including Cedric's lyrical intellect, the duel guitar sound, and the quiet-loud dynamics that are so integral to post-hardcore. However, the production quality is vastly different to what they would later release, and this era of ATDI is often why they are sometimes labelled as an "emo" band, though the term doesn't really fit. Following their debut, they released another EP, El Gran Orgo. This is notable since it's the only thing ever released without founding member Jim Ward. Even with his absence, it's a fantastic EP and a personal favourite of mine, which is why I have to point it out as being highly recommended. The songs are catchy, the energy is high, and it really stands out as being different from a lot of their other material. After El Gran Orgo, the band's "classic" line-up was solidified, with Cedric on vocals, Jim back on guitar and vocals, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez on guitar, Paul Hinojos on bass, and Tony Hajjar playing drums.

With their solidified line-up, the band's second full-length, In/Casino/Out was released in 1998. What more is there to say aside from this is a fucking incredible album? ATDI had evolved so much over the years since they began, and this is where they finally hit their stride. Lyrically it's more political, but still as opaque as ever. Musically, the songs are more technically complex, and Omar's love of effects starts to show here. Sonically, it's brimming with an energy only matched by their live shows. Seriously, check out some of their live material if you ever want to see a band on the brink of losing their shit but still holding it together somehow. It's insane stuff. The songs on here also have become more grandeur, with tracks like "Napoleon Solo" and "Lopsided" showing a melodic yet "epic" side to ATDI. They would also become live staples to this day. 1999's Vaya is what El Gran Orgo was in 1997. It's a transitional EP between LP's that just happens to contain some of the band's best material. It's also a clear indicator of where the band is about to explode to on their next and final LP.

In 2000, At The Drive-In entered the studio with a major producer (Ross Robinson), and came out with one of the greatest and most influential post-hardcore albums ever. Relationship Of Command was a major jump from their prior work. Though they still maintained the melodic/aggressive balance, the duel guitar sound, and Cedric's distinct vocal and lyrical style, as a unit they pushed the boundaries on everything they had done so far into new territory entirely. For one, it's much more progressive, as clearly indicated by tracks like "Quarantined" and "Non-Zero Possibility". Omar in particular made full use of his pedalboard, and Jim Ward also began incorporating keyboard parts into certain tracks. They also brought out some of their most intense tracks, particularly album opener "Arcarsenal" and "Mannequin Republic". And of course I can't get away without mentioning "One Armed Scissor", the band's closest thing to a "hit" song, and by far their best known. With this single and album, At The Drive-In nearly broke into the rock mainstream. They quite possibly could have, with numerous TV appearances, as well as a very well-known appearance at Big Day Out in 2001. That same year though, they finally had to call it quits. Members within the band all wanted to go in different directions, and that could not be reconciled while in At The Drive-In. On the bright side though, two incredible bands spawned after ATDI ended. Cedric and Omar formed the very well-known The Mars Volta, who fully embraced prog rock and continued to put out fantastic albums for years that featured some incredible musicianship. The other three members began Sparta, who went in a more indie/alternative direction, who also put out some fantastic music. Both of these bands eventually ended though, which brings us back to ATDI.

In 2012, over a decade after the band's last show, At The Drive-In announced their reunion. They played a headlining set at Coachella, as well as a handful of other shows and festival appearances that year. Now in 2016, the band are back, and seemingly more full-time than their brief reunion before. They've been touring full-time, and have plans to release a new full-length under the At The Drive-In name. However, this is without founding member Jim Ward, for whatever reason. His replacement is guitarist Keeley Davis, who played in Sparta. Regardless, it's incredible to see such a legendary band back in action, and I'm sure we're all waiting with bated breath for the hallowed follow-up to Relationship Of Command. Enjoy.

Hell Paso (1994)

1. Grand Mox Turkin

2. Red Planet

3. Emptiness Is A Mule

¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! (1995)

1. Bradley Smith

2. Instigate The Role

3. Ludvico Drive-In

4. Circuit Scene

5. Plastic Memories 

Acrobatic Tenement (1996)

1. Starslight

2. Schaffino

3. Ebroglio

4. Initiation

5. Communication Drive-In

6. Skips On The Record

7. Paid Vacation Time

8. Ticklish

9. Blue Tag

10. Coating Of Arms

11. Porfirio Diaz

El Gran Orgo (1997)

1. Give It A Name

2. Honest To A Fault

3. Winter Month Novelty

4. Fahrenheit

5. Picket Fence Cartel

6. Speechless

In/Casino/Out (1998)

1. Alpha Centauri

2. Chanbara

3. Hulahoop Wounds

4. Napoleon Solo

5. Pickpocket

6. For Now... We Toast

7. A Devil Among The Tailors

8. Shaking Hand Incision

9. Lopsided

10. Hourglass

11. Transatlantic Foe

At The Drive-In/The Aasee Lake (1999)

1. The Aasee Lake - The Dualistic Struggle Between Good And Evil Within Ticket Lines And Reality

2. At The Drive-In - Doorman's Placebo

Vaya (1999)

1. Rascuache

2. Proxima Centauri

3. Ursa Minor

4. Heliotrope

5. Metronome Arthritis

6. 300 MHz

7. 198d

At The Drive-In/Burning Airlines (2000)

1. At The Drive-In - Catacomb

2. Burning Airlines - The Deluxe War Baby

At The Drive-In/The Murder City Devils (2000)

1. At The Drive-In - Rascuache

2. The Murder City Devils - Press Gang

Sunshine/At The Drive-In (2000)

1. Sunshine - Streamlined

2. Sunshine - Streamlined (Dead Elektro Mix)

3. Sunshine - Streamlined (Line Mix)

4. At The Drive-In - Extracurricular

5. At The Drive-In - Autorelocator

One Armed Scissor (2000)

1. One Armed Scissor

2. Pattern Against User

3. Incetardis

Relationship Of Command (2000)

1. Arcarsenal

2. Pattern Against User

3. One Armed Scissor

4. Sleepwalk Capsules

5. Invalid Litter Dept.

6. Mannequin Republic

7. Enfilade

8. Rolodex Propaganda

9. Quarantined

10. Cosmonaut

11. Non-Zero Possibility

12. Catacombs (Bonus Track)

Rolodex Propaganda (2000)

1. Rolodex Propaganda

2. One Armed Scissor

3. Extracurricular

Invalid Litter Dept. (2001)

1. Invalid Litter Dept.

2. Initiation (Lamacq Version)

3. Quarantined (Lamacq Version)

4. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk (Pink Floyd cover)

5. Metronome Arthritis (Lamacq Version)

This Station Is Non-Operational (2005)

1. Fahrenheit

2. Picket Fence Cartel

3. Chanbara

4. Lopsided

5. Napoleon Solo

6. Pickpocket

7. Metronome Arthritis

8. 198d

9. One Armed Scissor

10. Enfilade

11. Non-Zero Possibility

12. Incetardis

13. Doorman's Placebo

14. Autorelocator

15. Rascuache

16. This Night Has Opened My Eyes (The Smiths cover)

17. Initation (BBC Lamacq Session)

18. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk (Pink Floyd cover)

in•ter a•li•a (2017)

1. No Wolf Like The Present

2. Contiuum

3. Tilting At The Univendor

4. Governed By Contagions

5. Pendulum In A Peasant Dress

6. Incurably Innocent

7. Call Broken Arrow

8. Holtzclaw

9. Torrentially Cutshaw

10. Ghost-Tape No. 9

11. Hostage Stamps

Diamanté (2017)

1. Amid Ethics

2. Despondent At High Noon

3. Point Of Dmarkation

B-Sides

Decomposition

Terranova Compost

"...Because I'm A Vampire..." (AKA (interlude) From El Gran Orgo EP)

Salient

Catacombs (Mike Major Mix)