Summer of Screamo is a month-long, weekly column spotlighting new, recent, and upcoming releases in screamo, emoviolence, and generally offbeat hardcore.Virginia has long been America’s underappreciated wellspring of punk, hardcore, and metal. Detached from the reach of the tri-state area and often kept in the shadows of the insular DC scene, the state has always paved its own path, creating something wholly unique where there was nothing before. In the 90s, AVAIL traveled the world relentlessly to spread their Southern-blooded version of punk, and put their hometown of Richmond on the map in the process. For almost 20 years, their neighbors Municipal Waste have been the crown jewel of the thrash metal scene. And at the turn of the century, Virginia became a powerhouse for screamo, birthing a collective of bands whose output is unrivaled to this day.
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The family tree of Virginia bands had many branches, all rooted by Sterling’s pg.99. And while pg.99 never much cared for the “screamo” tag themselves, they accidentally became the lifeblood of the genre. As their many, many members and associates started other projects, chunks of their sound splintered off into dozens of records. There was the sprawling approach of City of Caterpillar, the blistering destruction of Crestfallen, and the anything-goes folk hybrid of Pygmy Lush. Enemy Soil, Mannequin, and Forensics begat others like Majority Rule, Pig Destroyer, and Waifle—the list goes on and on. This interconnected group of musicians was so expansive, and their influence so ingrained in the area, that it seemed like their stronghold on the local hardcore scene would never dissipate. But there has been a shift in recent years as the old guard has died out and a new generation has taken up the torch.Alexander Rudenshiold, guitarist of the Fredericksburg band Infant Island had yet to even be born when pg.99 formed in 1997, but he takes inspiration from the area’s history as well as its present state. “Virginia’s screamo scene is full of some of the most supportive, talented, and hardworking people currently active in heavy music,” he says. “It feels surreal to be in this place surrounded by such amazing people—the kindness extended towards anyone in need throughout VA screamo is constantly humbling.”
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Mitchie Shue, who helps run the Great Dismal collective and plays in a number of bands, views the scene as being held together less by a congruous hardcore sound and more by its collective values and capacity to enact positive change. “To me the music pales in comparison to the community we are actively working towards creating,” they say. “I believe what makes the VA scene most notable is not just the quantity of cool screamo bands but the community’s capacity to organize and mobilize together for each other and the communities we are a part of. I believe the scene is invested in creating and maintaining platforms for marginalized folks and creating environments that foster collective and individual growth.”There’s something in the water in Virginia—or more likely the Waffle House coffee—that is fueling a tight-knit community of prolific artists. Here are a few that are leading the charge.A weird beef seemed to spring up this year between Richmond’s .gif from god and Boston hardcore up-and-comers Vein after the two bands released a split EP together. "Those kids are weird. I don't know where to begin,” Vein’s singer said of them in an interview with Exlaim!. He also called the band “whiny fucking kids.” And while the rivalry doesn’t seem to be at a Born Against/Sick of It All boil just yet, .gif from god clearly come off like the Born Against in the situation. Punk beeves aside, though, their side of the record is devastating. With their all-out, kitchen-sink approach to hardcore, the band sounds like Daughters did way back on their 2003 album, before they morphed into whatever you want to call that new song they released last month. But however you feel about their warped take on metallic hardcore or about their Vein saga, you’ve got to respect the band for being on the right side of the .gif pronunciation debate. Hard G or GTFO.
.gif from god
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Infant Island
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