The MySpace Revival Sweeping the Nation!

from CA to TX to Jersey and DC, 2000-late distilled

MySpace may just be a dead social media to some, a relic of a bygone era, but within the various core genres it was much more than that. MySpace was THE HUB for so many artists (not just in heavy music) to find an audience and were able to get signed to record labels, tour, and even form a career because of it. MySpace existed in an intermediate state where streaming and social media alone couldn’t form a career (unlike like with TikTok today) but it was still a helpful tool to connect people with others who understood the music industry. So many artists came up during that era before things died out with the rise of Facebook and Instagram. Although MySpace is dead and decaying (all audio files were corrupted or something in 2022, biggest disappointment of the decade for my research), the sound pioneered by the bands of that era lives on.

Contemporarily clowned on for daring to have fun, this particular group of MySpace subgenres had an enthusiastic fanbase that never disappeared and that has only grown with the younger generation. Nintendocore, crabcore, digigrind, and MySpace style deathcore are not known for being the cream of the crop by customary standards (many bands that came from that era have refined their sound, some will go as far to say “sterilized”) but a lot of people miss the chaos, rawness, and fun energy of the MySpace era, myself among them. Seeing that spirit re-emerge is exciting.

Ashes at Last, Rev3rent, Victim Blamed, In Which Divides Us, Lilith’s Demise, blister, nsixhundred, AnimaIsDying, and Girl of Glass are just a few of the bands bringing back the brutal sounds and sonic juxtaposition of MySpace deathcore, metalcore, screamo, nintendocore, and even crabcore. Melodic synth sections, blast beats and gutturals, tremolo picking, it doesn’t get much better than this in my book. Coast to coast, from CA to TX to Jersey and DC, it’s making a comeback in what I can only describe as a tsunami.

“Revivalcore” has been a thing for a while now, but it seems to have hit hardcore, post-hardcore, and metalcore first with deathcore catching steam mostly in the past year. Bands like Tracheotomy and Tactosa within deathcore have been taking it back for a while. In the other spaces Dying Wish, Static Dress, Boundaries, Kaonashi, Knocked Loose, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, and Foreign Hands have been taking it back for a while now and I’ve been enjoying them. Sometimes I feel like I missed out on something great, having grown up in the Sacramento area during its golden age of post-hardcore, oblivious to it all until years later. It’s not like I could’ve participated much as a 5 year old or whatever, but I’ll admit I’ve shed a few tears when I see an old poster for an A Lot Like Birds show for $5, but now I get to be around for this new era of greatness in the IE, where $5 shows still abound. A community is being cultivated here, and I can’t wait to see how much more it grows. Do I sometimes question dragging myself to shows when I have back to back midterms? Sure, but it motivates me to be more intentional with my time. I feel like I’m constantly playing catchup with new venues, production companies, and bands popping up. It seems there’s a new one every day. There’s also a new wave of dedicated DIY producers coming up, honestly wish I had the patience to join in. It’s a beautiful cycle of the venues, the bands, and the producers uplifting each other.

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Anachronistic is probably the best word to describe this sound. 2000-late distilled into an intoxicating experience. Bands from the 2000s - early 2010s like Dr. Acula, Job for a Cowboy, Arsonists Get All the Girls, I See Stars, This Romantic Tragedy, Jamie's Elsewhere are among my favorites because of their unique sound, and what these bands are doing reminds me of that. (I’d still like to hear some more trancecore, but I’m sure someone’s working on that already.)

Here’s some artists who’ve stuck out to me so far.

sixshotsindallas - Texas - independent

If you’ve ever wanted an unenthusiastic/slightly pissed off narrator in between blast beats, I’ve got good news for you. A few weeks ago I got obsessed with their first release, kill noise, released as part of a quick burst of singles in mid-April of this year. They released their first single on streaming not too long ago and are soon playing a few festivals in December.

Wocket Launcher - Texas - independent

So, I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this project. Went in completely blind when Caramel Ribbon Crunchwrap Supreme dropped, but with that name, I knew I’d like it. First single dropped in June, EP in August, recent releases have been pretty consistently in my queue. Crunchwrap Supreme came at a good time for me and honestly helped me not spiral one night I was feeling a bit down.

it's okay to be tired, it's okay to need rest
it's okay to feel burnt, i know you're trying your best you're so much stronger than you think, don't you ever doubt yourself
if you feel you're on your own, there will always be help
take the time to tell yourself that you love you

Lowkey reminds me of August Burns Red in the riffage so far (don’t ask me how) yet is still very different. Solo projects always inspire me in a unique way that group projects never do.

In Which Divides Us - California - lifeishardrecords

If you know ‘em, you know ‘em, if you don’t… GET TO KNOW THEM. I discovered them through a video of one of their performances while scrolling on instagram before visiting Musiclandria for the first time (where I went on about them for a few minutes after stepping in for the first time, what a way to introduce myself). I didn’t know much but I knew I love their sound, they’re local to me, and I had to see them. Now I’ve seen them three times, am waiting for the CD to come in, and their EP is my top listened album in the past 90 days. That intro is going down as an icon of this era.

last two shows i saw them

Rev3rent - California - independent

I kept hearing about them and listened to some of their stuff, liked it enough, but seeing them live really made me understand what’s up. Energy is off the charts, I’m honestly at a loss of words. If you can catch ‘em, do.

rev3rent at fret's music, nov 22

Ashes at Last - California - Independent

I’ve talked about them before already, but they recently released their second EP: This is How Silence Dies. It’s the first showcase of the full collaboration of the band, and it’s awesome. Before I banned track 7 from my car, I got asked about it a ton. Ashes at Last is probably my most recommended artist in the past month because I could not shut up about them for a hot minute.

Ashes at Last/Victim Blamed Interview (by ShoeLaced Media)

Ashes at Last band background article ( by Alejandro Rojas)

And here’s some more interviews:
Amulet and Sycthe of Grim Interview (by Unusual Captures)

Ones to watch (multiple genres, I’m too lazy to sort ‘em):

It Came From Wisconsin (Texas), Amulet (California), Mask of Sanity (DC), When Screams Go Silent (South Jersey), Plucked by Pliers (Florida), Dance of the Seventh Crow (California), Aøkigahara (California), Your Knife in My Back (California), Jimmy H Doolittle (California), Kill All Humans (California), Kip Dynamite (California), Katy Went Missing (Texas), Ted Williams (New Jersey/York), I Kidnapped the Princess, Scythe Of Grim (California), Vlithe (New Jersey), On Water (California), When Screams Go Silent (New Jersey), Plucked by Pliers (Florida), As We Lose Blood (Maryland), blister (Texas), nsixhundred (California), Blaire (California).

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A common thread I’ve noticed is Louisiana-based lifeishard records, who seemingly came out of nowhere earlier this year.

Ben: I started the label sometime during the summer. I called it lifeishard because when I was a kid my siblings and I dealt with a lot of abuse from our father. It was really bad, but my mom took us and we left. I saw her struggle every single day trying to make a living as a single mom. I saw how hard it was for her. Then life hit me hard. I couldn’t do school i was always in and out of trouble always on sum demon sh*t idk, but it just made me realize that life really is hard but it doesn’t have to be. We can make the change, we just have to be willing. That’s pretty much how lifeishard came to be. I saw all these cool ass bands and just knew we had to do something.

My brother Brendon had passed away in 2020 and his whole life was music, since age 10 bro could play everything he was in and out of bands his whole life. When he passed he was so close to having everything he dreamed for but his life was taken to early. I know if my brother were still here he would be amazed at what i’ve built in just a few months. Now we got a team being me (ben), Nik, Arthur, Adam, Kyle, Grady, Aiden, and Noah. Everyone joined the team about a month or two after starting the label. Nik and Kyle were previously nowordsforrecords and Arthur, Adam, Noah, and Grady were previously pave records, but we decided it would be best if we merged. We’re really tryna build some brootal sh*t with this label. I honestly believe we can be one of the biggest labels and i know we for sure have the drive to make it. We wanna bring all the bands to the top with us because each one on our label is so talented. Every one of them has something so special that if they wanted to they can be big. We wanna help push that along with merch drops and cds and stuff like that. We also wanna start hosting bigger shows. i will say that summer of next year (2025) we’re planning a showcase for the label.

Speaking of that, the Brutal Fest lineup in Pomona was insane. I couldn’t make it, but how’d that come about?

Ben: That brutal fest was honestly insane that was all nik tho. I just did vending nik added lifeishard when he joined the label.

Nik: Brutal was something i did under my previous label , i was asked to join in on it as it was an idea my buddy in Fontucky Productions had, I ended up taking over and was in charge of the fest as well as joining Fontucky.

I had asked a ton of homies, bands like rev3rent, IWDU (in which divides us), disfigured, etc etc, and slowly they all helped get other bands such as victim blamed on board. I’ll admit it was a bit messy at the start but the reception from the crowd was amazing, it makes me super happy to hear so any people enjoy it and seeing people even talk about it even up to this day across social medias is really sick. After a while I left fontucky for creative differences to join coded.co and focus on life is hard a bit more . Massive shoutout to everyone part of this, especially Adam for introducing me to the label and being an absolute machine when it comes to making physicals. Much love for Grady, Ben, Adam, Kyle, Arthur, and Aiden as well as all my close friends and family.¹

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With a revival in MySpace-style music and DIY projects, I hope to see even more grassroots production companies, bands, record labels, media outlets (which I guess I fall under), vendors, and other creative endeavors. Post-pandemic, there’s been a resurgence in physical communities, and although it’s been a challenge, I know things are going to grow even more and I am so blessed to be here for it. The enthusiasm and support for all these new projects is overwhelming, and I can’t get enough of it even as I watch from the sidelines.

If you’d like to keep up with happenings in this scene and adjacent ones, check out tonightyoureokay, somerandomcameraguy, shoelacedmedia, coded.co, and lifeishardrecords.

There’s always more to learn, so feel free to comment if you’ve got anything to say! I keep finding more information and realize how little I know. I can’t remember it all at once or keep adding to this post, or else I’ll never finish it. To quote Born of Osiris “this is bigger than you and me”. Overwhelming is an understatement. I wish I had more time to research more thoroughly, but I don’t, so I do what I can. Check out my instagram for more pics :D

1. Note: Nik has since left lifeishard and joined Coded full time.