Within two days news has broken that both At The Drive In and Glassjaw will be hitting the road on tour with the potential for new albums. Glassjaw actually dropped a new track titled ‘New White Extremity’. This is very exciting for post-hardcore fans, very exciting indeed. While a very niche group of punk fans foam at the mouths, let’s take a moment to explain the definition of post-hardcore to the uninitiated.
Born out of the hardcore tradition in Washington DC in the late eighties, post-hardcore took the rigid and caustic punk foundations of bands like Minor Threat and Naked Raygun and ran with them to uncharted territories. The ‘loud and fast’ formula of past punk was substituted for more explorative and diverse ways of creating intense and raucous environments through creative dynamics, genre-splicing, purposeful and profound lyricism as well as more skillful musicianship.
From the late 80s innovation of Fugazi through the depressing and bleak clang of the 90s with Slint and Drive Like Jehu to the fan favourites, At The Drive In, and beyond. Here is a breakdown of post-hardcore from then to now.