davey havok

1997: All media is declaring the alternative–rock explosion—for which Nirvana lit the fuse—over. This means the commercial pop-punk wave Green Day touched off was over in their eyes, too. That selfsame media could not have been more wrong. Green Day had just issued their fifth album, Nimrod. The Offspring, the band who made the catchphrase […]

In case you don’t have a reminder programmed, last week marked a significant, albeit painful, emo milestone. That is, we’re now 15 years out from the June 6, 2006 release of AFI’s DECEMBERUNDERGROUND. That’s a decade-and-a-half of practicing the “Miss Murder” scream as we flat iron our hair and permanently adorning overpriced shoes in haphazardly […]

AFI certainly know how to rouse suspense—just look back to the effective erasure of vocalist Davey Havok‘s existence prior to The Missing Man announcement… Still, when whispers of their 11th album began in 2019, nobody suspected that it would take two years to actualize. Of course, we didn’t suspect that a pandemic was in the cards […]

“Goth-punk,” eh? Not as far-fetched as you might believe. Goth was essentially an offshoot of punk, especially its darker early bands—the Damned or Siouxsie And The Banshees, anyone? But basically, anyone playing chainsaw punk rooted in the artsier end of glam a la Bowie and Roxy Music, a fondness for Hammer horror films, macabre literature […]

Next year, No Doubt’s iconic debut self-titled album officially turns 30. Naturally, whenever a historic anniversary for the band rolls around, reunion rumors begin to spread. During a new Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Gwen Stefani weighed in on if a No Doubt reunion could happen. As well, she opened up about her new […]

It’s an exciting day for AFI fans. After weeks of anticipation, the band have finally confirmed when their new album Bodies is arriving. On Thursday, the band debuted two more powerful songs from the forthcoming LP called “Looking Tragic” and “Begging For Trouble.” As well, as if all of this news wasn’t enough, AFI have […]

We may be a good decade out from the height of the scene heyday, but that doesn’t mean our favorite artists are anywhere past their prime. In fact, a good number of them have been extending their talents by forming new bands and side projects. Unless they’re getting broad recognition like Simple Creatures, however, these […]

All die-hard music fans can remember the first time they discovered a new band or heard a song that made them smash the replay button. Sometimes tracks have this unique capability to take your breath away, creating a fresh relationship that can launch you into a new world of music discovery. This connection to new […]

The ’80s feel like a lifetime away, and for many in the scene, they actually are (yikes). The good news is the decade has left a longstanding musical legacy. The incorporation of 1980s sound elements into modern music is hardly new, but its frequency seems to be rising. It seems impossible to turn on the […]

Is there any better surprise than listening to a song and getting hit by a cameo from a familiar vocalist? Aside from adding to the dynamics of the track, these uncredited guest vocals are great Easter eggs for any fan.  While it’s not uncommon for these collaborations to go unnoted on streaming platforms, Google will […]

R-Battz is finally here. We’ve waited a long time to visualize Robert Pattinson’s interpretation of the Dark Knight, and the first official trailer for next year’s The Batman gave us more emo vibes than we could handle. This is the first incarnation of the caped crusader to show the black eyeliner every Batman wears beneath […]

By 2006, scene culture had grown roots in every mainstream area possible. Myspace took over as the primary mode of social media communication, and bands spread like wildfire once they uploaded music. It was a whirlwind year, as music became more accessible to a larger group of people, Hot Topic brightened its lights and studded […]

If the flannelly, lo-fi nature of ’90s grunge killed the hairspray bravado of ’80s hair metal, then the 2000s definitely brought back some of its technicality and musicianship. The first decade of this century showcased way more than 20 perfect examples of a timeless guitar riff. It was quite difficult narrowing this list down, but […]

In 2003, major scene bands were gaining popularity on the Warped Tour circuit. The musical mixture of emo, pop punk and punk was growing in both the mainstream and the underground. As some of the millennium’s biggest names in the alternative scene started changing their sound, younger musicians joined in with their own take on […]

When Black Veil Brides’ lineup began to congeal in Los Angeles in 2009, they were essentially a sonic amoeba undulating. At first glance, there were obvious trappings of heavy metal and ’80s hair-farmer rock. But there were also plenty of next-gen signifiers of turn-of-the-century punk, from AFI to Social Distortion. Read more: Record Store Day […]