metalcore bands
[Photos via Bleeding Through/SharpTone Records, From Autumn to Ashes, The Number Twelve Looks Like You/Overlord Music]

10 metalcore bands who deserved way more attention

Metalcore dominated the metal scene for the better part of the turn of the century, and it’s continued leading the mainstream. While some bands have undeniably got the recognition they deserve, others went under the radar when they had potential to go further. Lack of fan support led to an end for many of those bands, but they’re looked at much more favorably today and in some cases have even returned in one way or another.

Take a look below for 10 bands who should have been a lot bigger when they were actively touring and recording.

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1. Shadows Fall

The new wave of American heavy metal brought us countless incredible bands such as Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God and Norma Jean, but that boom in the scene eventually fell off and left many acts behind. Shadows Fall are one of those who, for no particular reason, stopped clicking with heavy music fans despite their material getting better with each release. Their farewell was pretty underwhelming, but interest seems to have picked up since their last album, and drummer Jason Bittner said the band are “waiting for the right time” to plan a reunion. 

2. Botch

Botch created the blueprint for noisy, feedback-overloaded metalcore that such bands as Norma Jean and the Chariot followed, but sadly, they never resonated with fans until much later. The band broke up in 2002 over several reasons, such as writer’s block and tension between members, but looking back on their legacy now, the members wonder where fans were in the late ’90s and early 2000s because they were constantly overlooked. 

3. Bleeding Through

Born as an offshoot of Eighteen Visions, Bleeding Through took off fast in the 2000s metalcore scene with a one-of-a-kind approach on the genre, incorporating symphonic elements and ramping up melodic death-metal influences, but their success wasn’t enough to keep them around. The band faced financial issues toward the end, and fans took notice a little too late, but they came back in 2018 with a killer new record and sporadically book one-off shows now for the die-hards. 

4. Poison The Well

Poison The Well never really blew up the way they could’ve, but their sound has found a place among what modern metalcore bands are getting up to now. After creating five stellar albums between 1999 to 2009, they called it quits, but if their 2015/2016 reunion shows demonstrated anything, it’s that there is still a demand for their return, and audiences would likely be more receptive this time around.

5. Dead To Fall

Dead To Fall had a tight melodic death-metal-influenced take on metalcore like so many of their peers such as Darkest Hour and As I Lay Dying, yet for whatever reason, they didn’t take off in the same way with fans at the time. They were well respected by their peers, but years of touring without enough fan support led to both financial problems and their demise in 2008. They’ve apparently been working on new music since 2017, but nothing has materialized yet, though anything new from them would be gladly accepted. 

6. The Bled

The Bled were always in a weird position within various scenes when they were around. They were too heavy to fit in with poppier tours and too soft for full-blown metal tours, but they always committed to making the music they wanted to create. Genre lines mean a lot less to people nowadays, though, and nostalgia for the raw, melodic era of Myspace metalcore is at an all-time high, meaning their sound could easily capture a whole new audience who would be more receptive than people were initially.

7. The Number Twelve Looks Like You

The Number Twelve Looks Like You unfairly seemed like a product of the times when they were originally around due to their name, but their chaotic, genre-jumping metalcore is widely looked at as desirable now. Surprisingly, they came back last year with one of their best albums to date, Wild Gods, and people definitely warmed up to their presence while they were gone as their return got a ridiculous but well-deserved amount of hype.

8. It Dies Today

It Dies Today had a sweet radio-friendly take on metalcore that still packed a punch, yet they remained a middling band in terms of popularity. They kept landing good support spots on tours with major acts but never broke out of that place. Given that they were teenagers when they started the band, they could likely make a much bigger effect today with a matured sense of songwriting and their already tight skills.

9. From Autumn To Ashes

After going on an indefinite hiatus in 2008, From Autumn To Ashes explained they had reached their natural conclusion. Clearly they weren’t ready to hang things up considering they came back in 2015 for a few reunion shows. They didn’t become a massive headlining act like many of their peers, but there’s still a rabid fanbase that has only grown in their absence waiting for a comeback tour to be announced.

10. Gwen Stacy

If there was ever a time for Myspace metalcore bands to make a comeback, that time is now. Given how many nostalgic reunions have been happening lately, Gwen Stacy would be a prime candidate for a return. They were passed off as just another metalcore band in the mid-2000s, but they had tons of riffs bands gladly rip off now. Sadly, after their one-off 2014 reunion show, they confirmed they wouldn’t be reviving the band.