Austin punk legends who mixed hardcore with funk and jazz. Massively influential.

Bigwig are a New Jersey punk band whose catalog helped define the sharper, faster end of late-1990s melodic punk. Formed in 1995, the group stood apart from lighter pop punk by putting Tom Petta's tense vocals and political frustration over quick tempos, tight downstrokes, and hardcore-informed urgency. UnMerry Melodies introduced their sarcastic bite, while Stay Asleep, An Invitation to Tragedy, and Reclamation pushed the band toward denser arrangements and a darker emotional register. Bigwig fit punk scope through skate punk, melodic hardcore, and hardcore punk roots, with songs built for speed but rarely limited to simple party energy. Their best material has a nervous, confrontational feel, using melody as a delivery system for disillusionment rather than as a softening device. The band toured through the same ecosystem as many Warped Tour era punk acts, yet their writing often felt more agitated and less glossy than the era around them. Bigwig's appeal lies in that tension: fast, catchy songs that sound fun in motion while carrying a clenched-jaw distrust of easy answers.

Bilmuri is the genre-fluid solo project of Johnny Franck, former guitarist of Attack Attack!, who launched the endeavor from his home studio around 2017. The project careens between djent, pop-punk, country, hip-hop, and metalcore, often within the same song, with Franck's irreverent humor tying it all together. His prolific output and refusal to commit to any single genre has cultivated a devoted online following that thrives on the unpredictability.

Brooklyn's Biohazard were pioneers of the rap-metal crossover, fusing New York hardcore with hip-hop elements years before the nu-metal explosion made it mainstream. Formed in 1987, their self-titled debut and 'Urban Discipline' laid the groundwork for the fusion of heavy riffs and street-level vocals that would dominate the late '90s. Their uncompromising sound and confrontational live shows made them one of the most important bands in the evolution of heavy music in New York City.

Ferocious Speed / Thrash Metal out of Texas.

Jeff Tandy of black metal act Averse Sefira channeling D.R.I. and S.O.D. with two ex-Death of Millions members. On hold since 2017.

Birthday Girl formed out of Brooklyn in 2022 and plays rock music that sits between indie looseness, post-punk unease, and playful punk energy. The band's recordings favor wiry guitars, nervous hooks, and a sense of performance that can swing from dreamy to confrontational without losing its strange charm. Songs such as "Move me," "Insecure Dreams," "Upset," and "Did you know I write you poems?" show a group interested in melody but unwilling to smooth out the awkward edges that give the music personality. The band's identity also carries a theatrical streak: eerie emotional themes, off-kilter humor, and a live presence built around movement, tension, and release. Rather than presenting rock as polished confession, Birthday Girl turns anxiety, desire, and absurdity into songs that feel both handmade and volatile. Their Brooklyn roots place them in a lineage of small-room guitar bands where personality, friction, and immediate chemistry matter as much as genre precision.

San Antonio metallic hardcore influenced by NYHC. Released on Deathwish Inc.

Black Anvil are a black metal and thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 2007 by former members of hardcore punk act Kill Your Idols, including guitarist/vocalist Paul Delaney, guitarist Gary Bennett, and drummer Raeph Glicken. Their debut Time Insults the Mind (2008) was followed by Triumvirate (2010) and Hail Death (2014) on Relapse Records, each album moving further from their hardcore origins toward a dense, riff-driven approach shaped by old-school black metal and classic heavy metal. The band's name references both Black Sabbath and a Judas Priest song.