Lets give this another shot, heh? Remember that you can join our facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/117664558269639/

There were so many things released this year that it’s easy to miss out! Here is a list of some of my favorite albums / EPs / splits that came out this year. Enjoy. <3

A Flower Kollapsed – A Flower Kollapsed
http://aflowerkollapsed.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-2

Adaje – Yore Veils
http://adaje.bandcamp.com/album/yore-veils

Adaje / Lizards Have Personalities Split
http://seaoftranquility.bandcamp.com/album/lizards-have-personalities-adaje-split-7

Adobe Homes – Piñata
http://dogknightsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dk031-adobe-homes-pi-ata-9-ep

Adorno – Year Two
http://adornno.bandcamp.com/album/year-two

After Taste – Motifs & Ornements – Partie I
http://aftertastemotif.bandcamp.com/

Alta – Places
http://alta.bandcamp.com/releases

Animal Faces – Anomie
http://animalfaces.bandcamp.com/album/anomie

Anodes – Anodes
http://anodes.bandcamp.com/

Aussitôt Mort – Une Défaite A La Piaule
http://aussitotmort.bandcamp.com/album/nagykanizsa

Aussitôt Mort – The Catalyst Split
http://momentofcollapserecords.bandcamp.com/album/aussitot-mort-the-catalyst-split

Beau Navire – Lumens
http://beaunavire.bandcamp.com/album/lumens

Beau Navire / Republic of Dreams Split
http://momentofcollapserecords.bandcamp.com/album/beau-navire-republic-of-dreams-split

Birds in Row – You, Me & The Violence

Brain Fever – La Luna
http://brainfever.bandcamp.com/album/la-luna

Burn Idols – Theodicy
http://burn-idols.bandcamp.com/

Cabin Fire – Cathedrals of Information
http://cabinfire.bandcamp.com/album/cathedrals-of-information

Caffeine Patch – Caffeine Patch
http://caffeinepatch.bandcamp.com/

Capacities – The Unexamined Life
http://capacitiesnj.bandcamp.com/album/the-unexamined-life

Capacities / Coma Regalia Split
http://middlemanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/capacities-coma-regalia-split-7

Cathedraal – Voix Blanches
http://cathedraal.bandcamp.com/album/voix-blanches

Caust – Mass Graves (We Would Be Better Off)
http://itsatraprecords.bandcamp.com/album/mass-graves-we-would-be-better-off

Cavalcades – Coping
http://cavalcadesuk.bandcamp.com/album/coping

Cerce – Cerce
http://itsatraprecords.bandcamp.com/album/cerce

Chinesedream. – Chinesedream.
http://chinesedreamperiod.bandcamp.com/album/chinesedream

Chinesedream. / Nakusa Split
http://driftwoodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nakusa-chinesedream-split

CityCop – Seasons
http://flannelgurl.bandcamp.com/album/seasons

Coma Regalia / Vowel Split
http://middlemanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/coma-regalia-vowel-split-7

Coma Regalia / Laeirs Split
http://middlemanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/coma-regalia-laeirs-split-7

Coma Regalia – En Sperata
http://middlemanrecords.bandcamp.com/album/en-sperata

Cloud Rat / Republic of Dreams Split
http://www.reactwithprotest.org/releases.php?record=99

Comadre – Cold Rain
http://comadre.bandcamp.com/album/cold-rain-single

Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind

Converge / Napalm Death Split
http://convergecult.bandcamp.com/album/converge-napalm-death-split-ep

Daido Loori – Laika
http://daidoloorinj.bandcamp.com/

Districts / Regret, The Informer Split
http://theghostisclearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/districts-regret-the-informer-split-12

Duck. Little Brother, Duck! – Don’t Take Our Filth Away
http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dont-take-our-filth-away

Father Figure – 死の手
http://fatherfiguretx.bandcamp.com/album/-

Father Figure – Demo
http://fatherfiguretx.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Foxmoulder – Hindsight
http://seaoftranquility.bandcamp.com/album/hindsight

Foxmoulder / Sartre Split
http://foxmoulder.bandcamp.com/album/split-with-sartre

Gas Up Yr Hearse! – Demo!
http://gasupyrhearse.bandcamp.com/

Ghostlimb – Confluence
http://vitriolrecords.bandcamp.com/album/confluence

Guidelines – Guidelines
http://guidelines.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-ep

Half Awake – One
http://driftwoodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one

Heart On My Sleeve – Stand-by, We’re Going In For Life
http://heartonmysleeve.bandcamp.com/album/stand-by-were-going-in-for-life

I’m Dead To Me – I’m Dead To Me
http://imdeadtome.bandcamp.com/album/im-dead-to-me

I.Witness / Featherweight Split
http://iwitness.bandcamp.com/album/split-with-featherweight

Innards – I’ve Lost Everything
http://countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/album/ive-lost-everything

Ittō – Ittō
http://ittochicago.bandcamp.com/album/itt-2

Jowls – Cursed
http://jowls.bandcamp.com/album/cursed

K.C.Milian – All Sorts of Things
http://timeasacolor.bandcamp.com/album/time-7-k-c-milian-all-sorts-of-things-discography-2xlp

Knowing We’ll Never Grow Up – I Think I Hate Myself
http://nevergrowup.bandcamp.com/album/i-think-i-hate-myself

L’Antietam – Dark Brew / Rock Bottom
http://weedmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dark-brew

Leer. / Cerce Split
http://itsatraprecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-cs

Living & Wrestling – Self-Defense
http://livingandwrestling.bandcamp.com/album/self-defense

Mammoths / Living & Wrestling Split
http://kitr.bandcamp.com/album/mammoths-living-wrestling-split

Locktender / Brighter Arrows Split
http://locktender.bandcamp.com/album/split-10-w-brighter-arrows

Locktender – Collected
http://locktender.bandcamp.com/album/collected

Loma Prieta – I.V.

Lord Snow – Sovngarde
http://music.lordsnow.net/album/sovngarde

Loud? – Loud?
http://music.carucagerecords.com/album/self-titled

Lumber Lung – 2012
http://lumberlungmusic.bandcamp.com/album/2012

Malon – Reverie
http://malon.bandcamp.com/album/reverie

Mallard -Winter Tour 2012
http://mallard.bandcamp.com/album/winter-tour-2012

Means To And End – Cassette
http://meanstoanend.bandcamp.com/album/cassette

Midnight Souls – Going Through the Motions
http://wearemidnightsouls.bandcamp.com/album/going-through-the-motions

A Mola Mola – Mammathus
http://amolamola.bandcamp.com/album/mammathus

My Fictions – Always Trapped
http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/always-trapped

Old Gray – Everything I Let Go & The Things I Refuse To
http://seaoftranquility.bandcamp.com/album/everything-i-let-go-the-things-i-refuse-to

Perfect Future – Old Wounds: Warmth in the Winter of 1914-1915
http://countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/album/old-wounds-warmth-in-the-winter-of-1914-1915

Petethepiratesquid – The New Royalty EP
http://petethepiratesquid.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-royalty-ep

Pray For Teeth – Demo
http://prayforteeth.bandcamp.com/

Progress – Things Present
http://progresstx.bandcamp.com/album/things-present

Rape Revenge – Paper Cage
http://raperevenge.bandcamp.com/album/paper-cage

Rape Revenge – Rape Revenge
http://raperevenge.bandcamp.com/album/rape-revenge-2

Ravachol – The Revoluion of Every Day Life
http://ravachol.bandcamp.com/album/the-revolution-of-every-day-life

Real Screamo Compilation Vol. 3
http://realscreamo.bandcamp.com/album/real-screamo-compilation-vol-3

Remek / Child Meadow Split
http://childmeadow.bandcamp.com/album/split-12-with-remek
http://remekdiy.bandcamp.com/album/split-lp-w-child-meadow

Republic of Dreams – Republic of Dreams
http://momentofcollapserecords.bandcamp.com/album/republic-of-dreams

The Saddest Landscape – After The Lights
http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-lights

Sartre – Satre
http://mieuxdormir.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Short Stories About Their Distance – Demo
http://shortstoriesabouttheirdistance.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Siddhartha – Subject to Change EP
http://siddharthatn.bandcamp.com/

Slurred Speech / Twin Cyclist Split
http://seaoftranquility.bandcamp.com/album/slurred-speech-twin-cyclist-split

Sohns – Ripe / Rot
http://flannelgurl.bandcamp.com/album/ripe-rot

Solomon Solomon – Lent, Or, Ink On
http://solomonsolomon.bandcamp.com/album/lent-or-ink-on

Solomon Solomon / Loud? split
http://honestempirerecords.com/album/loud-solomon-solomon-split

Sore Eyelids – Sore Eyelids
http://soreeyelids.bandcamp.com/

Statuette – Losing Roots
http://statuettetx.bandcamp.com/

Sugartown Cabaret – This is a Split
http://momentofcollapserecords.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-a-split

Suis La Lune – Riala
http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/riala

Summer Handjob – A Summer In The American Midwest
http://seaoftranquility.bandcamp.com/album/a-summer-in-the-american-midwest

Te Lloraría un Puto Río / мища Split
http://laflorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/split-2

Ten Thousand Leagues – Demo
http://tenthousandleagues.bandcamp.com/album/2012-summer-tour-demo

Texas Instruments / Baitfish / Battle Royale / Regret, the Informer
http://theghostisclearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kansas-city-4-way-split-12-inch

The Tidal Sleep – Four Song EP
http://thetidalsleep.bandcamp.com/album/four-song-ep

The Tidal Sleep – The Tidal Sleep
http://thetidalsleep.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Tigerscout – Home Less
http://tigerscout.bandcamp.com/album/home-less

Titan – Burn
http://titanslays.bandcamp.com/album/burn

t̶o̶n̶g̶u̶e̶ – / / /
http://notongue.bandcamp.com/

Touche Amore / The Casket Lottery
http://nosleepsampler.com/album/split-2

Trembling Hands – Nights / Days
http://tremblinghands.bandcamp.com/album/nights-days

The Usual – My Life is the Pause
http://theusual.bandcamp.com/album/my-life-is-the-pause

Vaccine – Dead Inside
http://vaccinexxx.bandcamp.com/track/four-walls-from-dead-inside-7

Veils – Clarity
http://veilshc.bandcamp.com/album/clarity

Vowel – All The Sad Songs
http://vowel.bandcamp.com/album/all-the-sad-songs

We Were Skeletons – Blame & Aging
http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/blame-aging

Willam Bonney / Droughts Split
http://errorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/droughts-william-bonney-split

Willaim Bonney – Good Vibes
http://sigd.bandcamp.com/album/good-vibes

Xerxes – Our Home is a Deathbed
http://wewerenevergold.bandcamp.com/album/our-home-is-a-deathbed

xJustified Violencex – Straight Edge Warrior
http://xjustifiedviolencex.bandcamp.com/album/straight-edge-warrior

You’ll Live – Above the Weather
http://youlllive.bandcamp.com/album/above-the-weather

Twinkly emo with a touch of punk from Montclair, New Jersey. Some serious jams and sing alongs here.

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Guidelines is a screamo band from New Jersey, USA. They recently released a self-titled EP containing 4 amazing tracks. This EP is heavy and chaotic like Loma Prieta with soft melodic interludes like Beau Navire or Suis La Lune. I particularly love the vocals, but the instrumentation is amazing as well. Easily a contender for one of the best EP releases of the year so far. If you haven’t checked out their 2010 release, Rules of the Sife, it is available on their bandcamp. Also, if you’ve ever met these dudes you know that they rule, so support ‘em!

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Father Figure is a three piece screamo band from Denton, TX. They’re composed of members of Innards and Two Knights, which combined makes for a super group of unfathomable talented anarchist that bring the chaos and self-pity like no other. This is their first full length release entitled 死の手 .

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This is a mixtape of really awesome bands from the California scene put together by Kali Sound. Sweet tunes.

Tracklist:
1. REDxYELLOW – The Birth of Kali
2. Ruptures – Circles
3. John Cota – Pod People
4. Ten Thousand Leagues – Bad Seed complex
5. Calculator – Gasping, but Somehow Still Alive
6. Heist – Temporary Lapse
7. Residuals – Sleep
8. Comadre – Free Based
9. C////O – Capture Bonding
10. Summer Vacation – Lil’ Slippy
11. Leer – House Music Master
12. Great Apes – Paper Cage
13. Dad Punchers – Tire Swing
14. Beach Bummed – Pocket Sand
15. Matsuri – Bagchairs
16. Megan & Amelia – Bliss
17. Di Bravura – Ocean City, MD
18. Tigon – The Archivist

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Perfect Future is a post-punk/emo band from Frostburg, MD and parts of VA. They’ve been a part of Count Your Lucky Stars Records for the past couple of years, releasing one full length and many different split EPs.

I recently got a chance to ask them some questions about their upcoming album “Old Wounds: Warmth in the Winter of 1914​-​1915” and some other things.
You can stream the record on the Perfect Future bandcamp HERE and pre-order it from Count Your Lucky Stars Records HERE. Enjoy!

Perfect Future facebook
Perfect Future bandcamp 

SYLO: Tell us a little about Perfect Future in general. 

Brendan: We are a band that is separated by 3 hours as two members live in Frostburg, Maryland and the other two live in Annandale, Virginia. Different people have compared us to Yaphet Kotto, Kolya, Van Pelt, Black Sabbath, and a bunch of other twinkly emo bands. I’m definitely not going to bore you with how we became a band because it is very average.

Matt: I’ve known Brendan for a pretty long time, and was in a band with him earlier before PF. In early 2010, he asked me if I’d be interested in doing the summer tour with him and joining the band, and I was more than happy to do so. That’s how I became involved.

Ted: Perfect Future is a band that played in my backyard about three years ago and then about a little under a year ago Brendan asked me to be in it and I said “Yes sir” and then I recorded guitar for the new album, and am stoked to be in such a great band with awesome friends.

SYLO: What do you do when you’re not writing/playing music?

Brendan: I personally am a couple of weeks finishing up a Master’s degree in order to teach English in middle and high schools. So the last year has consisted of student teaching, night classes, running into my students at punk shows, and trying to hide my tattoos from other teachers, principals, and parents.
But realistically, when I am not playing music I am watching anime, playing Magic: the Gathering, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or hanging out with my girlfriend.

Ted: I am finishing up a bachelor’s degree in English at GMU, so I’m only a few steps behind Brendan. I also work at a restaurant, play soccer with my Latino homies, skateboard with my girlfriend, be a comedy duo with Matt, play a ton of jRPGs and platformers, play music with a few other friends in a couple other bands, and get pressured into watching Lost by Brendan and John. Slowly but surely.

John: I am a cat whisperer.

Matt: I can be found slaying internet dragons in Azeroth, or working on tons of other musical projects and ideas that never form into real bands.

SYLO: You’ve all been in a lot of different bands. What are some of those and how does Perfect Future differ from those?

Brendan: I’m not going to start listing off bands because we are all in multiple bands right now and because John is the drummer for every band in his area for like the past 4 years. As far as genres go, between the four of us we have been in other emo, screamo, punk, hardcore, drone, stoner metal, folk, d-beat, beatdown hardcore, pop, and slow-core bands. I think what Perfect Future does differently though is mainly in regards to the concept of the band as a whole. The band was basically started as a way to play a genre that I love while writing lyrics that don’t quite fit with the genre. Basically, I wanted to have a traditional 90′s sounding emo band that had songs about colonialism, urban sprawl, resource conservation, militarism, and a host of other societal and ethical problems (Hence the name Perfect Future). However, I wasn’t quite sure how to pull off the project early on, which is why some of those early songs are radically different from one another both musically and lyrically. Since then, we have kind of found our niche as a band and our songs are more focused.

John: I’m currently in several bands in my area: Studying, Kilgore Trout, New Years, Green and Solomon Solomon. Perfect Fu’ture is special to me because it is the only band I have been on tour with, and also it’s the only band that I’m that has been signed to a label. Perfect Future’s genre is unique and unlike any other project I’ve been involved with.

SYLO: Perfect Future recently did two rad splits, one with List and the other with Wits End! How did those come about? How did you enjoy the split album process?

Brendan: Oddly enough, both of these splits began with members of some of my favorite bands emailing me to ask if PF wanted to do a split with them. Our split with Reaching Away grew about a little more organically because I was a penpal with Roger since back when The Pine was together; when he started his new band it just sort of happened that we planned a tour and a 7″ split together. I have liked doing all of these splits because it was a way to write songs that are supposed to stand alone. So rather than think about an overall sound aesthetic and song progression within an album, I was able to write a song. I kind of want to do more split records, but at the same time, I’m also interested in the ep format since PF hasn’t one yet.

SYLO: You’re releasing a new album with Count Your Lucky Stars, Adagio 830, & Sea of Tranquility Records soon. I know it’s a concept album. Can you tell us a little about the story and what inspired it?

Brendan: I’ve been really into concept records since high school. I was in a few bands (where I wasn’t the songwriter) that would try to write a concept record, but would write two or three songs and then would drop the whole idea. So after the PF s/t CD, I knew I wanted to try to write one. I also knew that I wanted each song to have a stand alone concept as well. I’m not sure if I remember exactly when or how I became so fixated on the World War 1 Christmas truce, but at some point I became somewhat obsessed and did some pretty extensive research on it: reading whole books on the topic, looking up articles from that time, watching documentaries and Joyeux Noel. Anyways, it seemed like that would be the ideal setting to write.

Basically, the overall plot is about a narrator that writes a letter to a war-time widow at some point (possibly decades later) and reveals that he is the soldier that killed her husband. The narrator kind of feels the need to justify everything before he actually gets to the story, so he tells her about his life growing up in a society that glorifies war and about going to boot camp where he was taught how to not feel sympathy when killing one of the “enemy.” Eventually, the impromptu truce occurs and the narrator meets the widowers husband as they were the first ones to bury the dead soldiers before the truce. The two swap addresses at some point. Later, the commands come down that anyone not fighting will face treason charges, and the narrator is forced to kill the widows husband. This story is made up of a bunch of other stories interwoven to make a more compelling narrative, but it is more grounded in fact than I think a lot of people will realize.

SYLO: How does that compare to the concept of your self-titled record?

The self-titled record is conceptual in its approach to songs that all strive to convey the idea that politically, socially, and emotionally things can and must get better. However, I never really intended for it to have a real narrative. Though I do sometimes think of that record as some sort of personal credo that explains all the problems that leads me toward the inevitable conclusion that things must change, but the solutions are left up to the listener. I think the only two songs that offer a definitive answer to cope with world are Make Fun and If We Dance, which both come to the conclusion that the collective “we” must not try to separate our emotions from our actions and that we need to find joy in even terrible situations to avoid complacency.

SYLO: The new record has a lot of guest vocals and guest instrumentation! Can you give us some examples? Why did you choose to record the album this way?

Warren Franklin, Chris from Pulling Teeth, Kjetil and Tules from Wits End, Keith from Empire! Empire!. These whole bands are on the record in at least group vocals form: Lizards Have Personalities, Two Knights, The Ground is Lava, and The Island of Misfit Toys. Brendan Ekstrom from Circa Survive was initially supposed to record a guitar track, but after we sent him the track with both Ted and my guitar parts, he said that he liked it so much that everything he tried to add just distracted from other elements he liked.

I think the main reason that we went this route was because the concept felt like it needed more bells and whistles than a stripped down four piece band could use. Another factor is that Matt and I have shows at our house, so it was an obvious choice to make bands do group vocals. Although, maybe the subconscious reason that I pushed for all the guest musicians is because Axe To Fall is my favorite Converge record because of all the guest musicians.

SYLO: What has Live Together…Die Alone Records been up too lately?

LTDA was a project I started to put out some records that I made that did not have great USA distribution. It’s been on hold while I got my master’s degree, which has left me in quite a lot of debt. Depending on whether I get a steady job or something part-time will determine if LTDA picks up momentum or continues to put out records infrequently. Either way, I have been toying with the notion of putting out some super limited lathe cut 7″ splits for solo songs. Super limited in that I might make 10-15. The problem with that would be that each 7″ would cost more than most people are comfortable paying for 2 or 3 songs (maybe $9 a 7″ plus shipping), but some people might dig it.

SYLO: Any tours soon?

We are going to be touring New England and the Midwest with Empire! Empire! in July. We are still booking some shows, but it looks like the rough outline is this:

13 – Washington DC @ Wasted Dream – 431 Kenyan Street NW – w/ Carved Our Names In Snow and more tba
14 – Philly, PA*
15 – Robbinsville, NJ @ Jake’s House – 7 Donna Street
16 – Willimantic, CT @ The Handsome Woman – 271 Ash Street – 6PM – $5 – Vegan Potluck – w/ tba
17 – Providence, RI @ tba
18 – Boston, MA*
19 – Manchester, NH*
20 – Bangor, Maine *
21 – Burlington, VT @ tba
22 – Albany, NY *
23 – Wilkes-Barre, PA*
24 – Pittsburgh, PA *
25 – Akron, OH *
26 – Ann Arbor, MI*
27 – Huntington, WV – house show – w/ tba
28 – Frostburg, MD @ tba

It’s usually bad news to plan too far ahead, but in the winter I want to try to go to Texas again. Next year I really want to try to do a tour in the UK or Europe, but a lot of that will depend on the financial state that we are all in.

SYLO: Last words or other things you want to add?

Matt: A big “Thank you ” to you and the people running the site!

genre: screamo/holyfuck
country: USA
notes: If you don’t know Burn Idols…may Satan have mercy on your soul. This is the new full length from one of California’s finest. It brings a chaotic, but melodic, grime that will paralyze you with delight. This album will rip your genitals through your mouth and make you eat them for breakfast. Definitely scumcore at it’s best.

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genre: screamo/emo
country: USA
notes: Adaje (from Memphis, TN) opens the split with a heavily post-rock influenced introduction called “Caveman” that sets the mood for the entire split. The bass is thick, the guitars are melodic and the drums build in a perfect crescendo. The song suddenly explodes, giving a sort of  “If These Trees Could Talk” vibe. The only lyrics are “I have singled you out.” But the intensity with which they’re screamed is enough to invoke an emotional response. “Caveman Not Cometh” displays Adaje’s more usual style. The song begins with a haunting bass line and is followed by guitar riffs that would make Hot Cross pee themselves with delight.  The rest of the song pulls at your heart strings, changing tempos and style to keep you on the edge of your seat.  The song ends with the line: “Enter the realm of another man’s soul and ask him if his lungs are functional and use them to scream yourself into another world unlike your own.” Heavy. They have a split 7″ coming out with Lizards Have Personalities next year, so watch out for that!

In contrast to Adaje’s heavy riffage, Shark Bait (from Lafayette, LA) plays a short of emo/screamo fusion made famous by Make Me / Merchant Ships.  In general, they’re a very versatile band.  The beginning of “High Horse” is an upbeat screamed emo jam. The middle has a post-rock interlude that reminds me a bit of “The Appleseed Cast”. The end of the song changes from screaming to singing:  “Fold your arms and make a joke. Your ego will begin to choke you out.” “Something Old, Something New” shows Shark Baits ability to pump out some twinkly jams. The guitar work is awesome and the melodies are super catchy.

Adaje and Shark Bait make a great duo. Both bands are musically and lyrically talented. In addition, they’re both very versatile and don’t play the same chords with the same melody for 4 minutes.  This provides some much needed relief to the screamo/emo community. This is certainly made my “best of the year” list. Make sure to pick up the cassette tape from Carucage Records!

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country: USA
genre: screamo/hardcore

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country: England

genre: screamo/post-hardcore

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