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Coexistence of Ferocity and Beauty: A Roundup of Japanese Screamo/Post-Hardcore Bands

POPS writer/editorKEI
Since discovering music during my school days, I’ve mainly listened to Japanese and Korean pop. I have experience writing articles for sites like Utaten. 2000s J-pop and 2010s K-pop were especially the soundtrack of my youth. With the mindset that “good is good,” I enjoy music across genres. Thanks to past work environments and their influence, I was exposed to lots of classic rock and kayōkyoku (Japanese popular songs), which may have broadened the scope of what I love. At RAG MUSIC, I currently focus on K-pop and J-pop. I strive to edit with a feel for the scene and an eye for hit potential.
Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICHane Keisuke
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. After working in a music studio and handling wedding sound, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with a variety of instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in junior high school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on my own musical activities and the experience gained through my work, I produce daily articles, including various song introductions, features on music festivals around the country, and live reports. In music, I enjoy not only rock from Japan and abroad but, lately, a wide range of J-pop as well.

Screamo is said to be a music genre that emerged in the 1990s as a derivative of emo and hardcore.

The term itself is thought to blend “scream,” meaning to shout, with “emo,” which refers to emotional elements.

In other words, broadly speaking, screamo is music that adds shouted vocals—such as shouts and growls—to melodies often described as emotional or “emo.” However, today it has closely intertwined and overlapped with metalcore and post-hardcore, making the boundaries difficult to define.

In this article, we’ll introduce bands that are classified as screamo in a broad sense, including those often discussed within the context of these neighboring genres.

Savor the unique appeal of each band—whether it’s the raw power of intense shouts or the poignant beauty of clean vocals woven into that intensity.

Coexistence of Ferocity and Beauty: A Roundup of Japanese Screamo and Post-Hardcore Bands (41–50)

The Ark Sailing Over TruthASHLEY SCARED THE SKY

ASHLEY SCARED THE SKY – The Ark Sailing Over Truth

The Ark Sailing Over TruthASHLEY SCARED THE SKY

The final work of ASHLEY SCARED THE SKY, the predecessor to MAKE MY DAY.

At that time, they made strongly pop-oriented songs, with Kentaro’s shouted vocals as an accent and guitarist-vocalist Julian delivering clean vocals.

MAKE MY DAY continues to be active today with Isam, who left Remembering Sensation, joining the band.

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ScarfaceEACH OF THE DAYS

EACH OF THE DAYS – “Scarface” Official Music Video

ScarfaceEACH OF THE DAYS

A metalcore band from Nagoya known for crafting a wide-ranging sound, including incorporating percussion among its members.

While their vocal style makes extensive use of shouts, it also carries a certain melancholy in the melodies.

Their loud, metalcore-typical performance and sound are accented with elements like twin-lead guitars, creating a style that sets them apart from other bands.

Although they announced a hiatus in 2018, they are an artist who has achieved popularity beyond Japan, including a U.S.

debut and releases in South Korea.

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Hoshino Takashi

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In conclusion

We’ve put together and introduced Japanese screamo bands under a fairly broad definition.

Among them, there are bands leaning more toward metalcore, emo, or hardcore, each with its own distinct flavor.

In recent years, it’s also common to group the bands featured here under the umbrella of post-hardcore, which makes drawing clear lines increasingly difficult.

Ultimately, treat these genre labels as guidelines, and enjoy exploring the many songs from many different bands!