[Western Music] Both Speed and Bittersweetness! Recommended Melodic Hardcore (Melodic Punk) Bands [2025]
In the 2020s, what kind of image comes to mind when you hear the music genre “melocore”? Chances are, the bands and sounds you think of vary depending on your generation.
The heyday of melocore in the ’90s, the early 2000s boom of pop punk and youth punk, the mid-2010s onward pop-punk revival—each band has had its own sound.
In this piece, we focus on melocore—short for melodic hardcore—which has become established in Japan as the abbreviation for melodic hardcore, just as the name suggests.
We’ll also look at related styles like pop punk, selecting both veteran acts and rising younger bands drawing attention in the 2020s.
- [For Beginners] A Collection of Classic Melodic Punk (Melodic Hardcore) Songs
- Must-Listen Now! Classic and Hit Western Rock Songs from the 2000s
- 【2025】Beginner’s Guide to Popular Overseas Tarka Bands【Summary】
- [2025] The State of Western Hard Rock Today: A Roundup of Notable Tracks
- [2025] A Collection of Classic Piano Rock/Pop Songs (Western Music)
- A Western punk band: immortal legends who carry on the fiery spirit.
- [Masterpiece Selection] A Compilation of Classic Western Rock Songs
- [2025] A roundup of recommended alternative metal bands
- [Definitive] An introduction to Western mixture rock: a roundup of recommended classic tracks
- Great Western rock classics and hit songs of the ’90s
- The Greatest American Rock Band [All Time Best]
- [2025] The Appeal of Mixed-Bag Sounds: A Roundup of Western Crossover/Mixture Bands
- [2025] Overseas Metal Bands You Absolutely Can’t Miss — From Veterans to Newcomers
[Western Music] Fast-Paced Yet Bittersweet! Recommended Melodic Hardcore Bands [2025] (111–120)
STRENGTHSaviour
SAVIOUR is a five-piece band from Australia known for its dual male-female vocals.
The aggressive, melancholic hardcore-style screams from the male vocalist and the languid singing of the lone female member, who also handles keyboards, create a striking contrast that makes their sound compelling and distinctly unique.
Their songs are crafted with a dramatic structure, weaving in clean tones and metallic riffs, while the delicate timbre of the keyboards adds color to the sound.
You shouldn’t expect sheer speed, but if you’re looking to hear something different—music influenced by hardcore yet with a different flavor—this is a band I highly recommend.
Weakness/ProgressionSurroundings
Surroundings, a hardcore band from Australia.
True to their beautiful band name, you can hear an exquisitely beautiful hardcore track.
It’s not just heavy distortion—there are arpeggio and shout sections, crushingly heavy passages, and a wealth of band-driven arrangements that make every moment worth hearing.
The chorus has an incredible sense of speed, and the beat—seemingly capturing the velocity of overflowing emotion—will grab your ears.
Fall in love with the beauty of the sound shifts!
Since I Was Born…The Elijah
This is a UK band that guitarist Michael McGough—now active as a member of Being as an Ocean—used to be in.
Their sound treats what you might call melodic hardcore as just one element, and is characterized by a post-rock and post-hardcore approach that makes heavy use of spatial effects.
The way their music unfolds from ambient, quiet passages into walls of roaring sound is simply beautiful.
The contrast between hardcore-style screams and the delicate, emotional clean vocals is also superb.
As an evolved form of hardcore, it’s worth knowing that bands like this existed.
Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never DieFour Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop-punk band.
Building on a pop-punk foundation, they skillfully blend elements of post-hardcore and melodic hardcore to create a distinctive sound.
The song title means “Heroes are never forgotten, and legends never die.” It’s an upbeat, bright track paired with powerful vocals.
Almost ThereHeart In Hand
A tear-jerking must for fans: a melancholic, lyrical new-school hardcore/metalcore that fuses the breakneck drive of punk and hardcore with riffs and phrases steeped in heavy metal influence.
HEART IN HAND are a five-piece from Southampton, UK.
Sadly, they disbanded in 2015, but the three albums they left behind are all highly acclaimed.
Their second album, “ALMOST THERE,” released in 2013, was produced by members of fellow UK metalcore favorites BURY TOMORROW.
If you want to immerse yourself in melodic yet metallic hardcore, this is a band we highly recommend.
BlurAmbleside
They’re a lyrical hardcore band from Australia formed in 2013.
They’ve toured with Counterparts and deliver a highly polished sound.
Beyond being progressive melodic hardcore, they also have strong post-hardcore elements, with dynamic song arrangements that shift in intensity and effective melodies in the clean parts.
If you like bands featured on Dreambound, you’re sure to enjoy them.
Play PretendBeing As An Ocean
This is the song “Play Pretend” by the California melodic hardcore band Being As An Ocean.
Surprisingly, the intro starts with a breakbeat and a math rock-like sound.
From there, you’re pulled straight into a blast of loud melodic hardcore.
The way they shape the dynamics between calm and intensity is creative, too.
It’s sung by rhythm guitarist Michael McGough, and his powerful yet wistful voice is extremely emotional.
The song carries the message that we must keep transforming the negative events that life brings into something positive.