What’s the sound of Story Of The Year? Loud guitars, massive singalong choruses, and uplifting perseverance. Few records helped build the post-hardcore scene as swiftly as the band’s debut, Page Avenue, one of the first of its kind to sell a million copies. “Until the Day I Die” endures as both an anthem and mission statement. Tours with Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Deftones, and The Used cemented Story Of The Year’s reputation as a stunning and engaging live act. The connection between the band and audience transformed Story Of The Year from teenagers working in a St. Louis pizza chain franchise into hard rock headliners. Fans grew together with Dan Marsala, Ryan Philips, Josh Wills, and Adam Russell, from Page Avenue (2003), In the Wake of Determination (2005), The Black Swan (2008), The Constant (2010), Wolves (2017), to Tear Me to Pieces (2022). They specialize in intense, passionate, confessional compositions that inspire and empower. Songs like “The Antidote,” “Real Life,” “Miracle,” “The Ghost of You and I,” “Anthem of Our Dying Day,” and “Take Me Back” resonate with anyone determined to triumph over adversity. Until the day I die, indeed.

Senses Fail have been called any number of things across their near 25 years as a band – emo, screamo, post-hardcore, metalcore, pop punk. It’s testament to the band’s perpetual evolution as much as it is their steely endurance – a quality which frontman Buddy Nielsen has required bottomless reserves of along the ride. It’s through the songs of Senses Fail that Nielsen has forever made sense of and peace with life’s highs and lows; a journey that began in the leafy suburbs of Ridgewood, New Jersey with the iconic Gold-selling debut album Let It Enfold You, and which has since seen Senses Fail become one of rock music’s most cherished, celebrated names.

Armor For Sleep’s emotionally charged lyrics, energetic live shows, and D.I.Y. work ethic have won the New Jersey-based quartet a loyal fan base. After distributing demos, Albany, New York-based indie label Equal Vision Records signed the band and released their first two concept albums: Dream to Make Believe, released in 2003, and What to Do When You Are Dead, released in 2005. The latter spawned the popular singles "Car Underwater" and "The Truth About Heaven," receiving heavy airplay. In 2009, after years of touring supporting their third album, Smile For Them, the group announced an indefinite hiatus and pursued other creative projects. In 2020, Armor For Sleep’s Ben Jorgensen revisited a lost idea for a conceptual album nearly 17 years in the making, leading to the release of their fourth full length album in 2022, The Rain Museum.