American Nightmare (briefly known as Give Up the Ghost) is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from Boston, Massachusetts. They have released three albums, one EP and a compilation of earlier released material under the name American Nightmare.

History

Formation (1998–2004)

American Nightmare was formed when Tim Cossar and

Wesley Eisold Wesley Eisold (born February 15, 1979) is an American musician, poet and author. He records music under the name Cold Cave, and runs the publishing house Heartworm Press. Career Wesley Eisold is the vocalist of the synthpop darkwave band Cold C ...

(who was then a roadie for

Ten Yard Fight Ten Yard Fight was an American straight edge, football-themed band formed in 1995 in Boston. Along with In My Eyes and Floorpunch, they spearheaded the youth crew revival in 1997. Ten Yard Fight's "official" last show was in Boston on Octobe ...

) met up with Azy Relph and Jesse Van Diest in 1998. They recorded a demo tape in 1999, followed by their debut release, a self-titled EP on

Bridge 9 Records Bridge 9 Records is an American hardcore punk record label located outside Boston, Massachusetts. Bridge Nine is owned by Chris Wrenn of Salem, Massachusetts, who began the label in 1995 and produced its first release in 1996. The label is name ...

in 2000. After extensive touring and line-up changes, the band recorded their second EP, ''The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter''. This was later combined with their self-titled effort to form ''Year One'', which was released by Reflections Records in 2001 and reissued posthumously by Bridge 9. Their debut full-length, ''

Background Music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...

'', was recorded for

Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solely to ...

in 2001 and was released to much acclaim. In 2003, the band faced a legal battle with a similarly named band from Philadelphia. The band then changed their name briefly to the initials "A.N." then to American Nothing for a brief period. After the other American Nightmare threatened to file suit again, they changed their name to Give Up the Ghost (which was intended to be the name of their second album). Their second full length, ''

We're Down Til We're Underground ''We're Down Til We're Underground'' is the second studio album by the American hardcore band Give Up the Ghost. The album was released on September 23, 2003 through Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label bas ...

'' released on Equal Vision, displayed the band experimenting with their sound, with longer songs that did not follow the typical hardcore songwriting formula they had adhered to in their previous releases.

Breakup and aftermath (2004–2010)

The band broke up suddenly in June 2004, a day after announcing the cancellation of a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an tour. The band issued a statement which cited "health and personal reasons" for the split. Members went on to join/form other bands such as

Cold Cave Cold Cave is the moniker for the music of Wesley Eisold, described as a "collage of darkwave, noise, and synthpop." A number of reviewers note the affinity with early 1980s post-punk and early synthpop, in particular Joy Division and New Orde ...

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

, XO Skeletons, Ye Olde Maids,

Head Automatica Head Automatica was an American Rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York fronted by Daryl Palumbo (also of Glassjaw). History The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the hip hop music ...

, Bars, and

the Hope Conspiracy The Hope Conspiracy is an American hardcore punk band from Boston formed in late 1999. They were picked up by Equal Vision Records and Bridge 9 Records before signing a deal with Deathwish Records. Biography With the help of Mark Thompson of ...

. Give Up the Ghost came back into the headlines in 2007 under accusations that

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

had taken lyrics from Wes Eisold, the band's lyricist, resulting in an out-of-court settlement and a credit in the liner notes of both the multi-platinum selling ''

From Under the Cork Tree ''From Under the Cork Tree'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on May 3, 2005, through Island Records as the band's major label debut. The music was composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, ...

'' and ''

Infinity on High ''Infinity on High'' is the third studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on February 6, 2007, by Island Records. Recorded from July to October 2006 at Pass Studios in Los Angeles, California, its music was composed by lead si ...

''.

Reunion shows (2011–present)

After seven years of disbandment, the band reunited under their original name and performed two reunion shows in December 2011. The band performed in

Revere, Massachusetts Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from Downtown Crossing, downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Re ...

on December 29, and in Los Angeles on December 31. Deathwish Inc. reissued the albums ''Background Music'' (2001) and ''We're Down Til We're Underground'' (2003) to coincide with the reunion dates. Since the original 2011 reunion shows, American Nightmare have played a small handful of shows almost every year. In November 2017 they announced a new album for release on February 16, 2018, through Rise Records. The first track from the self-titled album, ''The World Is Blue'', was released December 19, 2017. In January 2022, the band embarked on a ''Background Music'' 20th Anniversary tour, playing the album in its entirety. The tour was supported by Chemical Fix, as well as Gel on the east coast dates and Scowl on the west coast dates.

Musical style and legacy

American Nightmare have been categorised as

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

and

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

. Their music was a reaction against the lyrical positivity of

Youth Crew Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original yout ...

revival bands that had been popular in Boston at the time like In My Eyes, Floorpunch and

Bane Bane may refer to: Fictional characters * Bane (DC Comics), an adversary of Batman * Bane (''Harry Potter''), a centaur in the ''Harry Potter'' series * Bane (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film trilogy * Bane the Druid, a Gu ...

. The band perused a more dark and nihilistic sound in comparison through the influence of

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

. Other influences include Black Flag, the

Cro-Mags Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among th ...

and

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

. Their music often makes use of high-tempos, breakdowns, gang vocals and singalongs. They have been cited as an influence by

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Frameworks A framework is a generic term commonly referring to an essential supporting structure which other things are built on top of. Framework may refer to: Computing * Application framework, used to implement the structure of an application for an op ...

, Killing The Dream,

Defeater A defeater of a belief is evidence that this belief is false. Defeaters are of particular interest to epistemology since they affect whether a belief is justified. An important distinction is between undercutting and rebutting defeaters. Undercu ...

Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other ...

and Dead Swans.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2001, Equal Vision) * ''

'' (2003, Equal Vision) * ''American Nightmare'' (2018, Rise Records)

Compilations

* ''Year One'' (2001, Bridge 9, Reflections Records)

EPs

* ''American Nightmare'' (2000, Bridge 9) * ''The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter'' (2001, Bridge 9) * ''Love American'' (2003, Bridge 9) * ''Live in London'' (2003, Bridge 9) * ''Life Support'' (2020, Deathwish Inc.)

Compilation contributions

* "Depression" – '' Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag'' (2002, Initial)

References

External links

*
Bridge 9 RecordsEqual Vision RecordsInterview w/ Wes Eisold (Feb. 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Nightmare Hardcore punk groups from Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1999 Equal Vision Records artists Bridge 9 Records artists Burning Heart Records artists 1999 establishments in Massachusetts