City of Caterpillar

The post-hardcore quartet City of Caterpillar brought their brand of screamo-infused post-rock to the world in 2000, releasing their eponymous debut album in 2002 before disbanding in 2003. Following a string of reunion shows starting in 2016, the group returned to the studio for their sophomore album, 2022's Mystic Sisters, issuing it some 20 years after their debut.

Formed in 2001 in Richmond, Virginia by Brandon Evans (vocals, guitar), Jeff Kane (guitar), Kevin Longendyke (vocals, bass), and Ryan Parrish (drums), each member of City of Caterpillar had come from local bands from the underground hardcore scene. Taking elements of screamo, hardcore, and post-rock, the quartet became known for their extended post-rock workouts that would descend into the brutalness of hardcore. City of Caterpillar made their debut in 2000 with a split single with System 2600 before following it up a year later with another split, this time with pg. 99, with whom they shared members. The release was their first for New York label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Level+Plane%22">Level Plane</a>, which was also home to <a href="spotify:artist:1aDpQ3bo57IlYWmsG5sdlp">Melt Banana</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2vRvgKobVJ9r3t52PpLdmY">Racebannon</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0CfjW2VuMdrhWodHtG7DWi">Envy</a>. The band headed to Maryland to record what would become their debut album, the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Level+Plane%22">Level Plane</a>-issued City of Caterpillar. Upon release in 2002, the album earned praise for its forward-thinking mix of screamo and post-rock and would eventually go on to become regarded as a key album in the post-screamo scene. After tours of the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada, in-group disagreements came to a head, and the band split the following year, with members going on to form other projects.

In 2016, after being invited to reform over the years, the original lineup came back together for four sold-out shows, while label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Robotic+Empire%22">Robotic Empire</a> reissued a remastered version of their debut album. More shows followed, and the band re-entered the studio to record the track "Driving Spain Up a Wall," a long-sought-after offcut from their debut album, which had only ever been played at a handful of shows. Over the next few years, the group played infrequent concerts across the world but, buoyed by their time together, returned to the studio to start recording their sophomore album. Produced by the band themselves and mixed by Jack Shirley (<a href="spotify:artist:4XpPveeg7RuYS3CgLo75t9">Deafheaven</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0wNZvrIMNUCs24G0wFg2D6">Jeff Rosenstock</a>), the atmospherically dense and epic Mystic Sisters was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Relapse+Records%22">Relapse Records</a> in late 2022. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi