Original development (1980s–1990s)

The earliest melodic hardcore emerged from the Californian hardcore punk scene by the early 1980s. This includes Descendents, who formed in 1978. Their earliest work was simple, pop-influenced punk rock, but they went on to mix this melodic approach with hardcore, inspiring both melodic hardcore and pop punk groups.^[19] Bad Religion, who formed in Los Angeles in 1979, played in a somewhat similar vein, but their approach was more "angry" and politically charged.^[20] They recorded their debut album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, in 1981.^[21]

The Faith's 1983 EP Subject to Change is thought of as one of the first melodic hardcore records, as significant as the music of Bad Religion or the Descendents.^[22] On the release, the band added and moved away from the more straightforward hardcore punk of their earlier work towards a more complex, textured, and melodic sound, accompanied by introspective lyrics; the release is notable for its influence on post-hardcore.^[23]

Dag Nasty are a key melodic hardcore band^[24] that formed during the mid-1980s as part of the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, with Brian Baker (ex-Minor Threat) on guitar. In 1988, the band All formed, featuring three members of The Descendents. The band made music in a broadly similar vein to the Descendents, and were initially fronted by Dave Smalley of Dag Nasty.^[21] Gorilla Biscuits came out of the late 1980s New York hardcore scene, and played a melodic form of the hardcore subgenre known as youth crew. Youth crew itself takes a lot of influence from 7 Seconds, who ventured into melodic hardcore on albums such as The Crew. Turning Point, a New Jersey hardcore band, also emerged from the youth crew movement, but their later material moved towards melodic hardcore, with more complex music and introspective lyrics.^[25]

In 1994, H₂O formed, mixing melodic elements of Washington D.C., with New York and California hardcore punk. Lifetime was a notable emo group whose sound drew heavily on pop punk and melodic hardcore.^[26] Along with other melodic hardcore groups, they had much influence on subsequent pop punk, including bands such as Fall Out Boy and Saves the Day.^[27][28] When Lifetime broke up, some of their members formed Kid Dynamite.^[29] During the 1990s, the "Epi-Fat" sound (a variant of skate punk named after the labels that housed its key bands, Epitaph Records and Fat Wreck Chords) was popular, and key bands such as NOFX, Pennywise and Strung Out bordered on melodic hardcore influenced by the likes of Descendents and Bad Religion.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Rise Against, formed in 1999, achieved widespread success by 2004.

Modern melodic hardcore (2000s–present)

Blood Youth are a modern melodic hardcore band formed in 2014.

Rise Against, formed in 1999, achieved widespread commercial success with the release of their major label debut Siren Song of the Counter Culture in 2004, along with bands such as Strike Anywhere,^[34] Consumed,^[35] Ignite,^[36] Belvedere^[37] and A Wilhelm Scream,^[38] who continued the traditional style of melodic hardcore. Whereas, in the early to mid-2000s, the genre was transformed through the work of newly formed bands including Killing the Dream, Modern Life Is War, The Hope Conspiracy, Sinking Ships, Have Heart, Verse, The Carrier, Ruiner, This Is Hell, as well as the Canadian band Comeback Kid, many of which are housed by key hardcore labels Bridge 9 Records and Deathwish Inc.^[24] Thereafter by about 2009, "the likes of Defeater, Touché Amoré, the Ghost Inside, Counterparts, Being as an Ocean, Stick to Your Guns, Vanna, and many more became the new faces of melodic, emotional hardcore",^[24][39][40] creating an overlap with post-hardcore and metalcore in current melodic hardcore.

Many bands have crossed over into or out of the genre. Beartooth's sophomore album Aggressive marked a departure from their conventional hardcore punk sound^[41] into a style more reminiscent of melodic hardcore.^[42] Hundredth began as a band fusing metalcore and melodic hardcore, however eventually evolved into playing shoegaze on their fourth album Rare.^[8] Traditional melodic hardcore band Strung Out began playing a heavily metal-influenced style on their eighth album Transmission.Alpha.Delta.^[43] After playing in the genre on their albums Black Sails in the Sunset and The Art of Drowning, California's AFI began to play a more commercially accessible sound on 2003's Sing the Sorrow.^[44][45][46] The White Noise began as an electronicore band on their first two records Set the Sun and Desolate, before beginning to play melodic metallic hardcore.^[47]