KOYO

Emerging from Stony Brook, New York, Koyo assembled in 2020 as a melodic hardcore supergroup whose sound also draws on classic emo and punk-pop influences. The five members—Joey Chiaramonte, TJ Rotolico, Sal Argento, Harold Griffin, and Stephen Spanos—had long been connected through earlier projects that included SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Typecaste, Rain of Salvation, Hangman, and Adrenaline. Their rapid integration into the East Coast melodic hardcore community rested on a foundation laid by Long Island emo-punk and hardcore bands such as Taking Back Sunday and the Movielife.

After issuing the debut EP Painting Words into Lines in early 2020 and the follow-up Drives Out East the next year, the group signed with Pure Noise in 2022. The label promptly issued the single “Ten Digits Away,” then released the band’s first full-length album, Would You Miss It?, in 2023. That record opened with the combative lead single “You’re on the List (Minus One).”