Scarlett O'Hara

Emerging from McAllen on the Texas border, the post-hardcore unit Scarlett O'Hara specializes in ferocious metalcore driven by raw screams, thunderous percussion, sporadic melodic passages, and elevated clean singing. Their first album, Lost in Existence, surfaced in the late 2000s while most of the founding members were still attending high school; the group then withdrew from activity for nearly ten years before resurfacing in 2018 with a more seasoned second full-length, Welcome Back to the Brodeo.

Rene Lopez and Eddie Cano established the band in 2007 as its original vocalists. Alex Samodouroff (handling guitar, bass, and production), Edwin Chapa on drums, and Morgan Vincent Hochstetler on keys were added shortly afterward, and this lineup delivered the 2007 EP Call It Reckless. Chapa and Hochstetler soon departed, replaced by Arnie Bernal (drums and vocals) and Logan Burns (keys, guitar, and vocals), both classmates of Cano at McAllen Memorial High School. Indie-leaning bassist Andrew Mena, the oldest participant, completed the six-piece roster. Working for Rise Records, the sextet prepared Lost in Existence, which reached stores in 2010. Drawing from the Devil Wears Prada, We Came as Romans, A Skylit Drive, Of Mice & Men, and additional scene predecessors, the musicians crisscrossed the country, cultivated an audience, exited their contract with Rise, and abruptly declared an open-ended break in 2011.

Activity resumed only in 2017 when Cano, Bernal, Burns, Mena, and Samodouroff revealed intentions to record a new album. The resulting five-member release, the melodic Welcome Back to the Brodeo (South Texas Metalcore), appeared at the close of summer 2018. The set reached the Top 20 of the Hard Rock chart, led the regional Heatseekers ranking, and climbed to number 20 on the national Heatseekers survey. Its two singles were “Locked from Within” and “Welcome Back to the Brodeo (Step Right Up).”