A second-generation punk and post-hardcore act with ties to several earlier emo and screamo outfits, Brooklyn's I Am the Avalanche emerged in 2005 with a style that pairs considerable sonic heft with raw, emotional intensity. They found success in 2014 with their third full-length effort, Wolverines, which cracked the Billboard 200, and continued to refine their melodic punk and post-hardcore sound on 2020's Dive. Singer and songwriter Vinnie Caruana was the leader of the Movielife, guitarist Brandon Swanson was in Further Seems Forever, and bassist Kellen Robson is a former member of Scraps and Heart Attacks. Formed in Brooklyn by Caruana in 2004 after the Movielife broke up (and following an abortive stint with the nascent Head Automatica), I Am the Avalanche was -- unsurprisingly, for a band with emo tendencies -- first inspired by a bad breakup. After writing a number of songs about the failed relationship, Caruana enlisted Swanson, Robson, second guitarist Michael Ireland, and drummer Brett "Ratt" Romnes to perform them, taking the group name from a line in one of those songs. (In the band's official bio, Caruana claims no prior knowledge of the fact that "I am the avalanche" is a key line in Stephen Dobyns' autobiographical poem "Oh, Immobility, Death's Vast Associate," from his collection Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides.) Signing with the indie label Drive-Thru Records in 2005, I Am the Avalanche debuted on half of a split single with their labelmates the Early November, previewing their debut album with two early demos. Produced by Barrett Jones (Foo Fighters), who also adds keyboards, I Am the Avalanche was released in September 2005. The group's sophomore effort, 2011's Avalanche United, debuted at number nine on the Billboard Heatseekers charts, and 2014's Wolverines became I Am the Avalanche's first release to make an appearance on the Billboard 200. In 2020, the band issued their fourth long-player, the hard-hitting Dive. ~ Stewart Mason