Hawthorne Heights

Injecting the driving emo-punk of The Promise Ring with just a touch of metal grandeur, Dayton, Ohio's Hawthorne Heights forged its own ground in an already crowded `00s scene.THE SILENCE IN BLACK AND WHITE, the band's 2004 debut, became one of hardcore-icon Victory Records' biggest selling records. In a unique vocal assault, the group employed two vocalists, with dulcet-toned JT Woodruff handling the main vocals and Casey Calvert's guttural screams joining in on the chorus. A bizarre staged battle with rapper Ne-Yo over sales of Hawthorne Heights' second record led to the band's breaking ties with Victory in 2007. That same year, tragedy struck, as Calvert was found dead in his tour bus, markedly changing the band's sound.