The Enduring Influence of Saetia
The Legacy and Impact of NYC Screamo Pioneers
The New York City hardcore scene gave rise to its fair share of legends. What began with the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front soon gave the world Madball, H2O, and 25 Ta Life, along with the more melodic stylings of Quicksand and Texas is the Reason. Each of these bands is a giant in their own right, but one of the most influential groups of this era was a short lived, relatively unknown act that forever changed the trajectory of post-hardcore.
Saetia was a short-lived yet transformative band active from 1997 to 1999. In just over two years, their frantic, emotionally charged sound carved a lasting niche in screamo, post-hardcore, and DIY punk, inspiring generations of musicians and fans.
Now that they’re back on the scene, read on to learn more about Saetia, your favorite band’s favorite band.
Formation & Active Years
Saetia emerged in February 1997, born from NYU students immersed in New York City’s vibrant hardcore scene. The lineup featured vocalist Billy Werner, guitarists Jamie Behar and Adam Marino, bassist Alex Madara, and drummer Greg Drudy. “They were just some kids from New York City. Billy was from Queens. They played venues I had been to and my bands had played at,” said Sal of Gatto Black. For people growing up attracted to the hardcore sound, having a local band like Saetia was a dream. “Being from the Bronx myself, hanging in Queens a bunch as a kid, it deepened the connection.” Charles Cure of hardcore band Spiritkiller said, “I loved it right away,” of his first time hearing Saetia, “they didn't sound like anything else I had heard before.”
Set against the NYC backdrop, Saetia’s name—a playful misspelling of Miles Davis’ "Saeta"—hinted at their eclectic roots, fusing jazz, hardcore, and emo into a distinctive sound. They debuted at ABC No Rio, a DIY mainstay, followed up by a demo cassette that year (later reissued as a 7" on Drudy’s Level Plane Records) introducing the underground scene to the infamous song "Venus and Bacchus" for the first time. The band’s unique sound made a strong impression, as Charles Cure reflected: “The musicality of their songwriting and elements that they brought in from outside of hardcore especially made me appreciate that songs could be musically complex and thought out, but still be raw and immediate. That's a vibe I still love in music generally and try to add to my own whenever possible.”
Their time active as a band was characterized by electric and chaotic live shows, driven by Werner’s near-breakdown intensity and the band’s sonic style. Tragedy struck in December 1998 when Alex Madara succumbed to an allergic reaction, losing his life after being hospitalized. Colin Bartoldus stepped in, followed by Steve Roche. Saetia played their final gig in 1999, disbanding after just over two years and leaving behind a potent legacy of 17 songs.
Key Releases
Saetia’s discography, though brief, is iconic:
Demo Cassette (1997):
Saetia recorded a demo in 1997 with four tracks, including "Venus and Bacchus" and "One Dying Wish." Initially self-released, it was later reissued as a 7" by Level Plane Records (founded by Greg Drudy).Saetia LP (1998, Mountain Records):
Released in 1998 by The Mountain Cooperative (often shortened to Mountain Records), this is Saetia’s only full-length album, featuring nine tracks including "Woodwell" and "Notres Langues Nous Trompes."Eronel 7" (2000, Witching Hour Records):
This EP was recorded in 1999 but released posthumously in 2000 by Witching Hour Records. It includes three tracks (often cited as two in some sources due to a short intro), showing a slight evolution with Steve Roche on bass.A Retrospective (2001, Level Plane):
Released in 2001 by Level Plane Records, this CD compiles all of Saetia’s studio recordings (demo, LP, and Eronel) plus five live tracks from a 1999 ABC No Rio show.Collected (2016, Secret Voice):
Released in 2016 by Secret Voice (a Deathwish Inc. imprint run by Jeremy Bolm), this double-vinyl set includes all studio recordings from the demo, LP, and Eronel.Tendrils (2025, Secret Voice):
In January 2025, Saetia released "Tendrils," their first new song in 26 years, part of a three-song EP titled Tendrils announced and released in 2025 via Secret Voice.
Musical Style and Innovation
Saetia fused screamo’s ferocity with post-hardcore’s complexity. Behar and Marino’s angular, dissonant riffs—like the jagged weave of "The Sweetness and the Light"—struck a balance between melody and chaos, distinct from Mineral’s polished restraint or Earth Crisis’s unrelenting force. “The riffs and vocals held such a weight,” recalled Pat of Ride the Fury Records, “you could feel the importance of what they were conveying.” Drudy’s fluid, jazz-tinged drumming—often shifting from 4/4 to 7/8 mid-song—added an organic edge, while Werner’s vocals—screams, yells, and spoken bursts—delivered what Sal calls not a performance but “an expulsion, an expression,” as heard in "Notres Langues Nous Trompes." In "Venus and Bacchus," the interplay of frenzied guitar riffs and Werner’s spoken-to-screamed breakdown is a perfect example of their style.
Rejecting the hardcore songwriting conventions of the time, their songs featured sporadic, sonic shifts—clear callbacks to their jazz influence that defied the era’s predictable structures. Tracks like "The Sweetness and the Light" switch from jagged riffs to hushed interludes, not unlike the style of Miles Davis, whose "Saeta" inspired their name. “There’s zero verse/chorus/verse/chorus flow in their songs—it keeps you on your toes!” explained Pat Sullivan, cohost of the Gindicated podcast by night and audio post producer by day.
“One thing Saetia offers is a lot of texture whereas a lot of post hardcore bands focus on rhythm,” he said. You can hear the textural depth in their unpredictable layering—guitars that twist and shimmer rather than drive a steady beat. “There’s an eeriness about Saetia’s guitar work—especially in the more subdued, quiet sections.” At a time where most of their peers leaned into either aggression or melody, Saetia carved a niche by embracing both.
Post-Breakup
After Saetia’s disbandment in 1999, its members pursued new creative outlets—Billy Werner and Greg Drudy formed the angular, emotive Hot Cross, while Jamie Behar and Steve Roche formed Off Minor—but Saetia’s legacy continued to gain momentum. Sal of Gatto Black actually found his way to Saetia through one of these offshoots first: “I got into Hot Cross prior to hearing Saetia,” he said. “Josh Jakubowski and Casey Boland are two of my favorite guitar players ever. The way their parts weave and duel with each other is so captivating.”
Their uncompromising DIY ethos, rooted in raw performances and independent releases, left an indelible mark on the underground. It fueled Level Plane Records—co-founded by Drudy—whose roster, including bands like The Fiction and A Day in Black and White, carried forward Saetia’s spirit of authenticity and experimentation. The ripple effect caused by their breakup helped ignite the 2000s screamo boom, as a new wave of acts drew inspiration from their chaotic energy and emotional vulnerability, cementing Saetia’s role as a catalyst in the genre’s evolution. “I think the fact that they weren't around anymore gave their fans the ok to go out and try to make more music that built off that foundation,” Charles speculated. “They’ve been a huge influence in creating the screamo/skramz scene as a whole, which is thriving in a big way,” he said.
Sal reflects on their pivotal role: “The bands that struck me in my youth were Thursday, At the Drive-In, Cursive, and early Dischord stuff—Rites of Spring, Minor Threat, Embrace. Finding Saetia was like uncovering a missing link, a connector between those eras, the torn piece of a treasure map. It hit me: ‘Oh, I see what you’re doing there, Geoff Rickly.’” He also praises Werner’s delivery: “In particular, the vocal performances were what really struck me initially and continue to stay with me. The way Billy delivers every line, just feels like the only way he could have possibly done it. It's like they just hit record and he just sang each word exactly as it felt.”
Charles witnessed this impact firsthand: “I was touring a lot in the early 2000's and I remember seeing and playing with lots of younger hardcore bands that were pretty clearly drawing from Saetia, especially the raw style and emotional intensity of Billy's vocals and the mathy and jazzy elements of the songwriting…I can think of a couple bands that pretty much existed only because some kids got hold of A Retrospective when it was released and then wanted to try to play that music.”
Shep of Kirkby Kiss observed, “You can certainly hear their influence in many bands over the past few years into new bands starting right now,” pointing to Saetia’s lasting mark on the screamo landscape. Pat Sullivan traces their echo in modern acts like La Dispute, Touché Amoré, and Pianos Become the Teeth, noting how their intricate guitar work—layered and dynamic—prefigured post-rock’s gradual infusion into hardcore.
Shep also draws a parallel to Indian Summer: “Another band who started, dropped a bunch of great music, played a jillion shows in a year, and then vanished,” highlighting how Saetia’s brief, explosive run amplified their enduring resonance, “those bands are always special.” Charles agreed, saying, “They had big ideas and assembled them in a new way, and when something special like that has a brief lifespan, everyone that wanted more of that thing has to either treasure what they left behind or try to take what's there to its logical conclusion with a project of their own. Saetia got people to do both.”
Reunion and Revival
For countless new fans who found Saetia after their time, fate offered a rare encore. A 2016 reunion with Werner, Roche, Marino, Bartoldus, and Schlatter, saw Saetia playing sold-out shows for charity, donating over $33,000 to trans rights and abortion access. Then in 2022, a full resurgence. Sal recalls their humility onstage: “People yelled ‘you’re legends!’ and they’re like, ‘What the fuck is happening?’”
Saetia full set, June 22nd 2024, Middle East Downstairs Cambridge MA, hat tip Sal for sharing the video
In January 2025, "Tendrils" debuted, the first single on the Tendrils EP. Sullivan praises the track “Corkscrew Spine” for its ATDI-like punch, noting the mix lets “nuanced elements peek through clearer.” He said, “They’ve kept up with their classic emotional delivery but I feel like there’s a natural musical maturity in the new songs. The mix on the new EP is excellent. It reminded me of something you might hear on ATDI’s Relationship of Command.”
Saetia may not have seen the commercial success of some of their peers, yet their influence endures, evident in the bands they touched and the overwhelming reception to their return. They crystallized screamo as raw expression, merging hardcore’s edge with emo’s heart. “They leave it all on the stage—that’s what it’s about,” Shep says of their cathartic ethos. Sal credits Werner’s vocal truth—“just fucking say it”—for shaping his own work. Their twinkly riffs and dynamic swells in iconic tracks like "Venus and Bacchus" or “The Sweetness and The Light” ripple through the emo revival and modern screamo, a testament to their uncompromising sound.
Ultimately, modern hardcore and its many offshoots and adjacent genres can trace their contemporary sounds back to Saetia. As Charles said, “they expanded the boundaries of what's possible in the sound of hardcore music in a significant way, and it is more interesting because of that.”
Check out their new Tendrils EP, dig back into their classic catalog, and keep your fingers crossed for more from these screamo legends.
Thank you to Pat from Ride the Fury Records, Pat Sullivan from Gindicated, Shep from Kirkby Kiss, Sal from Gatto Black, and Charles from Spiritkiller for all contributing immensely to the research and direction of this piece.
Sources:
Level Plane Records (archived)
Brooklyn Vegan 2022 reunion coverage
AllMusic Saetia bio
20 Years Ago Saetia Defined Screamo in Just 9 Songs: David Anthony, VICE