At the Drive-In

Although Texas emo-punk outfit At the Drive-In may be best remembered as the training ground for Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, founders of the prog juggernaut Mars Volta, the band holds a hallowed place in the annals of the late-'90s emo scene. They played an angular, aggressive, tightly honed style of punk that also utilized a keen sense of melody and pop structures. At the Drive-in's less King Crimson-loving members went on to form Sparta following the band's breakup in 2001.