Personally have loved that kind of music since the 5th grade and still jam it to this day.
Stuff like Millencolin, Good 4 Nothing, No Trigger, Pulley, Belvedere, Rufio, Zebrahead and the like.

That stuff was my go-to for music listening in the mid to late 1990s. I'd gotten pretty burned out on metal during that time frame, for a number of reasons that take too long to explain, but lets just say my metal hiatus is long over... Anyway yeah, some of my all time favorite bands from this time- Face to Face, early Blink-182 (pre-"Enema of the State" before they went all teenybopper pop) Pennywise, Sum 41- I dug all that stuff.

Some of the ones you mention- I've never heard of Zebrahead , Rufio,or Belvedere, but I got to see Millencolin live (and dug em) and Pulley were pretty friggin' good.

Dillenger Four was another band from that era I really dug, played the heck out of their first album- they were a bit harder edged but still melodic and super energetic and good. I really need to check out some of the newer bands in this style. These days when people talk about "hardcore" most of the stuff I hear- it's mostly the jarhead beatdown tough guy aggro stuff that doesn't do a whole lot for me. Or the baby tantrum vocals crap with dissonant riffs and breakdowns- yuck.

"These days when people talk about "hardcore" most of the stuff I hear- it's mostly the jarhead beatdown tough guy aggro stuff that doesn't do a whole lot for me. Or the baby tantrum vocals crap with dissonant riffs and breakdowns- yuck."
Understandable though I do enjoy that stuff myself, if you want some good hardcore or melodic HC I'd recommend:
Mindset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nF2dcH7T9w
True Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kRlxYRKlSY
Counterparts (if you're cool with melodic HC/metalcore fusion, they do a great job of it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1h6x9-7QoY
City Hunter - Deep Blood (Noisy hardcore with a serial killer aesthetic)
https://youthattack.bandcamp.com/album/deep-blood

Bad Religion is life. I believe in some circles they are considered "melodic hardcore" (at least the 80s stuff).

Aside from those already mentioned, I dig a band called Chixdiggit, who are considered pop-punk. They are mostly humorous lyrically, and their style is straight Ramones-core, but damn they have earworms for days.



In terms of Barker-era Blink, I'd suggest you revisit the self-titled/untitled album from 2003 and Neighborhoods. I would hardly call either "teenybopper pop", but I'd also not call either "pop-punk". They are more like dark-alt rock through a pop-punk filter. Kind of like they wanted to try and do some of the things The Cure did but keep a punk-ish edge.

You can skip California entirely, though.

I'm a huge sucker for this kinda stuff. Very into the 90s Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords bands - NOFX, Strung Out, Lagwagon, Face to Face, Bad Religion, Pennywise, No Use for a Name, etc. Also into stuff like A Wilhelm Scream, No Trigger, Much the Same, and Heartsounds (a melodic punk band with two members of Light This City). AFI during their Nitro years was basically my favorite band of all time for a while, they're probably the reason I started getting into music with a darker tone to it ("Black Sails in the Sunset" and "The Art of Drowning" do have a vague metal influence I'd say) - I actually really love "Sing the Sorrow" too even though it's (gasp!) not punk and (BIGGER gasp!) made them mainstream. And yeah, I dig those early Blink-182 albums too - up to and including the self-titled album (which was pretty experimental by pop punk standards and mostly worked). "Neighborhoods" was kind of like a less good s/t, and "California" was mostly garbage. Also a huge fan of early Offspring, they're what got me interested in punk music in the first place. Seeing the Bouncing Souls in May, excited for that - I'm ready to feel 15 again. lol

I'm also into Lookout-style stuff like Mr. T Experience, Screeching Weasel, early Green Day, Squirtgun, Fifteen, and Crimpshrine. Also a big fan of stuff like Jawbreaker, Lifetime, Dillinger Four, Alkaline Trio and Kid Dynamite.


I would put Off With Their Heads, Red City Radio, Banner Pilot, The Lawrence Arms and the first couple Menzingers albums in this category. Check them out if you haven't yet.