This tension and collaboration of ideas has led to an awesome set, one that I’ve had the privilege of seeing a handful of times; it’s sweet, yet aggressive, melancholic yet energizing. Moments of rage and screaming lungs out onstage are followed by soft guitar lulls and soothing vocals. To engage with their music is to feel intense, varied emotion within the span of a half hour.

Having three guitarists has helped them achieve this. “Alo is the rhythm guitarist, he can do some leads if he wants to, but he wants to stay in the chorus, the strumming structure. Khalilian is just like the master of tapping and finding little melodies and noodling, and Nate’s the bridge between the two,” Allen said.

Even though Cruz created the vision for Camp Werewolf, their sound is ever-changing. They each have their own understanding of what emo is, and are eager to incorporate that into future work.

“I feel like we’re all really ready to step into the evolved sound,” Best said. “We want to be more complex.”

Khalilian agreed. They’d like to see the band “go for prettier and uglier at the same time.” It’s all about contrast, which is important in a genre defined so heavily by its past.

Emo has had its heyday of sorts, defined by recklessness and a lack of accountability, and they don’t necessarily resonate with that. “I don’t even remember the vibes of that era, but it was very much like ‘The night is ours. We can do anything we want to and there’s no consequences to our actions,’” said Khalilian, “and then a bunch of emo kids fucking embodied that and are ruining people’s lives.”

Camp Werewolf isn’t interested in ruining anyone’s lives, nor do they want to embody outdated ideals. Nostalgia is not at play here – what’s happening with Camp Werewolf is far more forward thinking.

“I’m interested in burying emo under sincerity,” Khalilian said. “In a grave,” Best added.

-RVAMAG 2023