Metalcore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Metalcore is a musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore. Although the genre has risen in popularity after the turn of the millennium, it is not as many would believe a recent genre, as bands such as Integrity have been around since the late 1980s.
Defining the metalcore sound is not an easy task as bands have often fused hardcore-influenced sound and attitude with almost any imaginable type of metal. In fact, the earliest sings of this genre before a name could be put to it was called "CROSSOVER". see Crossover. The band that declared the crossover was DRI on their late 1980's album of the same name. Other bands like Nuclear Assault are the bleeding edge pioneers themselves.
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The early scene
Although not thought of as a metalcore band today, Judge was arguably one of the earliest bands to start fusing heavy metal-influenced riffing with more traditional hardcore sound without being a thrash metal band. This idea obviously spread outwards, and although their first real release ("Those Who Fear Tomorrow") wasn't until 1991, "Integrity" was formed in 1989. Most songwriting by metalcore bands at this time was similar to New York hardcore bands, but differed in their harder sound thanks to use of double bass drums, harder distortion and louder, more gruff vocal shouts. This basic sound of metalcore has received the epithets - which can be used both with and without derision - "tough guy hardcore" due to the lyrical focus, which is often similar to older hardcore in that they call for moral and mental strength and integrity, but may also have a slight focus on violence, or "moshcore" due to the often breakdown-centric, mosh-friendly songwriting that some bands use.
During the middle of the 1990s, bands started expanding the metalcore sound, prime examples being All Out War who used straightforward thrash riffing, as well as bands such as Rorschach, Starkweather and Deadguy, who experimented with looser, often discordant songwriting as well as more untraditional rhythm. Converge, although starting out as self-confessed "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs", have since bloomed into a hybrid of hardcore, metal and progressive instrumental and electronic experimentation. Zao is another band that left a mark upon the genre with their Carcass-like vocals and varied songwriting, particularly the Christian bands of the genre.
The later scene
From the late 1990s and particularly after the turn of the millennium, metalcore has grown immensely, to the point where major record companies are taking interest in the genre. Recent (2005) releases, such as As I Lay Dying's "Shadows Are Security" and Norma Jean's "O' God, the Aftermath" have managed to sell well enough to make it onto Billboard charts.
| Hardcore punk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Punk rock |
| Cultural origins: | early 1980s North America |
| Typical instruments: | Guitar - Bass - Drums (Double kick) |
| Mainstream popularity: | Little to none during the careers of the bands, has gained much popularity in recent years |
| Derivative forms: | Emo - Post-hardcore |
| Subgenres | |
| Christian hardcore - Crust_punk - D-beat - Gothcore - Mathcore - Melodic hardcore - Power violence - Queercore - Skate punk - Straight edge - Thrashcore - Youth crew | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Crossover thrash - Funkcore - Grunge - Metalcore - Pop hardcore | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Australia - Brazil - Canada - Italy - Japan - Scandinavia: Umeå - USA: Boston - Chicago - Detroit - Los Angeles - Minneapolis - New Jersey - New York - Phoenix - North Carolina - Seattle - San Francisco - Southern California - Texas - DC | |
| Other topics | |
| Hardcore dancing - List of bands - DIY Punk Ethic | |
One sound that has become immensely popular is to mix Gothenburg melodic death metal, popularized by more traditional metal bands such as At the Gates and In Flames, together with a more traditional metalcore sound and occasionally slow, melodic emo-styled passages, or breakdowns. Today, many famous metalcore bands play this style, such as Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and Unearth. Poison the Well are given some credit for making this sound popular, even though they do not strictly fit into that sound.
Some bands, such as Botch, expanded on the blueprints of Rorschach and Deadguy, bringing forth full-blown mathematical discordance, popularized particularly by more recent bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Norma Jean.
The sounds of metalcore today are so varied, that one can almost use a mix-and-match approach of aural particulars and still arrive at a particular band's sound. For example, on later releases, Shai Hulud were able to mix extremely varied, melodic, near-mathematical songwriting with the more traditional hardcore sound.
The breakdown
- Main article: Breakdown (-core)
Central to many bands of the genre, quite a few of which eschew traditional verse-chorus-verse songwriting, is the breakdown. Stereotypically, a breakdown consists of slowing a song down to a 4/4 rhythm, giving the guitars room to play a set of rhythmically oriented riffs, usually on open strings so as to achieve the lowest sound the guitars are tuned for. These riffs are often accented by the drummer through double kick bass drums. Breakdowns are usually responded to by an audience by hardcore dancing. Vocalists also tend to throw in a single, repeated statement throughout the breakdown, giving those who are not moshing an opportunity to sing along. Many metalcore bands rely on having memorable breakdowns rather than memorable choruses. As songs with breakdown have become more and more common, some bands have used their far more often than was previously the norm, with some songs even resembling one elongated breakdown.
Bands
- Main article: List of metalcore bands
