Metalcore

Metalcore band Cave In

Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy and percussive pedal point guitar riffs and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.

Quotes about metalcore

Etymology and characteristics

• In the mid-'90s, metal and punk started to grow closer than ever before, and metallic hardcore (later shortened to metalcore) was born. This wasn't the first time these worlds collided, of course, with bands like Motörhead and Misfits bridging the gap between metal and punk in decades prior. However, by the end of the century it was the first time that this fusion was widespread enough to birth an entire genre, which still reigns supreme today as heavy music's most popular form. The genre started to take shape and become more popular by the early '00s, with bands like Killswitch Engage pulling it towards metal influences, while acts like Botch and Cave In kept the hardcore punk sound closer to the heart.
  • Jorge Martins of Ultimate-Guitar [1]

• Despite what Atreyu may think, the roots of metalcore go back to the late ’80s and it was a fully formed genre by the early-to-mid ’90s, way before the mainstream metalcore boom of the early 2000s that put a lot of the genre’s overly-polished bands on MTV. Like a lot of underground genres of music that suddenly hit it big, metalcore had some growing pains, but recent years have seen the genre’s influence being reinterpreted by great newer bands who — going by their age — presumably found metalcore from the bands on MTV and then traced its roots back to the underground bands of the ’90s.
  • Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan (August 26, 2019) [2]

• Like most genres, [metalcore is] not an easy term to define; even saying “metal meets hardcore” doesn’t really do it. Hardcore and metal’s relationship long predates metalcore; hardcore bands inspired metal bands to invent thrash, and in turn thrash bands inspired punk bands to start crossover thrash, both genres influenced grunge, and the cross-pollination just kept spiraling from there. I don’t know the exact year that “metalcore” entered the vernacular, but some of the earlier bands [...] probably would have just been called “metallic hardcore."
  • Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan (August 26, 2019) [3]

Criticism and controversy

• The mainstream boom tarnished the word “metalcore” for a while.
  • Andrew Sacher of Brooklyn Vegan (August 26, 2019) [4]

• I’m sure 99% of these bands have no idea that they’re stealing riffs from Unbroken, Deadguy, At The Gates, and Carcass. They’re just copying Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying and Chiodos, who were copying Thursday, The Used and Aiden. Which is all fine, because all art references that which came before it -- the part that I miss is the DIY ethic that was such an integral part of the 90s metalcore/screamo scene. Also, less phony Christians.
  • Sergeant D of Metal Sucks (June 7th, 2010) [5]

• The kids in Alesana, August Burns Red, and possibly even As I Lay Dying have no fucking idea who those pioneering metalcore bands are, much less that screamy vocals were born in the tiny basement shows and vegan bakesales of the 90s DIY hardcore scene. [...] What is “the missing link”? What is the mysterious subgenre connecting the skramz/hardcore scenes of my youth to the strange new world of modern screamo?? How did I get from watching Charles Bronson in a basement with 35 people in 1995 to seeing The Devil Wears Prada nearly crack the Billboard Top 10?! They sure as fuck have no idea who Charles Bronson or Bloodlet were, but if you do a little backtracking, the link is undeniable. [...] Like many other scholars, I believe the “missing link” is the cohort of bands that includes Thursday, Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, and Saves The Day. Much like Nirvana and Pearl Jam before them, the jerks in these bands knew a thing or two about legitimate hardcore/metalcore, but created music that became popular with mainstreamers/new jacks who were in turn inspired to create several generations of soulless, derivative bullshit that resembled real hardcore enough to be annoying, but not enough to actually be good. A second wave of even worse screamo/metalcore bands followed them up, including notorious shit-merchants like Chiodos, From First To Last, and Aiden. At least they weren’t Christian. [...]
  • Sergeant D of Metal Sucks (June 7th, 2010) [6]