Metalcore is a broadly defined music genre combining elements of heavy metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, together with slow, intense passages called breakdowns. Other defining traits are low-tuned, percussive guitar riffs, double bass drumming, and a highly produced sound. Vocalists typically switch between clean vocals (melodic, emotional singing) and harsh vocals (including shouting and screaming). Lyrics are often personal, inward-looking and emotive. It is debated whether metalcore is a subgenre of metal and hardcore, or a genre of its own. Many metalheads do not regard metalcore as a heavy metal subgenre, due to differences musically, vocally, lyrically and subculturally.
Metalcore grew out of hardcore in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was pioneered by bands such as Integrity, Earth Crisis and Converge, whose style is sometimes referred to as metallic hardcore. These bands combined hardcore with elements of thrash and groove metal. During the decade, the genre diversified, with Converge, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch and Coalesce pioneering mathcore, while Overcast, Shadows Fall and Darkest Hour merged metalcore with melodic death metal to create melodic metalcore.
During the early 2000s, melodic metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine and Parkway Drive found mainstream popularity. In the subsequent years, the genre saw increased success through social networking on Myspace and internet memes such as crabcore. During this time, artists began to draw influence from a wide variety of sources, which led to genre cultivating a plethora of fusion genres including electronicore, deathcore, Nintendocore, progressive metalcore and nu metalcore. In the 2010s and 2020s, the genre saw even greater commercial success and became the most popular style of heavy rock music, with albums by Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, Asking Alexandria, the Devil Wears Prada and Of Mice & Men entering the top 10 of international albums charts.
Etymology The term "metalcore" is a portmanteau of the words "metal" and "hardcore", and was originally tongue-in-cheek. During the 1980s, Maximumrocknroll had used early variations of the term, referring to Richmond band Black Pyramid as "heavy-metal core" in February 1985; Oxnard band False Confessions as "metal-core" in December 1985; Mesa band Desecration as "death metal core" in May 1986; and Austin band Last Will as "ghoulish metal/core" in December 1986.
Phillip Trapp of Loudwire states that Shai Hulud guitarist Matt Fox is widely credited for playing a role in "popularizing" the term. However, in a 2008 interview, Fox claimed the term had already been in use before his band began releasing music. He recalled: "There were bands before Shai Hulud started that my friends and I were referring to as 'metalcore.' Bands like Burn, Deadguy, Earth Crisis, even Integrity. These bands that were heavier than the average hardcore bands. These bands that were more progressive [...] my friends and I would always refer to them as 'metalcore' because it wasn't purely hardcore and it wasn't purely metal [...] so we would joke around and say, 'Hey, it's metalcore. Cool!' But it was definitely a tongue-in-cheek term." Alternatively, Jorge Rosado of Merauder claimed in a 2014 interview that he and his band coined the term.
Luke Morton of Metal Hammer stated that the word "means different things to different people," highlighting the fact that the tag has been variously applied to stylistically dissimilar bands such as Killswitch Engage, Earth Crisis, Asking Alexandria and Parkway Drive.
Characteristics Stylistic elements
Metalcore fuses elements of hardcore punk with heavy metal, as well as incorporating elements of groove metal, crossover thrash and melodic death metal. It is known for its use of breakdowns. According to Lewis Kennedy, although metalcore existed "in some form or another" throughout the 1990s, it was only during the early 2000s that metalcore became codified or distinguished as a genre with specific traits. He links this with the movement known as the "New Wave of American Heavy Metal".
There is debate as to whether metalcore is a fusion genre, a subgenre, or a genre of its own. Wiederhorn and Turman (2013) argue that "it's too simple to describe metalcore as a mere hybrid of metal and hardcore". Lewis Kennedy (2015) says "metalcore's primary aesthetic is one of hybridity", explaining, "Whereas crossover was perceived as hardcore mixing with metal, or vice versa, metalcore's very foundation is an assemblage of metal and hardcore (and other genres) that does not necessarily pride one over the other". Many traditional metalheads and hardcore fans do not accept metalcore as being part of their genres.
The earliest metalcore bands, such as Botch and Cave In, were rooted in hardcore punk. Some later acts, such as Killswitch Engage, took on a more accessible heavy metal sound, while also incorporating elements of Swedish melodic death metal and Boston hardcore. Many 2000s metalcore bands were heavily influenced by melodic death metal, and incorporated elements of the style into their music. Others drew influence from new wave of British heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden in their guitar work. Vice stated that "every band was clearly just as influenced by complex guitar parts as they were by hardcore bravado". Additionally, during this time many bands began fusing various elements of other genres such as screamo, emo, post-hardcore, melodic hardcore, pop-punk, indie rock, mainstream rock, post-rock, alternative rock, arena rock, glam rock, nu metal, electropop, electronica, orchestra, progressive music and ambient music into their styles.
Instrumentation
Instrumentally, metalcore generally has percussive guitar riffs and stop-start rhythm guitar, with much use of palm-muting. Metalcore is known for its emphasis on breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages during a song. Bands may also use pick scraping and dissonant chords to make these breakdowns more chaotic.
Drop guitar tunings are often used in metalcore. Most bands use tuning ranging between Drop D and A, although lower tunings, as well as 7 and 8 string guitars, are not uncommon. Drumming is similar to that in hardcore and metal, often including double-kick drumming. Author James Giordano said that metalcore is usually played at slower tempos than the styles its artists draw influence from.
Metalcore songs usually have linear song structures, often a heavy verse followed by a melodic chorus. Unlike heavy metal, many metalcore songs lack guitar solos, though 2000s melodic metalcore bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, All That Remains, As I Lay Dying, and Unearth used them frequently.
Vocals and lyrics Metalcore vocalists usually mix "clean" vocals—melodic, emotional singing—with "harsh" vocals—including shouting, roaring and screaming, a harsh vocal technique that became popular in the underground punk and metal scenes of the 1980s. Early metalcore acts were characterized by a "raw, scream-meets-shout vocal style". Later metalcore bands often alternate between harsh vocals and clean singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. Revolver referred to these as "post-hardcore sing-alongs." Although many modern metalcore songs have choruses that contain hooks, some bands omit clean vocals entirely. Other bands use clean vocals sparingly, for the purpose of "coloring a mood," according to Joe DiVita of Loudwire. Modern metalcore clean vocals have been likened to the mainstream emo and pop-punk music of the 2000s. The vocals in metalcore have also drawn comparisons to glam rock singing. Metalcore eventually became associated with autotuned vocals.
A common trope in metalcore is for vocalists to utter the nonce word "blegh", which has been used by bands such as Architects. According to Loudwire, this is believed to have started with Stray From the Path's 2009 album Make Your Own History. This trope became less popular by the 2020s. Variations include "oh," "buh" and "ugh". According to Loudwire, vocalists use these as "an extra sound effect."
Metalcore lyrics are often personal, introspective and emotional, and may also explore political topics. These lyrics have more in common with hardcore than traditional heavy metal, which often has fantastical lyrics.
Production Early metalcore recordings were generally lo-fi, which made for raw and live-sounding albums, borrowing from traditional hardcore. By stark contrast, modern metalcore tends to have highly polished production, such as heavy use of processing, layering, programming and synthesizers. Many modern bands in the genre opt for a "studio-crafted experience", using the recording studio as an instrument and working closely with the producer to "create" their music.
Fashion During the mid-2000s and early 2010s, metalcore became associated with clothing and accessories such as black V-necks, skinny jeans, lip piercings, and straightened hair. Around the end of the 00s, eye liner and brightly colored belts also became associated with the genre after reportedly being popularized by bands such as Alesana, blessthefall, Drop Dead, Gorgeous and From First to Last. The metalcore subgenre of deathcore is associated with short hair, baseball caps, earlobe plugs and sportswear. These styles have more in common with hardcore fashion, and they differ from typical metalhead attire.
History
Precursors: 1980s
Many of the originators of hardcore punk took influence from the sound of heavy metal, including Black Flag,Blush, American Hardcore, part 2, "Thirsty and Miserable", p. 63, 66. the Bad Brains,Andersen, Mark and Mark Jenkins (2003). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. "Positive Mental Attitude". p. 27. Akashic Books. . Discharge and the Exploited,Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984. Cherry Red Books. p. 5. . Furthermore, during the 1980s many genres originated merging the two styles, including crust punk, sludge metal and crossover thrash. Nonetheless, punk and metal cultures and music remained fairly separate through the 1980s.
Bands in the New York hardcore scene in particular put a significant emphasis on the influence of metal, building their own take on hardcore, based around groove-driven, palm muted guitar riffs. Early on, this scene saw the development of the hardcore breakdown, an amalgamation of Bad Brains' reggae and hardcore backgrounds, which encouraged moshing.Blush, p. 193. "Howie Abrams (NYHC scene): Mosh style was slower, very tribal – like a Reggae beat adapted to Hardcore. (...) It was an outbreak of dancing with a mid-tempo beat driven by floor tom and snare." It was this New York-style hardcore that metalcore grew directly out of.
Origins: late 1980s and 1990s