Metalcore

Metalcore Conventions.

Metalcore is a very successful genre that has become a mainstream recognised genre. It has been around since the late 80's and gradually gained commercial success however it really broke out into the public eye during the beginning of the 2000's with bands such as Killswitch  Engage, As I Lay Dying and All That Remains. 

The sound of the genre is extremely heavy riffs and the most common characteristic of the genre is the presence of 'the breakdown' a slower intense part of a song which is meant to induce moshing in people who hear it. The vocals are normally screamed with the occasional presence of clean vocals in a chorus or bridge. Guitar tunings are universally in some sort of drop tuning. Drummers usually include large amounts of double bass and the inclusion of the china symbol in breakdowns.

Cross-pollination between metal and hardcore eventually birthed the crossover thrash scene, which gestated at a Berkeley club called Ruthie's, in 1984. The term "metalcore" was originally used to refer to these crossover groups. Metalcore emerged from the youth crew and hardcore punk sub culture many of the groups were also part of the straight edge movement. Many metalcore bands are all practising christians, examples being  Zao,  The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, Texas in July, Demon Hunter, Oh, Sleeper and Underoath.

Some examples of Metalcore bands are...

Parkway Drive

• Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay. A bunch of surfers they felt the music emulated the excitement of surfing, the band were the first metalcore band from Australia to gain any sort of recognition from a big metal label. The band use nautical themes in their lyrics which are normally about leviathans, shark attacks and ship wrecks.

The Devil Wears Prada

• The Devil Wears Prada are a christian metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. The band use religious themes in their lyrics such as the rapture and the apocalypse. They have changed their sound drastically and unlike other bands in the genre have gradually got heavier with each new album or EP. Their newest release Dead Throne which was just released was called the best metalcore album of 2011 and has had rave reviews from critics.

Bring Me The Horizon

• Bring Me The Horizon are possibly the biggest metalcore band of the decade and their album Suicide Season paved the wave for British metalcore bands. Starting off as a deathcore band they felt that it would be easier to get recognised as a metalcore band. Which was a good decision on their part.