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| Deathcore | |
|---|---|
| Name | Deathcore |
| Color | #000000 |
| Bgcolor | #FFFFFF |
| Stylistic origins | Death metal, Metalcore, Hardcore punk, Grindcore |
| Cultural origins | Early 2000s, United States of America |
| Instruments | Electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals, synthesizer |
| Subgenres | Deathgrind, melodic deathcore, mathcore crossover |
| Notable artists | See section: Notable Bands and Scenes |
Deathcore is an extreme metal fusion style that emerged in the early 2000s combining elements of Death metal, Metalcore, Hardcore punk, and Grindcore. Proponents often emphasize technical proficiency, breakdown-centric song structures, and harsh vocal techniques; its development intersected with scenes in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil. The genre's rise involved interactions with independent labels, underground festivals, and DIY touring networks associated with bands, promoters, and fanzines.
Early precursors drew on the sound and production approaches of Death metal acts and the riffing techniques of Metalcore groups from the 1990s. Key early-2000s communities centered around regional venues and promoters connected to scenes in Oceanside, California, Salt Lake City, Riverside, California, and Sacramento, California, while international exchanges linked promoters from London, Melbourne, and São Paulo. Labels such as Ferret Music, Roadrunner Records, Century Media Records, and independent imprints facilitated distribution and touring alongside compilation releases and splits shared among bands and zines. Festivals and tours organized by entities like Warped Tour affiliates, touring circuits involving Metal Blade Records bands, and collaborative bills with acts from Black Sabbath-influenced lineages helped popularize the style across North America and Europe.
The sound borrows heavy palm-muted guitar riffing, tremolo-picked leads, and downtuned chordal patterns from Death metal and the syncopated breakdowns and chugging patterns of Metalcore and Hardcore punk. Drumming often employs blast beats, double bass patterns, and tempo shifts reminiscent of Blast beat pioneers and session work associated with producers who worked with Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death-adjacent projects. Vocal styles include low guttural growls, high-pitched screams, and pig squeal techniques learned from exchanges with vocalists linked to Slam death metal and Brutal death metal. Production values range from raw DIY recordings circulated by fanzines and small labels to polished studio albums produced by engineers who have worked with Fear Factory, At the Gates, and Dimmu Borgir-affiliated studios.
Lyricism frequently addresses violent, nihilistic, and existential imagery akin to themes explored by Carcass, Morbid Angel, and Deicide, while some bands incorporate sociopolitical critique and personal narratives associated with members' experiences in urban and touring environments. Narrative approaches vary from gore-focused storytelling to introspective explorations similar to those found in works by Converge and Killswitch Engage collaborators. Visual aesthetics and album art often reference the graphic traditions established by H. R. Giger-influenced designers and illustrators who contributed to releases by Suffocation and Obituary.
The genre spawned multiple hybrid forms, including melodic variations drawing on influences from At the Gates-style melodic death metal, technical offshoots incorporating complex time signatures associated with Meshuggah, and grind-influenced strains that parallel Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer. Deathgrind crossovers, math-oriented experiments with ties to The Dillinger Escape Plan, and deathcore bands that incorporate electronic elements reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails collaborations demonstrate the fluidity between scenes. Regional scenes fostered unique blends: Scandinavian melodic inflections linked to labels like Century Media Records, Brazilian brutality connected to Cogumelo Records-adjacent networks, and Australian variants shaped by touring exchanges with Parkway Drive-era metalcore acts.
Significant bands and regional centers include acts that toured with and influenced peers across the underground and mainstream circuits. North American bands played alongside artists associated with Fear Factory, Slipknot, and Lamb of God on festival bills; European bands shared stages with Machine Head and Trivium. Important scenes developed around Los Angeles venues that hosted bills with touring groups tied to Epitaph Records rosters, Utah acts that connected with Provo and Salt Lake City promoters, and Australian pockets that routed tours through Melbourne and Sydney. Producers and labels who worked with heavy acts such as Roadrunner Records, Metal Blade Records, and Ferret Music contributed to scene cohesion.
Critical responses ranged from praise for technical innovation and energetic live performances—comparing some bands with the intensity of Napalm Death and Meshuggah—to critiques about perceived stylistic stagnation and reliance on breakdowns similar to complaints leveled at portions of the Metalcore scene. Debates in magazines and fanzines alongside discussions hosted on forums and message boards connected to publications like Kerrang! and Decibel (magazine) highlighted tensions between purists from Death metal lineages and proponents of genre hybridization. Mainstream media outlets and specialist critics scrutinized lyrical content and stage presentation in festival contexts involving acts associated with Warped Tour and alternative metal circuits.
The style influenced subsequent extreme metal hybrids, contributing to the evolution of technical death metal, djent-adjacent projects, and metalcore permutations that adopted harsher vocal techniques and denser guitar tones. Its practitioners fostered networks that fed into production approaches used by bands on labels such as Roadrunner Records and Century Media Records and informed festival lineups curated by organizers linked to Download Festival and regional metal festivals. Musicians who came up in this scene later collaborated with artists from At the Gates, Fear Factory, and Converge-adjacent projects, embedding elements of the style into broader heavy music practices.
Category:Extreme metal genres