In a recent article, I referred to Necrophagist, new Behemoth and Neuraxis as metalcore.
What followed was an unprecedented outcry of people who hate the fact that I called their favorite bands "metalcore." They also resented the Fugazi reference.
Of course, they couldn't come up with a handy description except "blackened death" or "technical death metal," both being awkward for one salient reason: these bands do not sound like previous blackened death or technical death metal bands.
Instead, they sound like experimental hardcore. Think of Human Remains, the more exploratory moments of Jawbreaker, or Fugazi sped up with faster picking (which, actually, is what Human Remains sounds like).
Then go listen to something which takes a similar take on grindcore, like newer Brutal Truth or Gridlink.
That's where these bands really fit in. Death metal approaches songwriting as a process of cramming seemingly indistinct riffs into a single flow of ideas; metalcore, like hardcore, likes the diversity of "carnival music" where the point is to have radically different riffs that emphasize how un-smoothly they flow together.
It's a totally different philosophy. Progressive hardcore bands were doing this stuff twenty years ago and the rules haven't changed.
Some people get upset because I'm lumping Behemoth in with Hatebreed, All That Remains, and other obviously nu-metal influenced bands. But where do you think nu-metal came from, if not Biohazard and Pantera with a little more swing thrown in?
I've written about music for 20+ years and I've seen trends come and go. Metalcore, and its deathgrind-influenced cohort deathcore, is a trend -- and what makes it distinctive is not that it's different, but it's a new way of dressing up an older style.
Here is technical death metal:
Here is progressive hardcore:
Which do these next clips more resemble?
When you've spent time around the music industry, you'll find out that the number one game in town is taking an old idea and dressing it up as a new one.
The best old idea is one that takes no specific direction, but throws everything you've got into the pot. That's what Fugazi did, combining punk, post-punk, indie and progressive rock.
This approach is what Human Remains -- an underrated classic of hardcore -- took to the next level. Gridlink and Brutal Truth just do it contemporaneously with more grind.
You can see other people doing this to black metal. Later Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth? Yeah, there's a reason the diehard black metal fans won't listen to that stuff. More carnival music.
While I respect Human Remains, Gridlink, Neuraxis and Brutal Truth, I think it's important we put them where they belong -- in the metalcore genre.
Comments
Just because you have been writing about metal for 20 plus years does not necessarily justify the blatant disregard of general genre distinction that this article flaunts.
On a note similar to the one above, perhaps, after so many years listening to metal, you have finally gone deaf because the last time I checked (approximately five minutes ago) Behemoth sounds much more like Morbid Angel (which is not, at least in my circle, considered tech-death) than they do Human Remains. Behemoth is a blackened death metal band plain and simple. They play death metal music while using black metal symbolism (both lyrically and by visual means).
On a third note however, the article is thought provoking. Nevertheless, I disagree with your use of the label metalcore. Metalcore has come to mean something entirely different than what, I assume, you assume. Metalcore is the music of the breakdown, helpless lyrics, whiny clean vocals, and stupid (masked as "technical")guitar work.
What's next? Is Cannibal Corpse hair metal?
I'm pretty sure that just because they "sound" more similar in your aspie head doesn't mean they derived influences from those bands. I doubt anyone in Nercophagist or Neuraxis listened to or even knows Human Remains or Gridlink. How convenient that you excluded Death Metal bands they actually do resemble: Cryptopsy, Gorguts, Suffocation, Nile. And seriously, Rapture and Here in After technical? Back to the coffin with you, gramps, if you want "technical" and heavy check out Scrambled Defuncts, Spawn of Possession, Insision and the myriad of bands that have been blowing away your tired car wash metal since '97.
To sum up all previous posts, "Um, I disagree, and my opinion is better than yours."
That was a rather interesting article and while I can't say I entirely agree, I definitely see where you're coming from. Namely my gripe is that while you claim the tech death/metalcore bands are deriving their sound from hardcore who are in turn taking a chunk of their sound from prog, I think it makes sense to cut out the middleman there and say that they're both taking their cues from prog. Furthermore, to my untrained ear the Demilich doesn't sound TERRIBLY far off from modern technical death metal.
This isn't even touching on the fact that while metalcore may have initially meant "combining elements of metal and hardcore," the use of the word has changed over time to mean a much more specific sound.
Lastly, I had completely missed out on some of these bands. Thought provoking article and hey, now I'm going to have to get some Demilich.
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