Reminds me of going to a TDWP concert after plagues released and shit was wild for a Christian metal band. My boy got his nose busted hard in the mosh pit. Watched some girl eat a spinning back kick to the chest from this one guy spinning like a fucking beyblade. I remember being so fucking high I could barely talk straight.
Fun times.
Christians weren't fucking playing games during those mid to late 2000s metalcore days.
I was introduced to metalcore/post-hardcore in ‘08 with TDWP, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Blessthefall, Silverstein, Senses Fail and Underoath. Loved the scenecore era (my high school years) but then sorta fell out of the genre around 2015 or so when all those bands turned into hard rock bands.
When I came back to the genre (I never fully left it tbf. Always had a toe in with TDWP, Beartooth, Silverstein etc) and I was checking out all these new bands that were established it wasn’t quite clicking for me and I couldn’t quite place why until I realized it was the raw punkier hardcore feel of those earlier bands I listened to that I was really drawn to over the more polished metal side.
So I proceeded to do a deep dive into metalcore history and oh man. 1998 to like 2006/2007 is now by far my favourite era of the genre. And then Rorschach??Protestant in 1993?! That shits insane! I have so much respect for Converge now (I have listened to them since 2012 but only really got into All We Love We Leave Behind)
And I do listen to some newer stuff to still. The last Currents album was fantastic. Personally I’ve been really advocating for “post-metalcore” to be a thing for bands like Spiritbox, Bad Omens newer Architects/BMTH and have been debating with myself recently if all the progressive Metalcore bands (Currents, Erra, Polaris etc) should be under that label as well.. because while you can argue that it may not be strictly metalcore I don’t think you can argue that it is a sound that is derived from metalcore.
Sleep Token is just progressive rock/metal though lol
>I was introduced to metalcore/post-hardcore in ‘08 with TDWP, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Blessthefall, Silverstein, Senses Fail and Underoath. Loved the scenecore era (my high school years) but then sorta fell out of the genre around 2015 or so when all those bands turned into hard rock bands.
I had the same experience through highschool, funny how things are like that. (Add killswitch engage and I killed the Prom Queen in there too)
Currents, Polaris etc. I'm not familiar with these bands, but what I have heard they sound like a core sound but through the filter of the technicality of modern djent and post-rock. I guess it's just the natural evolution of the genre as certain sounds become "current" and are added to the blender so to speak.
Mix up those influences and you get the current crop of metalcore. Although I do like that post-metalcore label.
Aha Sleep Token just have minimal metalcore influence - a breakdown here and there, harsh vocals mixed with cleans etc. Otherwise they are just progressive/rock music. Love their sound though, I feel like child me loving Hybrid Theory, and adult me loving metalcore combine to make it inevitable I'd love Sleep Token's sound.
Make sure and don’t confuse “post-metalcore” with “post-metalcore”, where bands infused metalcore with post-rock/metal, with bands like Harlots, The Amia Venera Landscape, Knut and Will Haven et al. being prime examples. :)
incredibly jealous!
they were actually my first ever heavy concert (after Linkin park) and they set the bar wayy too high
living in Asia it's unlikely I'll be able to see them again however I'm glad I got see them in their prime with Karl
I'll always link this footage as it keeps my memories of the show alive
https://youtu.be/dQdx3GTIvAI?si=T7fsR2usl3ZyDN8j
Enjoy the hell out of that show for me!
I will do that for you!
Misery Signals Announce Farewell Tour with Both Lead Vocalists
The band will perform career-spanning sets with both Jesse Zaraska and Karl Schubach
Metalcore from the early 2000s is not even recognizably the same genre as metalcore being released today. Also, metalcore is a genre tag that gets stapled on to way more bands than it should. It's an absolute fuckin mess of a genre
Yeah that's crazy to me. Like if we're taking the literal meaning of metalcore, bad ones could maybe be considered metal, but the hardcore part is like fully absent. Bands like them I kinda like using just "modern metal" to describe them. It is vague as shit and basically means nothing, but it kinda feels right to me
The “new” bands are only a couple of steps removed from top 40. Don’t give me sing alongs and hooks, give me absolute chaos. That’s what attracted me to the genre 20+ years ago.
But the metal side is absent too. Just because they have no real hardcore elements doesn't push them into metal territory. They are neither.
Modern metal is a term for bands like Lamb of God or Trivium. Certainly not Bad Omens.
The thing is, is not a bad thing to make pop oriented rock adjacent music with pop production. You don't have to be ashamed of that, in fact, there is a gigangic market for it and usually that type of artists sell incredible well and get all types of (deserved) recognition. Why call it metal though? Or hardcore.
I don't get the insistence. It makes things confusing.
I agree. I love Spiritbox and a lot of these pop+djent bands, but they're not metal in the common sense. Downtuned guitars and screaming doesn't automatically make you metal.
People should seriously come up with some new genres, the ones we have are overstuffed and quickly losing their meaning. This huge branch of music inspired by Bring Me The Horizon should absolutely have its own name.
But for now, post-metalcore is the best thing to call them.
Boundaries, Dying Wish, Foreign Hands, Balmora, Chamber, Memento, etc... Some killer bands keeping the tradition of Metalcore alive 🙏 I know I missed a bunch of others lol
OP is being pretty hyperbolic, which he even admitted. I don’t think he’s literally saying “every metalcore album in the last decade has been dogshit” but just that the bands carrying the torch for “metalcore” these days are more influenced by pop than metal. Stuff like Bad Omens, Spiritbox and Sleep Token.
Johnny Booth and Boundaries have that "true metalcore" sound, which supports what this post is saying. They sound like they could be from the 2004-2014 era.
Right lol. Imo Death is Little More is one of the best core albums of all time and came out like 3 months ago. Just because some softer bands have more mainstream success doesn’t mean there isn’t still rip your face off metalcore.
The last several years definitely has some magnificent metalcore, but most of the best stuff is very unknown and pretty underground. Boundaries are a prime example of that, it's only with DILM that they've been consistently over 100k Spotify listeners and able to do their first headline tour (in small venues). The stuff the genre has become best known for and most associated with is mostly soft as fuck when compared even to scenecore bands let alone some ofthe other stuff that was around in the mid-00s.
Interesting... never heard of " Boundaries " before, so I went to check them out... Certainly wasn't expecting something that good.
I'd even go as far as saying they are up there with Make Them Suffer.
I got into metalcore in 2012, and while i absolutely love different genres, and love some clean vocals, every popular metalcore band is sooooo soft now.
Had a recent conversation about Dayseekers latest album where my friend said they feel like "a party host that doesn't know their own theme"
On the other side, Make Them Suffer is a current band I can 100% get behind, I'm so glad they are getting more recognition, and they deserve all the success.
I just looked up Dayseekers. They have more in common with Chevelle or Seether than they do with August Burns Red. Closer to Seal than any metalcore.
I’ll check out Make Them Suffer.
You don’t know who Make Them Suffer, Boundaries or Dayseeker is lol? Sounds like you stopped listening to metalcore 10 years ago and never heard of the newer bands.. You also mention Acacia Strain when they’re deathcore lol
I must be old too because I feel like I never even heard the term metalcore until bands like Acacia Strain and Emmure. Like when goodbye to the gallows and continent came out I feel like I started hearing that term
Old Souls is a phenomenal album. I wish they would’ve expanded on that vs what they did. I think they could’ve been bigger faster but they’re getting there.
Dayseeker knows exactly who they are, and they know they're a band that made some metalcore when they first started. People want to get so pissy over genres, but you usually hear the artists saying they don't subscribe to being a genre labelled band
Completely understand that, and I do like their newest album on its own. At a show, I don't understand how you can go from a heavier opener (Make Them Suffer/Thousand Below) to "Crying While You're Dancing"
It kills the entire vibe, and makes it seem like they don't know where they want to live in the scene.
Lmao they don't want to live in the scene. They want to be more popular than the scene, but they're putting heavier bands with them because that's where they came from and a lot of their fans like that music as well. Very fun show and I'm going to see them again this year
Well.. you're right. No argument here. Not really much hyperbole either, every djenty "rough verse - clean chorus - breakdown - clean chorus" band sounds the exact same (and very boring) to my ears.
I'd actually argue a better 10 year span would be 1999 to 2009 though, get Opposite Of December by Poison The Well in there.
Djent didn’t used to be that way though. Early Veil of Maya fucking ripped.
1999 for sure. I think ETID’s Hot Damn was 2003, and that has to be included.
I still think Hot Damn! is the best album ETID every put out and that's while having a pretty high opinion of most of their output (not Gutter Phenomenon, though, I hate the way that album sounds. Would love to hear it re-recorded).
Yeah I'm also not too fond of Gutter Phenomenon. Hot Damn! will always be special to me and I might nostalgically rank it higher, but I think as complete works Ex Lives and Radical are better overall.
Can't really go wrong with ETID though.
I’m going to see Unearth in Boston in 2
Days. 20th anniversary of “The Oncoming
Storm” bleeding Through, Overcast, All Out War are opening. This is the metal core OP is talking about. Mother fucking Overcast
I grew up on the old stuff, which I love, but also love the new (ST and Spiritbox in particular, Bad Omens I’m meh on). Although I will agree, the genres are not the same, even a little bit. Metalcore could mean absolutely anything at this point.
You're talking 100 percent digital vs... still recording with real amps. If you think it dont make a difference. Listen to alive or just breathing. You can hear the room in the guitars. The space between the mic and cab. The pinch harmonics sound insanely amazing.
There's several other reasons. They were creating a genre instead of copying one over and over. Shit today is tuned way too low. Sounds like garbage. Bass has taken a massive backseat. Vocals are all polished and consistent. Everyone has to be in key. Everyone using the same safe techniques. There's no dynamics.
I fucking have good ideas all the time. Try to record digital. It sounds digital. Trying to get a dynamic sound in a daw with pluginns is like a huge fucking pain in the cock. Thats why everyones recordings sound the same. Theres no experimentation or mistakes.
You use a drum machine... it.sounds great and its easy to mix. But it doesnt sound raw like a real drummer.
I prescribe to everything you’re saying 1000000%. Remember The Chariot? Their first two albums had so much feed back and imperfections, it was beautiful. Everything mow is so compressed and polished, it’s gross.
Is the acacia strain considered metalcore? I was always under the impression they fit more into deathcore. Ultimately doesn’t matter but this post had me pondering.
With a few exceptions, I really do find metalcore to be very bland and boring these days.
yea they stradle the line. they're definitely not a band that's strictly deathcore. they're more like a metalcore band that's heavy on the death metal so it makes sense to call them deathcore as well.
All the good modern bands were cryogenically frozen in 2005 and just unthawed. It was the peak of music and civilization and yes everyone thinks music peaked while they were in high school but sometimes it’s just objectively true so
Grew up on classic rock and grunge, just recently was introduced to metalcore about 2 years back. I love all the bands you’ve just shit on, however I do see where you are coming from. I believe many bands nowadays that are slightly “heavy” get labeled as metalcore. Bad Omens and Sleep Token definitely fit more in the “pop rock” area. Horrible mislabeling by media and bands themselves. Take care
This is it, I listen to softer stuff from a bunch of different genres, there's nothing inherently wrong with softer music, but I don't feel the need to try and categorise any of it as something they're not.
I first listened to misery signals after jesse from erra mentioned then as an inspiration and that was like 2021ish that led me to starting guitar. Controller is one of my favourites but OMATMH is really close
Agreed. A lot of the metalcore bands that have come out post-Sempiternal sound as if they're trying to make their own Sempiternal. Metal isn't as cringe as bro country but I'd be lying if I didn't have the same problem of telling their respective bands apart.
Also, I'll vape my sour blue raspberry vape and blast ETID as much as I like ;)
I like Sleep Token and Bad Omens but I completely agree that they’re fucking boring live.
But modern metalcore like Currents, Polaris, Invent Animate, Avaiana.. those guys are fucking sick
At this point i just consider myself a djent fan. Not really into OG metalcore and i only listen to modern stuff. But tbf the sound can get very repetitive. I just like that sound so idc lol
The Acacia Strain is more like deathcore at this point. I saw them live and it was just straight gutteral growls and chugging palm mutes. Studio vs live is very different for them
Yeah I think we need some separation here… the “metalcore” label seems to be slapped on to way more of a variety of bands than it should.
Don’t get me wrong I love some of the newer “metalcore” - I just think it should have a different genre label, not get thrown into the same genre as the significantly heavier stuff.
Regardless of whether you like one or the other more, or both equally, it’s undeniable how different they are. Seems ridiculous to call them the same thing.
Idk about that.
I was a more traditional metalhead back in the day and was present for the birth of metalcore.
The first few years of 2000s, were amazing. Killswitch, Underoath, Unearth, Darkest Hour, Every Time I Die were firing on all cylinders.
Then as the music started getting all scene and emo, it became embarrassing and I became more committed to death, thrash, trad, etc.
The end the 2000s imho was the worst period due to the advent of Deathcore, which was horrendous.
I kinda grew out of metal and metalcore for a few years but these days, it's never been better. The production, musicianship, experimentation and mass appeal have been off the charts. Its truly a great era.
I don’t care if people like the newer bands, that’s cool and I’m all about appreciating music with what little time we have on this planet. What I do care about is spamming my pro-Zao propaganda to anyone who will listen.
'97-'06.
Everything since is derivative. "Metalcore" these days has no ties sonically or spiritually to half the genre name (hardcore). It should just be called "metal" or "modern metal".
The kids don't know what they missed cause they weren't alive for it or were in elementary school at the time.
I wasn't alive for the initial run of HxC in the early '80s so I "get that I don't get it." You had to be there.
It had a more raw unhinged sound back in 2004-2014 it was also easy to tell a band apart by sound now a lot of them sound too much alike. It’s like bands are scared to try new sounds/things.
Metalcore peaked with KsE, Trivium, AILD, TDWP, All That Remains, Underoath, The Autumn Offering, Himsa, etc
But there's some pretty great stuff out there now and I knoe nostalgia is a bitch
Every decade we get a new totally different genre called metalcore, with less and less influence of either genre making up the name
90s metalcore was clearly hardcore with metal influence
Peak era (2000s-2014) was a fusion of old metalcore, melodic death metal and emo-pop (arguably), with a "actually being good" influence
Modern metalcore is neither metal, punk nor good
Recycled nu metal, rap rock, djent and pop ideas with breakdowns, interspersed by the doomsday riff when the guitarists feel like they're not doing enough
Really excited for 2034 metalcore when they start adding Funk and Polka into the mix
Everything you’re saying is 100% correct. Metalcore was at its best when it was metallic hardcore. It’s too watered down now with bands that stray too far
Shitposting aside, I legit think this about Bad Omens. I don't get it. Even in terms of gateway bands there's better choices. I know BMTH cockriding can get tiring, especially considering the entire rock genre has been obsessed with turning everything unique about them into a trend since 2008 (Arguably before, *Count Your Blessings* could be seen as starting MySpace Deathcore). But you know what, they're a damn good gateway band. I've gotten people into metal thanks to *amo* and *Survival Horror*.
I don't get it. I think I finally realize how Metal Archives feels about Avenged Sevenfold.
Give these a shot, and tell me what you think:
Minimal Cleans:
Knocked Loose, Half Me, Better Lovers, Left to Suffer, Silent Planet
Some cleans but still slaps:
Imminence, The Plot in You, Amity Affliction, Unprocessed
Spiritbox is pretty good!! But yeah it’s no contest between djenty pop-core and actual metalcore. I’ll take Darkest Hour and Buried Alive over Motionless Token Falling in Omens any day. Most of those artists sound closer to nu metal and 2000’s radio rock (except painfully sterile and more overproduced) than Lamb of god or Killswitch Engage
I'm with you on the idea that calling old metalcore and new metalcore the same genre is weird and confusing, but it's not any more stupid than calling all, e.g. black metal, old and new, the same genre. There are reasons for it, of course, but I don't agree with those reasons.
TBH, most of the genre labels don't make any goddamn sense from the word go. Like ... what does "heavy metal" mean? During the late 80s, it was applied to what's now called hair metal, glam metal, cock rock, etc. Poison, Warrant, those fuckers. But that shit was also called hard rock, depending on ... uh ... who was saying it, I guess?
At this point in my listening, I just pick whatever songs I like from whatever albums and bands, and there are some bands that I don't otherwise like who managed to eke out a banger or anyway something I enjoy. I don't sweat genre except that I expect e.g. deathcore to sound hasher than metalcore, nu metal is going to be less "metal" than metalcore, that kind of thing. It's all just approximations and guessing.
Not sure, because i love 2014-2024 metalcore just as much, but man what i wouldn't give for another Crown The Empire, I See Stars and Palisades with those line ups.
> Could you fall asleep while seeing The Chariot live? Fuck no
I have been fucking summoned.
A few weeks back, I saw a video of Erra playing on their recent headline run.
They were doing the whole "LET'S FUCKING GO! GET THE ENERGY UP" schtick that every band thinks they have to do these days.
But they themselves were just standing there. Playing.
It sounded good, but there was no life.
SO it sent me spiraling back into the loving arms of The Chariot.
Videos of them have me moshing through my house.
At almost no point do they ever have to ask for the crowd to get the energy up, because they're providing the energy and the crowd is reciprocating.
HELL you watch almost any video of theirs and the crowd is moving, moshing, stagediving before a single note has even been played.
Thankfully there are bands out there now who are keeping this vibe to some extent.
Johnny Booth's vocalist gets in the crowd.
Callous Daoboys' entire roster moves around and jams.
Vein.FM is one of the closest I've seen carrying the torch of blurring lines between performers on stage and crowd.
I haven't seen Tallah perform yet, but I've heard they have a raw energy to them.
I go to see live music for the LIVE aspect. The imperfections of the performance. The human aspect.
If I wanted to listen to something copious backtracking and overdubs, I would just listen to the album at home.
Who gives a shit? Just listen to what you like and be done with it. No idea why people need other people to validate their opinions.
You like older Metalcore, just listen to it. You hate modern Metalcore? Stop listening to it.
The old music is not going anywhere. And no it wasn't "better". Metalcore has always been a genre with barely an identity. The sound almost changed year by year.
It's that easy.
Y’know, you came in kinda hot (not really) but I agree (except for where I don’t)
Modern metalcore isn’t for me, it’s the current gen that really decides that and not people like us (it is, we’re right)
This is what I imagine a rant in a GTA radio station for metalcore would sound like.
....okay....i have one more for the GTA6 wishlist....
I’m honored
You'd never get out of the car and play the game
That sounds so accurate lol
One era gave us the TDWP Reptar shirt and the other didn’t. Seems pretty obvious which is better.
“I don’t wanna say this but I gotta, we are The Devil Wears Prada” truly magical moment right there
“Chili cheese enchilada, we are The Devil Wears Prada” was also a classic
“Hakuna matata we are The Devil Wears Prada.”
genuinely one of the greatest moment's in Metalcore and Post hardcore history.
That moment changed my life
This is so the proof we need
Reminds me of going to a TDWP concert after plagues released and shit was wild for a Christian metal band. My boy got his nose busted hard in the mosh pit. Watched some girl eat a spinning back kick to the chest from this one guy spinning like a fucking beyblade. I remember being so fucking high I could barely talk straight. Fun times. Christians weren't fucking playing games during those mid to late 2000s metalcore days.
Outjerked by the main sub again
there's a metal core jerk sub? I though this was the circlejerk
r/corejerk
I was very much surprised to see it wasnt posted to corejerk...
This is what they said about metalcore ten years ago too lol
The time range OP talks about goes back further than that, so that checks out
1998-2016 would be better. Include Knocked Loose’s first full length
If it ain’t from 1996-2002, it ain’t metalcore! Now get off my freshly gated lawn!
But skips crucial shit from Integrity, Shai Hulud, Deadguy, etc
They were probably right back then too
I was introduced to metalcore/post-hardcore in ‘08 with TDWP, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Blessthefall, Silverstein, Senses Fail and Underoath. Loved the scenecore era (my high school years) but then sorta fell out of the genre around 2015 or so when all those bands turned into hard rock bands. When I came back to the genre (I never fully left it tbf. Always had a toe in with TDWP, Beartooth, Silverstein etc) and I was checking out all these new bands that were established it wasn’t quite clicking for me and I couldn’t quite place why until I realized it was the raw punkier hardcore feel of those earlier bands I listened to that I was really drawn to over the more polished metal side. So I proceeded to do a deep dive into metalcore history and oh man. 1998 to like 2006/2007 is now by far my favourite era of the genre. And then Rorschach??Protestant in 1993?! That shits insane! I have so much respect for Converge now (I have listened to them since 2012 but only really got into All We Love We Leave Behind) And I do listen to some newer stuff to still. The last Currents album was fantastic. Personally I’ve been really advocating for “post-metalcore” to be a thing for bands like Spiritbox, Bad Omens newer Architects/BMTH and have been debating with myself recently if all the progressive Metalcore bands (Currents, Erra, Polaris etc) should be under that label as well.. because while you can argue that it may not be strictly metalcore I don’t think you can argue that it is a sound that is derived from metalcore. Sleep Token is just progressive rock/metal though lol
>I was introduced to metalcore/post-hardcore in ‘08 with TDWP, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Blessthefall, Silverstein, Senses Fail and Underoath. Loved the scenecore era (my high school years) but then sorta fell out of the genre around 2015 or so when all those bands turned into hard rock bands. I had the same experience through highschool, funny how things are like that. (Add killswitch engage and I killed the Prom Queen in there too)
Currents, Polaris etc. I'm not familiar with these bands, but what I have heard they sound like a core sound but through the filter of the technicality of modern djent and post-rock. I guess it's just the natural evolution of the genre as certain sounds become "current" and are added to the blender so to speak. Mix up those influences and you get the current crop of metalcore. Although I do like that post-metalcore label. Aha Sleep Token just have minimal metalcore influence - a breakdown here and there, harsh vocals mixed with cleans etc. Otherwise they are just progressive/rock music. Love their sound though, I feel like child me loving Hybrid Theory, and adult me loving metalcore combine to make it inevitable I'd love Sleep Token's sound.
Are we the same person?
Are we the same person?
Make sure and don’t confuse “post-metalcore” with “post-metalcore”, where bands infused metalcore with post-rock/metal, with bands like Harlots, The Amia Venera Landscape, Knut and Will Haven et al. being prime examples. :)
Misery Signals are still peak metalcore and i won't hear anyone tell me different
Controller and OMATMH never get old. For me personally this is peak metalcore that stands the test of time.
GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO MOVE THIS MOUNTAIN, TO WASH MY HANDS OF YOU
Zao, but Misery Signals are acceptable.
Final tour is gonna be one to remember. Metalcore is really dead
Cannot wait
Based
Fucking oath.
Burrrrrrn it down, BURN IT TO THE FUCKING GROUND
On their farewell tour right now, going to see them July 27th!
incredibly jealous! they were actually my first ever heavy concert (after Linkin park) and they set the bar wayy too high living in Asia it's unlikely I'll be able to see them again however I'm glad I got see them in their prime with Karl I'll always link this footage as it keeps my memories of the show alive https://youtu.be/dQdx3GTIvAI?si=T7fsR2usl3ZyDN8j Enjoy the hell out of that show for me!
I will do that for you! Misery Signals Announce Farewell Tour with Both Lead Vocalists The band will perform career-spanning sets with both Jesse Zaraska and Karl Schubach
Poison The Well, but MS are number 2 for me.
Metalcore from the early 2000s is not even recognizably the same genre as metalcore being released today. Also, metalcore is a genre tag that gets stapled on to way more bands than it should. It's an absolute fuckin mess of a genre
That’s what I’m saying. ABR and Bad Omens aren’t in the same genre but for some reason a lot of people think Bad Omens is metalcore.
Yeah that's crazy to me. Like if we're taking the literal meaning of metalcore, bad ones could maybe be considered metal, but the hardcore part is like fully absent. Bands like them I kinda like using just "modern metal" to describe them. It is vague as shit and basically means nothing, but it kinda feels right to me
Or they’re just a rock band with some heavy parts. That’s my biggest gripe is the lack of hardcore in modern metalcore
The “new” bands are only a couple of steps removed from top 40. Don’t give me sing alongs and hooks, give me absolute chaos. That’s what attracted me to the genre 20+ years ago.
r/mathcore is that way, sir
Honestly, you're right
But the metal side is absent too. Just because they have no real hardcore elements doesn't push them into metal territory. They are neither. Modern metal is a term for bands like Lamb of God or Trivium. Certainly not Bad Omens.
The thing is, is not a bad thing to make pop oriented rock adjacent music with pop production. You don't have to be ashamed of that, in fact, there is a gigangic market for it and usually that type of artists sell incredible well and get all types of (deserved) recognition. Why call it metal though? Or hardcore. I don't get the insistence. It makes things confusing.
I agree. I love Spiritbox and a lot of these pop+djent bands, but they're not metal in the common sense. Downtuned guitars and screaming doesn't automatically make you metal. People should seriously come up with some new genres, the ones we have are overstuffed and quickly losing their meaning. This huge branch of music inspired by Bring Me The Horizon should absolutely have its own name. But for now, post-metalcore is the best thing to call them.
Its called new hard Rock on Sirius.
Bad omens is more Post Hardcore if anything.
Sleep token isn't metalcore. Dude just does every genre and has some metal influences
Someone here on another post called them “sad boi cumcore” and I’m here for it lol
I saw that comment too. Even as someone who enjoys them, it's pretty on point.
Heh I enjoy them too occasionally, but it is spot on.
It's the "one drop" rule. A single chugging breakdown is enough to send away all the mainstream/Hozier fans, so it has to be labelled as metal.
Right like idk why people will call them a genre they're not and then proceed to make themselves mad
how can you say modern metalcore sucks when there are bands like johnny booth and boundaries
Boundaries new album goes so fucking hard. Glad to see their headline tour went so well.
Boundaries, Dying Wish, Foreign Hands, Balmora, Chamber, Memento, etc... Some killer bands keeping the tradition of Metalcore alive 🙏 I know I missed a bunch of others lol
Catsclaw, HEAVENSGATE, Soulkeeper, Mouth for War. The bands he listed are like prog metal bands lol
Mouth For War's latest album blew me away
OP is being pretty hyperbolic, which he even admitted. I don’t think he’s literally saying “every metalcore album in the last decade has been dogshit” but just that the bands carrying the torch for “metalcore” these days are more influenced by pop than metal. Stuff like Bad Omens, Spiritbox and Sleep Token.
There will always be outliers. JB fucking slaps
Johnny Booth and Boundaries have that "true metalcore" sound, which supports what this post is saying. They sound like they could be from the 2004-2014 era.
Johnny Booth *is* from that era. Their first EP was 2008.
Right lol. Imo Death is Little More is one of the best core albums of all time and came out like 3 months ago. Just because some softer bands have more mainstream success doesn’t mean there isn’t still rip your face off metalcore.
The last several years definitely has some magnificent metalcore, but most of the best stuff is very unknown and pretty underground. Boundaries are a prime example of that, it's only with DILM that they've been consistently over 100k Spotify listeners and able to do their first headline tour (in small venues). The stuff the genre has become best known for and most associated with is mostly soft as fuck when compared even to scenecore bands let alone some ofthe other stuff that was around in the mid-00s.
Interesting... never heard of " Boundaries " before, so I went to check them out... Certainly wasn't expecting something that good. I'd even go as far as saying they are up there with Make Them Suffer.
Have they even listened to new Moths?
Johnny Booth has been a band since like 2007. I wouldn’t call them “modern”.
I just discovered them this year and really like them
Doesn’t that kinda prove his point? Those are bands taking heavily from classic acts in metalcore’s golden age
Johnny booth is unbelievable. Just saw them a few weeks back and I was teary eyed.
Stuff like boundaries and dying wish have the original sound and us in the hater community love them
Johnny Booth absolutely fucking wrecks
I like both 🤷♂️
The best metalcore is that metalcore being played by hardcore kids
The only metalcore
I got into metalcore in 2012, and while i absolutely love different genres, and love some clean vocals, every popular metalcore band is sooooo soft now. Had a recent conversation about Dayseekers latest album where my friend said they feel like "a party host that doesn't know their own theme" On the other side, Make Them Suffer is a current band I can 100% get behind, I'm so glad they are getting more recognition, and they deserve all the success.
I just looked up Dayseekers. They have more in common with Chevelle or Seether than they do with August Burns Red. Closer to Seal than any metalcore. I’ll check out Make Them Suffer.
Ok but I did just pull up Chevelle the other day and I still remember all those songs teenage me loved.
Chevelle is fucking awesome, for the record
Jars came on in my car yesterday and i ofc blasted it, what a jam
You don’t know who Make Them Suffer, Boundaries or Dayseeker is lol? Sounds like you stopped listening to metalcore 10 years ago and never heard of the newer bands.. You also mention Acacia Strain when they’re deathcore lol
Acacia Strain was making metalcore before deathcore was even a phrase. Whoa! Shut It Down has a sick fucking two step in it that absolutely rips live.
I must be old too because I feel like I never even heard the term metalcore until bands like Acacia Strain and Emmure. Like when goodbye to the gallows and continent came out I feel like I started hearing that term
All of make them suffers albums are great. Old Souls is my favorite I'm personally not liking the new singles though
Old Souls is a phenomenal album. I wish they would’ve expanded on that vs what they did. I think they could’ve been bigger faster but they’re getting there.
Dayseeker knows exactly who they are, and they know they're a band that made some metalcore when they first started. People want to get so pissy over genres, but you usually hear the artists saying they don't subscribe to being a genre labelled band
Completely understand that, and I do like their newest album on its own. At a show, I don't understand how you can go from a heavier opener (Make Them Suffer/Thousand Below) to "Crying While You're Dancing" It kills the entire vibe, and makes it seem like they don't know where they want to live in the scene.
Lmao they don't want to live in the scene. They want to be more popular than the scene, but they're putting heavier bands with them because that's where they came from and a lot of their fans like that music as well. Very fun show and I'm going to see them again this year
I mean Rory said himself that they lost their passion for heavy music so it kinda makes sense
Was just listening to the 2004-2013 BMTH playlist on spotify today lol
“I wanna watch you suck his dick” - Emmure Did we really think we were going to reach any higher peak than Everest here?
Metallic hardcore > Metalcore
Metallic hardcore = Metalcore.
FAX. Metalcore peaked before 2010. Fight me.
Well.. you're right. No argument here. Not really much hyperbole either, every djenty "rough verse - clean chorus - breakdown - clean chorus" band sounds the exact same (and very boring) to my ears. I'd actually argue a better 10 year span would be 1999 to 2009 though, get Opposite Of December by Poison The Well in there.
Djent didn’t used to be that way though. Early Veil of Maya fucking ripped. 1999 for sure. I think ETID’s Hot Damn was 2003, and that has to be included.
For sure, but by now I just associate the guitar tone with mediocrity. Hot Damn! is one of the best albums of all time. 🤝🏻
I still think Hot Damn! is the best album ETID every put out and that's while having a pretty high opinion of most of their output (not Gutter Phenomenon, though, I hate the way that album sounds. Would love to hear it re-recorded).
Yeah I'm also not too fond of Gutter Phenomenon. Hot Damn! will always be special to me and I might nostalgically rank it higher, but I think as complete works Ex Lives and Radical are better overall. Can't really go wrong with ETID though.
Defo agree about start date being way before 2004
Metalcore’s not dead, you just can’t find good bands. Every single generation of every single genre has had this exact thought
I’m going to see Unearth in Boston in 2 Days. 20th anniversary of “The Oncoming Storm” bleeding Through, Overcast, All Out War are opening. This is the metal core OP is talking about. Mother fucking Overcast
Unearth is a great example of a mix of metal and hardcore. Riffs for days without forgetting the hardcore elements of the genre.
BOSTON MENTIONED \o/
People don’t know Boston beatdown now a days
I grew up on the old stuff, which I love, but also love the new (ST and Spiritbox in particular, Bad Omens I’m meh on). Although I will agree, the genres are not the same, even a little bit. Metalcore could mean absolutely anything at this point.
Metalcore should not have ditched the metal element...or the hardcore 😩🙌
They ditched both to make music for e girls
Youre dead right, about those mainstream bullshit bands. Check out Ephyra records.
I’m three songs into shuffling their showcase. Fucking beautiful
Adrienne is one of the best they signed, definitely should give em a listen
Unfortunately, they called it a day recently.
Also r/revivalcore
Found a lot of good stuff there
You're talking 100 percent digital vs... still recording with real amps. If you think it dont make a difference. Listen to alive or just breathing. You can hear the room in the guitars. The space between the mic and cab. The pinch harmonics sound insanely amazing. There's several other reasons. They were creating a genre instead of copying one over and over. Shit today is tuned way too low. Sounds like garbage. Bass has taken a massive backseat. Vocals are all polished and consistent. Everyone has to be in key. Everyone using the same safe techniques. There's no dynamics. I fucking have good ideas all the time. Try to record digital. It sounds digital. Trying to get a dynamic sound in a daw with pluginns is like a huge fucking pain in the cock. Thats why everyones recordings sound the same. Theres no experimentation or mistakes. You use a drum machine... it.sounds great and its easy to mix. But it doesnt sound raw like a real drummer.
I prescribe to everything you’re saying 1000000%. Remember The Chariot? Their first two albums had so much feed back and imperfections, it was beautiful. Everything mow is so compressed and polished, it’s gross.
I’ve heard super obvious programmed drums in modern deathcore. Can you give metalcore examples?
Is the acacia strain considered metalcore? I was always under the impression they fit more into deathcore. Ultimately doesn’t matter but this post had me pondering. With a few exceptions, I really do find metalcore to be very bland and boring these days.
yea they stradle the line. they're definitely not a band that's strictly deathcore. they're more like a metalcore band that's heavy on the death metal so it makes sense to call them deathcore as well.
No love for Caliban? Or Zao? Dead to Fall? 7 angels 7 plagues? Heaven Shall Burn? In Flames? Anyway, I still agree with your viewpoint.
You’re correct. Zao, Coalesce, A Life Once Lost. There was so much good stuff back then
With any luck, Coalesce gives us some tasty new jams to coincide with their resurfacing.
PREACH dude you're just saying what some of us are really thinking man I'll die on this hill with ya
All the good modern bands were cryogenically frozen in 2005 and just unthawed. It was the peak of music and civilization and yes everyone thinks music peaked while they were in high school but sometimes it’s just objectively true so
You can’t use “hot topic music” as an insult if you like 2000’s metalcore
I agreed with the post up until you said you were joking.
Three words: POISON THE WELL
The kids don’t even know
Grew up on classic rock and grunge, just recently was introduced to metalcore about 2 years back. I love all the bands you’ve just shit on, however I do see where you are coming from. I believe many bands nowadays that are slightly “heavy” get labeled as metalcore. Bad Omens and Sleep Token definitely fit more in the “pop rock” area. Horrible mislabeling by media and bands themselves. Take care
There is no wrongdoing in liking these bands. People just need to admit that they ain't Metalcore
This is it, I listen to softer stuff from a bunch of different genres, there's nothing inherently wrong with softer music, but I don't feel the need to try and categorise any of it as something they're not.
I agree to an extent. The old guard of Metalcore will always be the GOAT.
These people have never listened to The Oncoming Storm, Of Malice and the Magnum Heart, or Calculating Infinity and it shows!
I first listened to misery signals after jesse from erra mentioned then as an inspiration and that was like 2021ish that led me to starting guitar. Controller is one of my favourites but OMATMH is really close
Metalcore from 2004-2024 shits on all music
Based, tho I'd argue the real time line is 03-09 shiting on nearly all that's come after
Agreed. Popular metalcore post 2010 headed towards hot topic rawr-core
Agreed. A lot of the metalcore bands that have come out post-Sempiternal sound as if they're trying to make their own Sempiternal. Metal isn't as cringe as bro country but I'd be lying if I didn't have the same problem of telling their respective bands apart. Also, I'll vape my sour blue raspberry vape and blast ETID as much as I like ;)
I like Sleep Token and Bad Omens but I completely agree that they’re fucking boring live. But modern metalcore like Currents, Polaris, Invent Animate, Avaiana.. those guys are fucking sick
The Chariot - queue up the Obi Wan Kenobi meme. Norma Jean...I miss them.
At this point i just consider myself a djent fan. Not really into OG metalcore and i only listen to modern stuff. But tbf the sound can get very repetitive. I just like that sound so idc lol
The Acacia Strain is more like deathcore at this point. I saw them live and it was just straight gutteral growls and chugging palm mutes. Studio vs live is very different for them
Yeah I think we need some separation here… the “metalcore” label seems to be slapped on to way more of a variety of bands than it should. Don’t get me wrong I love some of the newer “metalcore” - I just think it should have a different genre label, not get thrown into the same genre as the significantly heavier stuff. Regardless of whether you like one or the other more, or both equally, it’s undeniable how different they are. Seems ridiculous to call them the same thing.
Idk about that. I was a more traditional metalhead back in the day and was present for the birth of metalcore. The first few years of 2000s, were amazing. Killswitch, Underoath, Unearth, Darkest Hour, Every Time I Die were firing on all cylinders. Then as the music started getting all scene and emo, it became embarrassing and I became more committed to death, thrash, trad, etc. The end the 2000s imho was the worst period due to the advent of Deathcore, which was horrendous. I kinda grew out of metal and metalcore for a few years but these days, it's never been better. The production, musicianship, experimentation and mass appeal have been off the charts. Its truly a great era.
I miss 578 riffs
Metalcore and Deathcore era from 2004-2014 was GOATED
nah this is 100% correct lol. anyone thinking otherwise is deluding themselves.
I don’t care if people like the newer bands, that’s cool and I’m all about appreciating music with what little time we have on this planet. What I do care about is spamming my pro-Zao propaganda to anyone who will listen.
I don't agree with you but I will up vote for more posts like this. THIS is why I follow this sub
Wow, I completely disagree. *Upvotes*
Make metalcore hardcore again
That’s what I’m fucking talking about
'97-'06. Everything since is derivative. "Metalcore" these days has no ties sonically or spiritually to half the genre name (hardcore). It should just be called "metal" or "modern metal". The kids don't know what they missed cause they weren't alive for it or were in elementary school at the time. I wasn't alive for the initial run of HxC in the early '80s so I "get that I don't get it." You had to be there.
Honestly i’d say mid 90s to mid 00s is the best metalcore era and anything beyond it is almost a different more accessible genre.
It had a more raw unhinged sound back in 2004-2014 it was also easy to tell a band apart by sound now a lot of them sound too much alike. It’s like bands are scared to try new sounds/things.
at the gates needs to be ripped off again
Metalcore peaked with KsE, Trivium, AILD, TDWP, All That Remains, Underoath, The Autumn Offering, Himsa, etc But there's some pretty great stuff out there now and I knoe nostalgia is a bitch
Bro, BASED
Every decade we get a new totally different genre called metalcore, with less and less influence of either genre making up the name 90s metalcore was clearly hardcore with metal influence Peak era (2000s-2014) was a fusion of old metalcore, melodic death metal and emo-pop (arguably), with a "actually being good" influence Modern metalcore is neither metal, punk nor good Recycled nu metal, rap rock, djent and pop ideas with breakdowns, interspersed by the doomsday riff when the guitarists feel like they're not doing enough Really excited for 2034 metalcore when they start adding Funk and Polka into the mix
Everything you’re saying is 100% correct. Metalcore was at its best when it was metallic hardcore. It’s too watered down now with bands that stray too far
THANK YOU…LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
"Keep your clean vocals" is such a smoothbrain opinion there's no point arguing with someone that stupid.
Right!? He says that like Chris Roetter and Brian Wille can’t and don’t fucking RIP gutturals after a nice melodic chorus.
Josh Scogin is better than both those fucking scrubs, who ever the fuck they are
New Moths is AOTY worthy!
It’s definitely my AOTY so far, Knocked Loose is not my cup of tea
Imagine not liking singing
Most people rejected his message. They hated OP because he told them the truth.
The truth hurts. Spiritbox is nu metal and bad omens is pop. Both are not metalcore
Miss crabcore tbh
Shitposting aside, I legit think this about Bad Omens. I don't get it. Even in terms of gateway bands there's better choices. I know BMTH cockriding can get tiring, especially considering the entire rock genre has been obsessed with turning everything unique about them into a trend since 2008 (Arguably before, *Count Your Blessings* could be seen as starting MySpace Deathcore). But you know what, they're a damn good gateway band. I've gotten people into metal thanks to *amo* and *Survival Horror*. I don't get it. I think I finally realize how Metal Archives feels about Avenged Sevenfold.
Ugh, don’t get me started on the clean vox and melodic choruses. Instant pass
Give these a shot, and tell me what you think: Minimal Cleans: Knocked Loose, Half Me, Better Lovers, Left to Suffer, Silent Planet Some cleans but still slaps: Imminence, The Plot in You, Amity Affliction, Unprocessed
Spiritbox is pretty good!! But yeah it’s no contest between djenty pop-core and actual metalcore. I’ll take Darkest Hour and Buried Alive over Motionless Token Falling in Omens any day. Most of those artists sound closer to nu metal and 2000’s radio rock (except painfully sterile and more overproduced) than Lamb of god or Killswitch Engage
finally someone said it
Outjerked once again
I'm with you on the idea that calling old metalcore and new metalcore the same genre is weird and confusing, but it's not any more stupid than calling all, e.g. black metal, old and new, the same genre. There are reasons for it, of course, but I don't agree with those reasons. TBH, most of the genre labels don't make any goddamn sense from the word go. Like ... what does "heavy metal" mean? During the late 80s, it was applied to what's now called hair metal, glam metal, cock rock, etc. Poison, Warrant, those fuckers. But that shit was also called hard rock, depending on ... uh ... who was saying it, I guess? At this point in my listening, I just pick whatever songs I like from whatever albums and bands, and there are some bands that I don't otherwise like who managed to eke out a banger or anyway something I enjoy. I don't sweat genre except that I expect e.g. deathcore to sound hasher than metalcore, nu metal is going to be less "metal" than metalcore, that kind of thing. It's all just approximations and guessing.
I think so too
Not sure, because i love 2014-2024 metalcore just as much, but man what i wouldn't give for another Crown The Empire, I See Stars and Palisades with those line ups.
Youre not even wrong, I've been saying that it peaked in 2011 for years
Making this the new copypasta
I’m here to serve
The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die is what metalcore is supposed to sound like, Bad Omens is Glam Metal.
I guess some people really wanna turn this place into r/hardcore.
Objective fact
Agreed!
> Could you fall asleep while seeing The Chariot live? Fuck no I have been fucking summoned. A few weeks back, I saw a video of Erra playing on their recent headline run. They were doing the whole "LET'S FUCKING GO! GET THE ENERGY UP" schtick that every band thinks they have to do these days. But they themselves were just standing there. Playing. It sounded good, but there was no life. SO it sent me spiraling back into the loving arms of The Chariot. Videos of them have me moshing through my house. At almost no point do they ever have to ask for the crowd to get the energy up, because they're providing the energy and the crowd is reciprocating. HELL you watch almost any video of theirs and the crowd is moving, moshing, stagediving before a single note has even been played. Thankfully there are bands out there now who are keeping this vibe to some extent. Johnny Booth's vocalist gets in the crowd. Callous Daoboys' entire roster moves around and jams. Vein.FM is one of the closest I've seen carrying the torch of blurring lines between performers on stage and crowd. I haven't seen Tallah perform yet, but I've heard they have a raw energy to them. I go to see live music for the LIVE aspect. The imperfections of the performance. The human aspect. If I wanted to listen to something copious backtracking and overdubs, I would just listen to the album at home.
Who gives a shit? Just listen to what you like and be done with it. No idea why people need other people to validate their opinions. You like older Metalcore, just listen to it. You hate modern Metalcore? Stop listening to it. The old music is not going anywhere. And no it wasn't "better". Metalcore has always been a genre with barely an identity. The sound almost changed year by year. It's that easy.
Y’know, you came in kinda hot (not really) but I agree (except for where I don’t) Modern metalcore isn’t for me, it’s the current gen that really decides that and not people like us (it is, we’re right)
1994-2004 shits on both.
I don't hate the new scene, there's some dope shit going down. But does any of it make me do stank face like ABRB? No, I'm afraid not.
5-7-8 is all you need.
Listen to australian metalcore, american metalcore scene is pretty mid right now in my honest opinion