Deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore.[1][2][3][4][5] The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns.[6][7] While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.[8][9][10]
Deathcore
Late 1990s – early 2000s, North America
Some of the genre's earliest examples include Antagony, Despised Icon, and the Red Chord. Deathcore's expansion in the mid-2000s saw bands like All Shall Perish, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Bring Me the Horizon, Suicide Silence, Carnifex, Job for a Cowboy, Chelsea Grin and Whitechapel taking off. In the 2010s, deathcore bands began experimenting with an eclectic selection of other genres.
The genre is noted for its criticism from longtime fans of heavy metal music, usually for its frequent use of breakdowns. Some musicians classified as deathcore have rejected the label.
Characteristics[edit]
Deathcore combines death metal characteristics such as blast beats, down-tuned guitars, tremolo picking, and growled vocals with metalcore characteristics such as breakdowns. The genre is usually defined by breakdowns and death metal riffs or metalcore riffs played in the usual death metal tuning.[6][11] Like in other extreme metal fusion genres, deathcore guitarists down-tune their guitars to give their music a heavier sound. Deathcore bands may also employ guitar solos as well.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
Low growls and shrieked screams are common types of vocals in deathcore.[6][18] Some other techniques that deathcore vocalists have used include what is known as pig squeals.[19][20][21][22][23] Sung vocals in the genre are rare and most bands seldom if ever use them, but the idea has been experimented with by a few bands such as All Shall Perish (in the song "Awaken the Dreamers") and Oceano (in the song "Incisions").[24]
Fusion with other genres[edit]
A variety of deathcore bands experimented with other genres into their music as influence and time progressed. Emmure has been credited to be heavily influenced by nu metal[59] and was described as "the new Limp Bizkit".[60] Suicide Silence's 2011 album The Black Crown is a deathcore album with some nu metal influences.[61] Other examples of nu metal-inspired deathcore bands include Here Comes the Kraken's later material.[61] The early 2010s saw bands fusing the genre with influences from djent and progressive metal, which began to achieve underground popularity. Examples of the aforementioned include Veil of Maya,[62][63] Born of Osiris,[64][65] and After the Burial.[66] Some bands, such as Make Them Suffer and Winds of Plague, mix deathcore with symphonic/classical elements.[67][68][69] French band Betraying the Martyrs has been described as "[the] punishing brutality of deathcore with melodic flourishes pulled from symphonic and progressive metal, giving it a theatricality that feels distinctly European."[70]