Deathcore

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Deathcore is a generic term for music that combines Metalcore with Death Metal (usually more of the former than the latter, although there are certainly exceptions to that). It usually combines blastbeat-led riffing akin to Death Metal with breakdowns influenced by both Metalcore and Brutal Death "slams". Deathcore's prominent vocal style is the growling of Death Metal, often juxtaposed with Metalcore-derived screams and high-pitched backing shrieks a la Cannibal Corpse and Deicide.

The most popular subset of Deathcore employs breakdowns, grooves and Melodic Death Metal-influenced riffs with occasional glimpses of traditional DM. "Pig squeal" vocals, which try to emulate the sound of a pig being slaughtered, are sometimes used (less commonly in recent years thanks to Complaining About Shows You Don't Like). Brutal Deathcore bands eschew melodic stylings and often invoke Slam Death Metal tropes. Some Deathcore bands add in an overt nod to the genre's Hardcore Punk roots by including gang vocals. In the genre's more melodic forms, Symphonic Metal-influenced keys/synth are not uncommon.

Because it borrows heavily from its commercially successful grandparent Metalcore, Deathcore is arguably more viable in the mainstream than Death Metal. It could be seen as a Darker and Edgier version of the former and a Lighter and Softer descendant of the latter. Because It's Popular, Now It Sucks and the genre's heavy influence from modern Hardcore Punk supposedly makes it a "bastardization" of Heavy Metal, the genre has become a prominent target for contempt from purists in recent years.

As with Nu-metal, the term "deathcore" is rejected by many bands because it's seen as derogatory.

Bands typically described as deathcore include:
  • All Shall Perish
  • Annotations of an Autopsy
  • Arsonists Get All the Girls
  • As Blood Runs Black
  • Born of Osiris
  • Bring Me the Horizon (early material)
  • Carnifex
  • Chelsea Grin
  • Cryptopsy (formerly Brutal Death/Tech Death)
  • Dance Club Massacre
  • Despised Icon (sometimes considered a Trope Maker along with The Red Chord)
  • Dr. Acula
  • Emmure
  • Impending Doom
  • The Irish Front
  • Iwrestledabearonce (with elements of Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly akin to Mr. Bungle)
  • Job for a Cowboy (Trope Codifier; they were only part of this genre on their debut EP Doom, after which they abandoned the genre and moved onto straightforward Death Metal)
  • Killwhitneydead
  • Knights of the Abyss
  • Misericordiam
  • Oceano
  • The Red Chord (sometimes considered a Trope Maker along with Despised Icon; overlaps with Technical Death Metal and Grindcore)
  • The Red Death
  • Rose Funeral
  • Salt the Wound
  • See You Next Tuesday
  • Suicide Silence (Trope Codifier)
  • Underoath (Ur Example-very early material before lightening up)
  • Veil of Maya (also Technical Death Metal)
  • Waking the Cadaver
  • Whitechapel
  • Winds of Plague (Symphonic Deathcore, at least for a while; they seem to have become the biggest example of the "Despised-Icon-Meets-Korn" type of deathcore)
  • With Blood Comes Cleansing
Deathcore provides examples of the following tropes:
  • Base Breaker - Bring it up on the internet. Just try it once, and hope to escape with your life.
  • Christian Rock - Impending Doom, With Blood Comes Cleansing and Underneath the Gun.
  • Dead Horse Music Genre - Many have called it this, including some deathcore bands who later jumped ship and changed their style (such as Job for a Cowboy moving onto tech-death, or Bring Me the Horizon onto straight-up metalcore).
  • Emo Teen - Many deathcore musicians have an emo-esque look, with Bring Me the Horizon being the primary example.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse - The Red Chord and Born of Osiris have earned grudging respect from metal fans thanks to their greater musical complexity compared to most other deathcore bands.
  • Follow the Leader - The main reason for the huge amount of deathcore bands around.
  • Gorn - Probably the most common lyrical topic of this genre.
  • Hatedom - At the moment, it's the metal fandom's favourite target genre-wise.
  • Memetic Mutation - I LIKE SHREDDED WHEEEAAAT!!!!
    • A minor one would be the bizarre shot from Job For A Cowboy's "Entombment Of The Machine" video, where all the music stops, the singer gives out a blood-curdling, yet somewhat feminine scream, and the drummer practically flings himself onto the drumset to bring the sticks down. Sometimes referred to as the "WHEEEEEEEEE- WHOPP."
      • From the same song comes the Mondegreen "PREHEAT PIZZA ROLLS/BRING ME APPLESAUCE"
  • Never Live It Down - The uno incident for Rose Funoral Funeral. It might be too early to tell, however.
  • The Scrappy - Of all the various offshoots of death metal, deathcore is the most disliked.
    • Even within deathcore circles, however, Waking the Cadaver and Dr. Acula are widely hated.
    • Rose Funeral also gets a lot more hate than other deathcore bands due to the uno incident.
  • Snark Bait - The entire genre, really, although Bring Me the Horizon, Waking the Cadaver and Suicide Silence get the bulk of the snark. Since the uno incident, Rose Funeral is also a prime target for snark (case in point).
  • Spiritual Successor - To Nu-metal - many of the genre's bands are openly influenced by, among others Korn and Deftones. Their music sounds little like those two bands though.
    • It could also be seen as the Spiritual Successor to Metalcore, as the fan base is spearheaded by Metalcore fans.
  • Trope Codifier - Job for a Cowboy, Suicide Silence and Bring Me the Horizon are all pretty much equally responsible for popularising the genre.
  • Trope Maker - Either Despised Icon or The Red Chord.
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