Poll: Metalcore Hate

[Klumpfot]

Metalcore is to metal as Vanilla Ice is to gangsta rap.

On a less inflammatory note: I imagine the dislike stems from the fact that some 'proper' metalheads feel protective about their favourite music. It is something like why a 'proper' punk would never be caught dead listening to Green Day; bastardizing your favourite music to make it more widely accepted, and in the process cheapening it, and cheapening other bands with a similar sound by the new mainstream association.

Something like that...?

 

[Vault101]

snip?

whats wrong with dubstep?...I get that its not to everyones taste but the whole "ERMAGERD DUBSTEP IS EVIL" gets really old, I wont deny how crap it can be (the novelty of skrillex gets old after about 5 minutes)but when used well..like any form of electronic music can be awsome

as for Korn I liked "narsistic animal" fromt hat album...and I'm not a fan of Skrillex by any strech of the imagination

as for Linkin park being pop? minutes to midnight way back when was their softest and most "mainstream" sounding album (shadow of the day for example)...but thousand suns was anything BUT pop...it was a experimental concept album (one which I really like and dont understand the hate)

 

[BreakfastMan]

I am not even entirely sure what a "metalcore" is. The name makes it sound kind of like it is a sub-genre of grindcore, but I doubt it is the same. But considering I like hair/glam/pop metal... I will probably disagree with those people who crap on metalcore as a genre.

 

[sageoftruth]

I personally haven't heard much metalcore, but I've got lots of friends who complain about it. Breakdowns are their biggest gripe.
I probably wouldn't like it either. Like BathorysGraveland, I don't like whiny vocals or chugging guitar riffs (if that can be applied to all metalcore). I tend to prefer guitars that produce an actual melody rather than being just another form of percussion.

 

[ManOwaRrior]

Not a fan of Metalcore here. Although exactly why I admittedly cannot tell. It has something to do with the singing style. I like The growling of say Amon Amarth or Dark Tranquillity, but not the shouting that is in a lot of Metalcore. It also has to do with the riffs.
I can listen to melodic death metal all day, but not to "traditional" death metal.

 

[Strazdas]

snip?

whats wrong with dubstep?...I get that its not to everyones taste but the whole "ERMAGERD DUBSTEP IS EVIL" gets really old, I wont deny how crap it can be (the novelty of skrillex gets old after about 5 minutes)but when used well..like any form of electronic music can be awsome

BUt thats the problem, its electronic music. and its the worst kind of electronic music. its almost like trance but more agressive.

 

[Vault101]

BUt thats the problem, its electronic music. and its the worst kind of electronic music. its almost like trance but more agressive.

so mixing things up is unacceptible now?

I may be going off on a tangent here but I've come to realise straight up "metal" (or rock or crap...whatever you want to cal it) bores me...I just fail to get good tingly music vibes from all those guitars and drums

And now, The Human Abstract.

like the example you posted here (but as with rules there are exceptions)

anyway I actually have a question for those knowledgeable in metal fandom....is it considered "emo kiddie bullshit" if it doesnt go all out with screaming? I know fromw hat you said that isnt the case but is there a branch of the fandom who thinks only good metal is screaming metal?

also is this metalcore?

 

[Dense_Electric]

Most metalcore is pretty much crap, but there are a few exceptions. Avenged Sevenfold's early work deserves to be placed right alongside Ride the Lightning as some of the greatest metal ever written, and I like most of Bullet's non-thrash stuff as well as their heavier stuff (there are also definitely some other bands I'm forgetting, but those are the ones that stand out). Most of the time, however, I prefer thrash, groove, power, classic, and new-wave metal (and occasionally death metal, but most death metal is pretty much shit as well).

snip?

whats wrong with dubstep?...I get that its not to everyones taste but the whole "ERMAGERD DUBSTEP IS EVIL" gets really old, I wont deny how crap it can be (the novelty of skrillex gets old after about 5 minutes)but when used well..like any form of electronic music can be awsome

BUt thats the problem, its electronic music. and its the worst kind of electronic music. its almost like trance but more agressive.

I must disagree, dubstep is actually just about the only kind of electronic music I actually enjoy. Maybe it's just because it's heavy and generally not as repetitive, but most other electronic puts me to sleep.

 

[BreakfastMan]

I know fromw hat you said that isnt the case but is there a branch of the fandom who thinks only good metal is screaming metal?

Probably, but those guys have poor taste anyways. If anybody says to my face that Motorhead or Testament are not metal because no screaming, I will slap them silly.

 

[shrekfan246]

BUt thats the problem, its electronic music. and its the worst kind of electronic music. its almost like trance but more agressive.

so mixing things up is unacceptible now?

I may be going off on a tangent here but I've come to realise straight up "metal" (or rock or crap...whatever you want to cal it) bores me...I just fail to get good tingly music vibes from all those guitars and drums

And now, The Human Abstract.

like the example you posted here (but as with rules there are exceptions)

anyway I actually have a question for those knowledgeable in metal fandom....is it considered "emo kiddie bullshit" if it doesnt go all out with screaming? I know fromw hat you said that isnt the case but is there a branch of the fandom who thinks only good metal is screaming metal?

also is this metalcore?

Story of the Year is "post-hardcore". You also managed to cherry-pick one of their heaviest songs.

The differentiation is pretty cloudy between the two genres, in all honesty, but metalcore is generally "heavier". It's got deeper guitar tones with more emphasis, typically faster drum playing, and there's often a heavy emphasis on harsh vocals with a stark contrast of using clean vocals for choruses.


That song, for instance, is a "typical" or "mainstream" metalcore song.

And I imagine there are people who believe that metal without harsh vocals isn't "real" metal, but generally speaking those people are silly. About as silly as people who believe that metalcore has to have breakdowns, or else it's not really metalcore. But then, I don't get as uppity about genre classification as a lot of people seem to, so I might not have the best insight onto that topic.

Funny enough though, a lot of people tend to call post-hardcore bands "emo kiddy bullshit". Really puts me off of discussing my love for the genre, since I don't like inciting hatred over miniscule, paltry things.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

They just aren't good musicians. To elaborate, it sounds like they put their anger into the song without bothering to give it much compositional shape. It lacks character and thought. The good kind of metal, even the really crude stuff, at least has an idea of what it wants musically. Even the label "metal-core" betrays this attitude - two types of music smashed together not because it makes sense musically but because "we like them".

 

[Silly Hats]

Kind of rage quitting this topic, there is so much wrong.

This is what 'Metalcore' sounded like:

Whether or not you like Modern music is a different question.

They just aren't good musicians. To elaborate, it sounds like they put their anger into the song without bothering to give it much compositional shape. It lacks character and thought. The good kind of metal, even the really crude stuff, at least has an idea of what it wants musically. Even the label "metal-core" betrays this attitude - two types of music smashed together not because it makes sense musically but because "we like them".

What about Drone/Grind/Noise? I know that those musicians know what they're doing, because it sounds like 'just noise' to people that don't listen to that sort of music - does that make it bad?

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

They just aren't good musicians. To elaborate, it sounds like they put their anger into the song without bothering to give it much compositional shape. It lacks character and thought. The good kind of metal, even the really crude stuff, at least has an idea of what it wants musically. Even the label "metal-core" betrays this attitude - two types of music smashed together not because it makes sense musically but because "we like them".

What about Drone/Grind/Noise? I know that those musicians know what they're doing, because it sounds like 'just noise' to people that don't listen to that sort of music - does that make it bad?

Is noise a genre? I must be behind the times. Grind and Drone are very distinctive. Grind especially has an overriding purpose, a destructive one. Metalcore doesn't seem to want to be anything, and you don't even have to listen to it to know that - the title says it all in the same way you wouldn't have to listen to Jazzrock or Bluestechno to know it has no original ideas.

 

[Genocidicles]

I dislike the clean vocals which I find to be really damn whiny. That's not metal!

Also the musicians tend to look like hipsters or androgynous douchebags.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I dislike the clean vocals which I find to be really damn whiny. That's not metal!

Also the musicians tend to look like hipsters or androgynous douchebags.

You're not listening to the right metalcore.

 

[Genocidicles]

snip

Still sounded pretty whiny to me. Not as whiny as most of the other stuff, and maybe the guitars added to it, but I still didn't like it.

At least the band didn't look like a bunch of idiots though.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

snip

Still sounded pretty whiny to me. Not as whiny as most of the other stuff, and maybe the guitars added to it, but I still didn't like it.

At least the band didn't look like a bunch of idiots though.

Try these guys:


No clean singing at all.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Metalcore seems to get a lot of hate because it's new-ish and fairly popular, and it's just not 'true metal' or whatever shit some of the deluded wallies on the Metal Hammer Facebook page will attempt to claim. There is a lot of shit metalcore, because it's been fairly commercially successful, but that doesn't make the good metalcore bands any less awesome.

Spoiler

Metalcore isn't a subgenre of metal, it's a subgenre of punk rock -- specifically a sub-sub-genre of hardcore punk. You might recognize punk rock as metal's natural enemy

I'm not entirely convinced that holds up... I'd agree that stuff like Every Time I Die is more punk than metal, but stuff like Parkway Drive is much more metal than punk. It's kinda a subgenre of both.

They just aren't good musicians. To elaborate, it sounds like they put their anger into the song without bothering to give it much compositional shape. It lacks character and thought. The good kind of metal, even the really crude stuff, at least has an idea of what it wants musically. Even the label "metal-core" betrays this attitude - two types of music smashed together not because it makes sense musically but because "we like them".

What about Drone/Grind/Noise? I know that those musicians know what they're doing, because it sounds like 'just noise' to people that don't listen to that sort of music - does that make it bad?

Is noise a genre? I must be behind the times. Grind and Drone are very distinctive. Grind especially has an overriding purpose, a destructive one. Metalcore doesn't seem to want to be anything, and you don't even have to listen to it to know that - the title says it all in the same way you wouldn't have to listen to Jazzrock or Bluestechno to know it has no original ideas.

I can't say I agree with you in the slightest. So much musical innovation usually just comes from mixing different influences- Paul Simon's Graceland, The Clash taking ska and reggae elements into punk. It's not even like metalcore is the only subgenre of metal that does this; thrash metal, folk metal, neo-classical metal, prog metal... It's one long-ass list.