Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Beatdown / metallic hardcore1993

Second genre

Hardcore punk1980

Head to headBeatdown / metallic hardcore vs Hardcore punk
Beatdown / metallic hardcore: heaviness 9, melody 3, speed 5. Hardcore punk: heaviness 6, melody 4, speed 9.Heaviness9 / 6Melody3 / 4Speed5 / 9
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Beatdown is hardcore's heaviest and slowest wing, built around the mosh part rather than around speed.

Hardcore punk is shouted where beatdown / metallic hardcore is growled or screamed, and much faster: 190 to 250 bpm against 90 to 140. Songs run longer in beatdown / metallic hardcore: usually 2 to 3½ minutes, against under a minute to 2 minutes in hardcore punk. To hear the difference, play Hatebreed next to Black Flag. Beatdown / metallic hardcore comes from the metal side of the tree and hardcore punk from the rock side, and hardcore punk came first, by thirteen years.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Beatdown / metallic hardcore9
Hardcore punk6
−3
Speed
Beatdown / metallic hardcore5
Hardcore punk9
+4
Melody
Beatdown / metallic hardcore3
Hardcore punk4
+1

Beatdown / metallic hardcore

1993 · New York / New Jersey

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Metalcore › Beatdown / metallic hardcore

In short

Hardcore reduced to breakdowns and slow groove, with barked vocals and lyrics about loyalty and endurance.

How it sounds

  • Slow, heavy riffing built entirely around the breakdown.
  • Very low tunings with thick, matte guitar tone.
  • Barked vocals with gang shouts and lyrics about loyalty, the street and endurance.

Key acts

  • Hatebreed
  • Madball
  • Terror

Start here

The pickHatebreed - Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire. Twenty-seven minutes, produced by Steve Evetts.

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Hardcore punk

1980 · California / Washington DC · 13 subgenres

Where it sits

Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk

In short

Punk accelerated to 200 bpm, songs of one minute and shouted vocals. Without it there is no thrash, no grindcore, no metalcore.

How it sounds

  • Tempos of 180 to 250 bpm with galloping or skank drum patterns.
  • Songs under a minute, with whole albums running twenty minutes.
  • Shouted rather than sung vocals, and direct political or personal lyrics.

Key acts

  • Black Flag
  • Minor Threat
  • Bad Brains
  • Discharge

Start here

The pickBad Brains - Bad Brains (the ROIR cassette). The fastest band of the decade.

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