The difference, by ear
Grindcore is faster and simpler - brevity is its device. Mathcore songs are longer and their difficulty is structural rather than a matter of speed.
Both are growled or screamed, but grindcore is much faster: 200 to 320 bpm against 140 to 260. Songs run longer in mathcore: usually 1½ to 4 minutes, against under a minute to 1½ minutes in grindcore. To hear the difference, play The Dillinger Escape Plan next to Napalm Death. Mathcore comes from the rock side of the tree and grindcore from the metal side, and grindcore came first, by eight years.
In figures
Mathcore
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Post-hardcore › Mathcore
In short
Metalcore with its wiring torn out: meter changes every few seconds, dissonance and chaos controlled to the millimetre.
How it sounds
- Meter changes every few seconds, executed at maximum speed.
- Dissonant chords and minor-second intervals used as primary material.
- Jazz-level drum technique applied at grindcore intensity.
Key acts
- The Dillinger Escape Plan
- Converge
- Botch
- Car Bomb
Start here
The pickConverge - Jane Doe. Technically mathcore, emotionally something else entirely.
Full page →Grindcore
Where it sits
In short
Hardcore and death metal compressed into songs under a minute, with continuous blast beats. Napalm Death have a song that lasts one second.
How it sounds
- Blast beats at maximum speed, songs under a minute, albums of twenty minutes.
- Short hardcore and death metal riffs with no development.
- Dual vocals: guttural growl and high shriek, alternating rapidly.
Key acts
- Napalm Death
- Repulsion
- Terrorizer
- Brutal Truth
Start here
The pickNapalm Death - Scum. Side B, with Bill Steer on guitar, is the essential half.
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