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

Melodic hardcore1985

Second genre

Pop punk1977

Head to headMelodic hardcore vs Pop punk
Melodic hardcore: heaviness 5, melody 7, speed 8. Pop punk: heaviness 3, melody 10, speed 7.Heaviness5 / 3Melody7 / 10Speed8 / 7
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Pop punk harmonises its choruses and sings them. Melodic hardcore shouts them, and its subject matter is political and personal rather than romantic.

Pop punk is sung cleanly where melodic hardcore is shouted, and a little slower: 160 to 200 bpm against 180 to 220. To hear the difference, play Dag Nasty next to Ramones. They share a root in punk rock, and pop punk came first, by eight years. United States appears in the origins of both.

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

In figures

Heaviness
Melodic hardcore5
Pop punk3
−2
Speed
Melodic hardcore8
Pop punk7
−1
Melody
Melodic hardcore7
Pop punk10
+3

Melodic hardcore

1985 · USA

Where it sits

Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Melodic hardcore

In short

Same speed and urgency, but with sung choruses and guitar harmonies.

How it sounds

  • Hardcore speed with major-key harmonic progressions.
  • Two-part guitar harmonies and sung choruses.
  • More personal or reflective political lyrics rather than pure slogans.

Key acts

  • Dag Nasty
  • Strike Anywhere
  • Comeback Kid

Start here

The pickKid Dynamite - Kid Dynamite. Seventeen songs, twenty-four minutes, zero fat.

Full page →

Pop punk

1977 · USA · 2 subgenres

Where it sits

Rock › Punk rock › Pop punk

In short

Punk speed, garage-pop choruses and lyrics about suburban boredom.

How it sounds

  • Simple major progressions - I-V-vi-IV - played fast and distorted.
  • Choruses with vocal harmonies and singalong 'whoa-oh' hooks.
  • Clean production, compressed drums, tempos of 160 to 200 bpm.

Key acts

  • Ramones
  • Green Day
  • blink-182
  • The Offspring

Start here

The pickThe Descendents - Milo Goes to College. The manual, written twelve years before the boom.

Full page →