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

Metalcore1990

Second genre

Hardcore punk1980

Head to headMetalcore vs Hardcore punk
Metalcore: heaviness 8, melody 7, speed 7. Hardcore punk: heaviness 6, melody 4, speed 9.Heaviness8 / 6Melody7 / 4Speed7 / 9
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Metalcore is hardcore that learned metal riffs and kept hardcore's breakdown and its scene. If there is no metal riff, it is hardcore.

Hardcore punk is shouted where metalcore is part sung, part screamed, and faster: 190 to 250 bpm against 140 to 190. Songs run longer in metalcore: usually 3 to 5 minutes, against under a minute to 2 minutes in hardcore punk. To hear the difference, play Integrity next to Black Flag. Metalcore comes from the metal side of the tree and hardcore punk from the rock side, and hardcore punk came first, by ten years.

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

In figures

Heaviness
Metalcore8
Hardcore punk6
−2
Speed
Metalcore7
Hardcore punk9
+2
Melody
Metalcore7
Hardcore punk4
−3

Metalcore

1990 · USA · 3 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Metalcore

In short

Hardcore and extreme metal fused: breakdowns, melodic riffing and screamed verses alternating with sung choruses.

How it sounds

  • The breakdown: a half-time section with syncopated riffing, built for dancing.
  • Swedish-influenced melodic riffs alternating with hardcore passages.
  • Screamed verses and clean sung choruses - the standard formula after 2002.

Key acts

  • Integrity
  • Killswitch Engage
  • Converge
  • Parkway Drive

Start here

The pickKillswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing. The album that defined a decade.

Full page →

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.

Full page →