The difference, by ear
Progressive metalcore keeps the screamed verse and sung chorus and adds odd metres, extended forms and ambient production.
Both are part sung, part screamed and move at much the same pace, around 130 to 190 bpm. To hear the difference, play Architects next to Integrity. Progressive metalcore grew out of metalcore, twenty years later.
In figures
Progressive metalcore
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Metalcore › Progressive metalcore
In short
Metalcore with eight-string guitars, ambient passages and structures borrowed from djent.
How it sounds
- Seven- and eight-string guitars with polyrhythms taken from djent.
- Ambient passages and electronic textures between the heavy sections.
- Very clean production with wide dynamics and vocals across many registers.
Key acts
- Architects
- Erra
- Northlane
Start here
The pickArchitects - All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us. Devastating in both senses.
Full page →Metalcore
Where it sits
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.
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