The difference, by ear
Skate punk descends from hardcore and kept the speed while adding melody, harmony and studio polish hardcore refused.
Hardcore punk is shouted where skate punk is sung cleanly, at much the same pace, around 180 to 250 bpm. Songs run longer in skate punk: usually 2 to 3 minutes, against under a minute to 2 minutes in hardcore punk. To hear the difference, play NOFX next to Black Flag. They share a root in punk rock, and hardcore punk came first, by ten years. California appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Skate punk
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Pop punk › Skate punk
In short
Faster, more technical pop punk with two-beat drumming and short solos. The soundtrack to skate videos.
How it sounds
- Very fast tempos with two-beat drumming and technical transitions.
- Clear-toned bass with its own often highly technical lines.
- Vocal harmonies everywhere, even at 220 bpm.
Key acts
- NOFX
- Pennywise
- Lagwagon
Start here
The pickNOFX - Punk in Drublic. Technical, fast and unreasonably well written.
Full page →Hardcore punk
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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