The difference, by ear
Both are growled or screamed, but black metal is a little faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 140 to 260. Songs run longer in black metal: usually 4 to 9 minutes, against 1½ to 4 minutes in mathcore. To hear the difference, play The Dillinger Escape Plan next to Bathory. Mathcore comes from the rock side of the tree and black metal from the metal side, and black metal came first, by eleven 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 →Black metal
Where it sits
In short
Tremolo picking, blast beats, shrieked vocals and deliberately cold production. More an aesthetic than a technique - atmosphere matters more than clean sound.
How it sounds
- Tremolo picking on open fifth voicings, with vocals in the high register.
- Deliberately thin, cold production - the missing bass is an aesthetic choice, not an accident.
- Fast blast beats, drums often mixed back, atmosphere placed above technique.
Key acts
- Bathory
- Mayhem
- Darkthrone
- Emperor
Start here
The pickDarkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky. The production is intentional, not a flaw.
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