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This is a list of notable hardcore punk bands. Hardcore punk (commonly shortened to hardcore) is an underground music genre that generally revolves around a thicker and more aggressive tone than earlier punk rock.
Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original youth crew bands and fans were predominantly straight edge.
Throwdown is an American heavy metal band from Orange County, California. Formed in 1997, the band has endured numerous lineup changes to the point where no original members remain. Throwdown has toured as part of Ozzfest, Sounds of the Underground, Hellfest, and Warped Tour, as well as with bands such as In Flames, Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Korn and Cavalera Conspiracy. The songs "Forever" and "Burn" were staples on MTV2's Headbangers Ball and Revolver Magazine called them part of "The Future of Metal" after hearing the album Vendetta. Initially branded a hardcore punk band, albums like Venom and Tears and Deathless took a sharp turn towards metal, with critics likening the band's sound to that of Pantera and Sepultura. The band are straight edge.
Mouthpiece was an American straight edge hardcore punk band, active from 1991 to 1996. Often seen as one of the seminal acts of the 'youth crew' era or the earliest revival of it. In 2000, the band reunited to play a show at CBGB, and in 2019, they reformed to play with Lifetime at The Stone Pony.
Trustkill Records was an American independent record label that started as a hardcore punk fanzine in April 1993. It started releasing hardcore, metal and rock records and merchandise in 1994. In 2010, the president of Trustkill, Josh Grabelle, formed a new label called Bullet Tooth Records.
Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and screaming. Nevertheless, the genre has been very diverse, with different bands showcasing very different styles. Many pioneering melodic hardcore bands, have proven influential across the spectrum of punk rock, as well as rock music more generally. The term melodic punk is often used to describe both melodic hardcore and skate punk bands.
Toby Morse (born April 8, 1970) is an American vocalist who is best known as the lead singer for punk rock band H2O. He is also one of the vocalists for hardcore punk group Hazen Street.
Full Force is a German heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented music festival held annually since 1994.
Cold as Life is an American hardcore band based out of Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1988. Lyrical themes consisted of brutal depictions of the horrors of growing up and living in a city plagued with corruption, murder, drugs, depression and poverty, along with the tragedy of losing friends, family and bandmates to murder and drug abuse. Their shows were frequently violent, involving vicious fights that often included stabbings and beatings with various weapons. However, Cold as Life has a large "family" based following. Stories of these shows would spread throughout the Midwest punk and hardcore communities, contributing to the band's notoriety. Cold as Life drew musical influence from such bands as Negative Approach, Sheer Terror, Discharge, 4 Skins, Cro-Mags, Black Sabbath, and Slayer.
Canadian hardcore punk originated in the early 1980s. It was harder, faster, and heavier than the Canadian punk rock that preceded it. Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81. Hardcore historian Steven Blush said that the term "hardcore" is also a reference to the sense of being "fed up" with the existing punk and new wave music. Blush also states that the term refers to "an extreme: the absolute most Punk." An article in Drowned in Sound argues that 1980s-era "hardcore is the true spirit of punk", because "after all the poseurs and fashionistas fucked off to the next trend of skinny pink ties with New Romantic haircuts, singing wimpy lyrics", the punk scene consisted only of people "completely dedicated to the DIY ethics". One definition of the genre is "a form of exceptionally harsh punk rock."
Skarhead is an American hardcore punk band from New York City, founded and fronted by Lord Ezec a.k.a. Danny Diablo. The group is considered the originators of thugcore music, a subgenre of hardcore punk "full of relentless breakdowns and throwdown-ready posturing". They have toured with Gwar, Hatebreed, and Earth Crisis. They have been cited as an influence by Deez Nuts and Fucked Up.
Beatdown hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with prominent elements of heavy metal. Beatdown hardcore features aggressive vocals, gang vocals, heavy guitar riffs and breakdowns and lyrics discussing unity, brotherhood, volatile interpersonal relationships and machismo. The genre has its origins in late 1980s New York hardcore bands such as Breakdown, Killing Time and Madball, and was pioneered in the mid-1990s by bands like Bulldoze, Terror Zone and Neglect. The definition of the genre has expanded over time to incorporate artists increasingly indebted to metal, notably Xibalba, Sunami and Knocked Loose.
Obey the Brave was a Canadian hardcore punk band From Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa, Ontario. Formed in 2012, the band features Despised Icon singer Alex Erian on vocals as well as Blind Witness bassist Miguel Lepage, guitarists John Campbell and Greg Wood, and drummer Stevie Morotti. By the middle of 2012, just over half a year after becoming a band, the metalcore act found itself signed to iconic label Good Fight, with the EP, Ups And Downs, released in 2012. They signed to the label Epitaph, with the band's debut studio album, Young Blood, released in August of that same year. A sophomore album, Salvation, followed in 2014. The third album Mad Season was followed up in 2017. The fourth album Balance was followed up in 2019.
Broken Teeth are an English hardcore punk band formed in Manchester in 2007. The band have released one studio album and four EPs.
Malevolence are an English metalcore band formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in 2010. They have released three studio albums and one EP and established their own record label called MLVLTD Music.
Hardcore punk in the United Kingdom began in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the second wave of punk rock in the country. The scene produced many successful and influential hardcore punk bands throughout the 1980s such as Discharge, GBH and the Exploited and led to the pioneering of genres such as grindcore, street punk, crust punk and D-beat.
Sunami is an American hardcore punk band formed in San Jose, California in 2019. Originally intended as a short-lived joke band by members of various San Francisco Bay Area hardcore bands, Sunami sought to parody the ignorant style of many hardcore bands on their 2019 demo Demonstration. However, after gaining notoriety for their violent debut live performance, the band continued past their planned time frame. They have since released three EPs, with their debut self-titled album being released on June 14, 2023. A 2023 article by Revolver credited them as "in the upper echelon of bands dominating the hardcore zeitgeist".
Gulch was an American hardcore punk band formed in Santa Cruz, California in 2016. The band released only one studio album Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress (2020), as well as two EPs and one demo tape. They performed their final live performance on July 31, 2022, at the peak of their popularity. The New York Times credited them as one of the driving forces of American hardcore's "Rennaissance" in the 2020s.
Hardcore outfit that melds metalcore with a straight-edge ethos