Mathcore | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | 1990s, United States |
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Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatures, polymeters, syncopations and tempo changes. Early mathcore lyrics were addressed from a realistic worldview and with a pessimistic, defiant, resentful or sarcastic point of view.
In the 1990s, the hardcore punk scene started to embrace extreme metal openly. It also started to become highly ideological,[ clarification needed ] with most of the popular bands being part of subcultures. This led to bands such as Converge, Botch, Coalesce and The Dillinger Escape Plan to establish the genre.
Mathcore emphasizes complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatures, polymeters, syncopations and tempo changes, while at the same time the drummers play with overall loudness. [1] [2] [3] [4] In the words of The Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson, their "choppy rhythms that people get kind of tongue-twisted on" are "Latin rhythms" mixed with the speed and "stamina" of heavy metal, drawing a parallel between them and John McLaughlin's use of Eastern sounds within a jazz context. [5] Most pioneering mathcore drummers had jazz, orchestral or academic backgrounds, including Dazzling Killmen's Blake Fleming, [6] Craw's Neil Chastain, [7] Coalesce's James Dewees, [8] Botch's Tim Latona, [9] The Dillinger Escape Plan's Chris Pennie, [10] and Converge's Ben Koller. [11] As with the rhythm section, the guitars perform riffs that constantly change and are seldom repeated after one section. Early bands were almost completely atonal with the guitars or all the instruments playing polyphonic dissonance. [1] After the first The Dillinger Escape Plan records, the guitar work of most bands became extremely technical as well and "not only musically challenging, but physically demanding." [1] [12]
In a 2016 article, Ian Cory of Invisible Oranges described mathcore's emphasis on technical complexity as "the means by which" they attain the aggressiveness of punk, "but never the end unto itself", distinguishing it from "the overflowing excess" of progressive metal. [12] Writer Keith Kahn-Harris has described some mathcore bands as a mix between the aggressiveness of grindcore and the idioms of free jazz. [13]
Early mathcore lyrics were addressed from a realistic worldview and with a pessimistic, defiant, resentful or sarcastic point of view. They have been singled out for their philosophical and poetic elements. [1] [14] [15] [16] [17] Some bands satirized and criticized the militant branches of the hardcore punk ideologies prominent in the 1990s. [18] [19] Others, such as Converge's Jacob Bannon and The Dillinger Escape Plan's Dimitri Minakakis, wrote about deeply personal issues. [20] [21]
Although musically rooted in extreme metal, some mathcore artists have shown contempt for extreme metal fictional and horror lyrics. [22] [23]
Some early mathcore bands incorporated light shows synchronized with the music, [24] [25] while others were noted for their reckless, chaotic performances that usually ended up with fights and injuries. Guitarists Jes Steineger of Coalesce and Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan commonly featured erratic and violent behaviors. [18] [26] [27] In 2001, vocalist Greg Puciato joined The Dillinger Escape Plan and starred in the most controversial live performances of the band until their disbandment in 2017, being described by Invisible Oranges as "the perfect physical embodiment of [the band's music]" because of his imposing physique along with destructive behavior. [12]
Before the term "mathcore", the style had been referred to as "chaotic hardcore" or "noisecore", [28] [29] though the genre's existence before this time is generally recognized. In the 1990s, groups now often described as mathcore were commonly called "noisecore" or "chaotic hardcore". Kevin Stewart-Panko of Terrorizer referred to groups such as Neurosis, Deadguy, Cave In, Today Is the Day, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Coalesce, Candiria, Botch, and Psyopus as falling under this label. [30] Stewart-Panko described the sound of these bands as a "dynamic, violent, discordant, technical, brutal, off-kilter, no rules mixture of hardcore, metal, prog, math rock, grind and jazz." [30]
The term is generally applied by journalists, rather than by musicians themselves. Jacob Bannon of Converge stated:
I really don't know what mathcore is. Converge is an aggressive band. We have elements of hardcore, punk, and metal for sure. But I think trying to define our efforts and other bands with a generic subgenre name is counter productive. We all have something unique to offer and should be celebrated for those qualities rather than having them generalized for easy consumption. [31]
Early antecedents to mathcore were practiced by post-hardcore bands of the 1980s and early 1990s. Post-hardcore is a broad term to define bands that maintain the aggressiveness and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Hardcore punk pioneers Black Flag incorporated characteristics reminiscent to mathcore during their mid-1980s experimental period, including heavy metal laden riffs and lengthy songs, as well as fusion-style time signatures, polyrhythms, instrumental songs and improvisational sections. [32] [33] At that time, their biggest influences were the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson during its 1972–1975 lineup. [33] Author Steven Blush said that their new direction "proved too much for many fans", [32] yet numerous mathcore trailblazers would later credit Black Flag as an inspiration. [6] [18] [34] [35] [36] Among others post-hardcore bands usually credited are Minutemen, [6] [34] [37] who were heavily influenced by avant-garde rock and jazz, [38] The Jesus Lizard, [39] [40] [41] inspired by progressive rock, [42] [43] Fugazi, [18] [44] [45] [46] and Drive Like Jehu, [18] [41] [47] [48] who drew from math rock and krautrock. [49]
In the 1990s, the hardcore punk scene started to embrace extreme metal openly and also was highly ideologized, with most of the popular bands being part of subcultures, religions or political groups. [18] [50] [51] Some mathcore bands started inspired by straight edge and Hare Krishna groups, including Converge, Coalesce and Botch. [52] On the other hand, the more unorthodox bands that substantially influenced mathcore remained in the underground.
Two bands usually credited as mathcore forerunners are mid-westerners Dazzling Killmen and Craw, who at the time were considered part of the "noisier" branch of math rock. [53] [54] [55] Their debut albums were released in 1992 and 1993 respectively. [6] [54] They were characterized by a "metallic post-hardcore" sound but with constant time signature changes and vocals with an "animalistic sound of a man losing his mind". Three out of four members of Dazzling Killmen knew each other from jazz school, while Craw had a classical percussionist and a jazz bassist. [56] Both were joined by saxophonists on some performances. [53] [54] [57]
In 1989, New Jersey band Rorschach was formed within the youth crew hardcore scene but soon developed a more complex and dissonant metallic hardcore style. [58] They were influenced by hardcore punk bands such as Die Kreuzen and Black Flag, as well as thrash metal bands Voivod and Slayer. [34] After their disbandment in 1993, their guitarist Keith Huckins joined Deadguy in 1994 and played on their sole studio album, 1995's Fixation on a Co-Worker . [59] The discordant sound of both bands had a profound impact on the first mathcore bands. [18] [44] [60] [61] [62] [63]
At this period, several pioneering mathcore bands began to form: Botch from Washington in 1993; Coalesce from Missouri, Cable from Connecticut and Knut from Switzerland in 1994; Cave In from Massachusetts and Drowningman from Vermont in 1995. In 1990, Massachusetts band Converge was formed but they started writing and playing what they consider "relevant" music in 1994. [64] Referring to the burgeoning mathcore scene, The Dillinger Escape Plan's founder and guitarist Ben Weinman said:
The [hardcore punk] scene I was in initially was really pretty close-minded... was really revolved around causes: veganism, Christianity, Krishna, straight edge, all that stuff was a huge part of all the bands that were playing ... it became just kind of this clique and this popularity contest. [They] weren't concerned with music, they weren't great musicians, they weren't pushing themselves, they were writing music that just sounded like the bands from before but without that passion and innovation. ... And it was great to see bands like [Dazzling Killmen and Deadguy] who were just music and just killing it, and had so many different influences, were underground, but still musically-driven. ... And I was like: "That's what I want to do!"
— Ben Weinman, 2011 [65]
Converge was formed as an amalgamation of extreme metal, crossover thrash and hardcore punk, but in the mid-1990s they were heavily affected by early metalcore and post-hardcore bands, such as Rorschach, Universal Order of Armageddon and Starkweather. [66] [67] Their second and third albums, 1996's Petitioning the Empty Sky and 1998's When Forever Comes Crashing , developed an increasingly technical and bleak style. [67] [68]
At their first stages, Coalesce and Botch were influenced by Syracuse, New York metalcore and vegan straight edge pioneers Earth Crisis. [18] [69] [70] Vocalist Sean Ingram relocated to Syracuse to be nearer to its scene, but ended up disillusioned with their ostracizing attitude and on his return to Missouri formed Coalesce. They incorporated influences from progressive metal band Tool, with founding drummer Jim Redd stating that they "wanted to be" them "with none of the quiet parts", but only using their "heavy guitars, heavy drums, wacky time signatures, and loud-quiet dynamics". [18] Whereas their debut album Give Them Rope (1997) was considered "an underground milestone that helped [further] what was soon [universally] called 'metalcore'", [71] their sophomore studio album, Functioning on Impatience , became a landmark of mathcore in 1998. [15] [18]
Botch initially tried to become a political-straight edge band but got discouraged by the "elitist" and aggressive stance of many of their participants. [19] Their second album We Are the Romans of November 1999 was influenced by Drive Like Jehu, Sepultura and Meshuggah. [72] This album has influenced numerous bands and met high critical acclaim throughout the years, being lauded by TeamRock in 2015 as "one of the greatest albums in the history of heavy music". [15] [73]
In 1997, The Dillinger Escape Plan evolved from the political-oriented act Arcane because they did not want to become part of "cliques" again. [74] They turned around their sound significantly in their second EP, Under the Running Board of 1998, and their debut album, Calculating Infinity of September 1999, drawing from progressive death metal bands Cynic, Meshuggah and Death, as well as King Crimson and several jazz fusion artists. [26] [74] [75] Both records created an extremely technical and fast brand of mathcore, which "launched an arms race in the metallic hardcore scene" and went on to define the subgenre substantially. [12] [76] [77] Relapse Records marketed Calculating Infinity as "math metal" because its sound and the album's title "sounded mathematical", yet this was not the band's intent. [21] [78]
In 1999, Converge released the split album The Poacher Diaries expanding drastically their technical elements, but afterwards main songwriter Kurt Ballou called it "a failed experiment". [79] This inspired him to change his focus to song structure and the "memorable" elements that initially attracted him to music, birthing their 2001 album Jane Doe . This record was the first with drummer Ben Koller and bassist Nate Newton who made significant contributions to the songwriting. [79] [80] Jane Doe exerted considerable influence in extreme music circles and attained a cult following. [81]
Other important albums of this period are 1996's Variable Speed Drive by Cable, [82] 1998's Until Your Heart Stops by Cave In, [83] 2000's Rock and Roll Killing Machine by Drowningman, [84] and 2002's Challenger by Knut. [85]
In the early 2000s several new mathcore bands started to emerge. Norma Jean's earlier records are often compared to Converge and Botch. [86] [87] [88] Other new mathcore bands that cite older mathcore bands as an influence or are compared to them include Car Bomb, [89] The Locust, [90] Daughters, [91] Some Girls, [92] Look What I Did, [93] The Number Twelve Looks Like You [94] and Ion Dissonance. [95]
Bands such as Rolo Tomassi, Frontierer, The Armed, Black Matter Device, The Callous Daoboys, and SeeYouSpaceCowboy have been described as modern practitioners of the genre by Bandcamp [96] and Alternative Press. [97]
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of dissonance, odd time signatures, polyrhythms and unconventional drum patterns became a staple of their sound, although later albums incorporated more melody, and influences from a range of genres. The band's lineup shifted numerous times throughout its existence; by the time the group dissolved, Weinman was the only remaining founding member. The final lineup also included longtime members Liam Wilson on bass, Greg Puciato as lead vocalist, and Billy Rymer on drums, alongside then-newcomer Kevin Antreassian on rhythm guitar.
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy guitar riffs often utilizing percussive pedal tones and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Miss Machine is the second studio album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan released in July 2004 through Relapse Records. It is the first album by the band to feature vocalist Greg Puciato and bassist Liam Wilson. Miss Machine marks a change to a more experimental style by the band.
Calculating Infinity is the debut studio album by American metalcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. Recorded at Trax East Recording Studio in South River, New Jersey, it was produced by engineer Steve Evetts with the band's guitarist Ben Weinman and drummer Chris Pennie, and released on September 28, 1999, by Relapse Records. Calculating Infinity is the band's only full-length album to feature original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, who left the band in 2001.
Dazzling Killmen was an American math rock band from the St. Louis, Missouri area. Formed in 1990, the group issued four singles and two full-lengths before officially ending in 1995, with a majority of it released through the independent label Skin Graft Records. Taking influence from hardcore punk and jazz music, the band has been noted by critics to have helped influence genres such as math rock and post-metal.
Converge is an American metalcore band formed by vocalist and artist Jacob Bannon and guitarist and producer Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts in 1990. While recording their landmark fourth album Jane Doe in 2001, the group became a four-piece with the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec and the addition of bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller. This lineup has remained intact since. The members have also been involved in various side-projects and collaborations, including the bands Supermachiner (Bannon), Old Man Gloom (Newton), and Mutoid Man (Koller). With their extremely aggressive and boundary-pushing sound, rooted in hardcore and heavy metal, they are pioneers of metalcore and its subgenre mathcore.
Benjamin A. Weinman is an American musician, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the mathcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP). He is the founder and sole constant member of the DEP, he is currently playing rhythm guitar with the crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies and lead guitar in the progressive rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.
Dimitri Minakakis is an American musician and graphic designer best known as the original singer of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan from 1997 to 2001.
Botch was an American mathcore band formed in 1993 in Tacoma, Washington. The band, featuring Brian Cook, Dave Knudson, Tim Latona and Dave Verellen, spent four years as a garage band and released several demos and EPs before signing to Hydra Head Records. Through the label, Botch released two studio albums: American Nervoso (1998) and We Are the Romans (1999). The group toured extensively and internationally in support of their albums with like-minded bands such as The Blood Brothers, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ink & Dagger and Jesuit. Botch struggled to write a third studio album, and in 2002 the group broke up due to tensions among the band members and creative differences. Hydra Head posthumously released an EP of songs the group had been working on before they split titled An Anthology of Dead Ends and a live album documenting their final show titled 061502 in 2006.
We Are the Romans is the second and final studio album by American metalcore band Botch. It was originally released in November 1999 through Hydra Head Records. Since its release, it has been seen as an influential album on metalcore and hardcore music.
Coalesce is an American metalcore band formed in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1994. They are considered pioneers of mathcore and were known for its aggressive style of music and reckless live shows. The band broke up in 2010 and has performed several reunion shows since then.
Ire Works is the third studio album by American band the Dillinger Escape Plan. The album was released in the UK on November 5, 2007, in the US on November 13 through Relapse Records, and in Japan on November 28. The album was their last album on Relapse. The album is Gil Sharone's only album with the band and their first without founding drummer Chris Pennie. Lead guitarist Ben Weinman plays guitar alone on the record, due to Brian Benoit's injury. The album is described as mathcore, post-hardcore, and metalcore, incorporating a wide variety of influences including electronic music.
Starkweather is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia formed in 1989. They have a complex experimental metal sound often including use of dissonance, intricate tempo changes and avant-garde sensibilities. Starkweather helped pioneer the hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover sound that would later be known as "metalcore", as well as being a major influence on the mathcore subgenre. They have influenced many of today's top selling hardcore/metal bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and Coalesce among many others.
Option Paralysis is the fourth studio album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, released on March 23, 2010. After having fulfilled their contract with Relapse Records, the band released the album through Party Smasher Inc., their own new imprint in collaboration with French record label Season of Mist. It marks The Dillinger Escape Plan's first release to feature Billy Rymer on drums, since Gil Sharone left the band in September 2008 due to the frequent touring schedule and to focus on his brother's band Stolen Babies.
Drowningman is an American hardcore punk band from Burlington, Vermont, which was active from 1995 to 2005. Formed in the fall of 1995 by Simon Brody, Denny Donovan, Javin Leonard, Dave Barnett and Todd Tomlinson, the band was heavily influenced by a variety of bands including Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate, Deadguy, Unbroken, Shotmaker, Unwound, and This musical amalgamation influenced the modern metalcore and mathcore musical subgenres.
All We Love We Leave Behind is the eighth studio album by American metalcore band Converge. It was released on October 8, 2012, via Epitaph Records. The album did not feature any guest collaborators, unlike the band's previous album Axe to Fall. The album was produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and the artwork was created by the band's singer Jacob Bannon.
One of Us Is the Killer is the fifth studio album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, released on May 14, 2013. One of Us Is the Killer is the band's second release under their Party Smasher, Inc. imprint. The CD was released as a standard version that can be picked up at most record stores, and a limited version with a scratch-off cover that can only be bought at Best Buy containing two bonus tracks.
Thoughts of Ionesco was a Detroit-based post-hardcore band extant 1996–1999 known for detuned guitars, screamed vocals, complex arrangements, improvisational sections inspired by free jazz, and their destructive live performances.
Contemporary grindcore bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan [...] have developed avant-garde versions of the genre incorporating frequent time signature changes and complex sounds that at times recall free jazz.
Jacob Bannon loves to wax poetic, so when his opaque elegies suddenly turn to simple, direct metaphors, it's almost like your parents calling you by your full name: you stop, you notice, you listen.
Jacob Bannon: I feel that [bands such as] Slayer are the Spinal Tap of metal. There's nothing to them. They're just there, and they're just a band that likes to write heavy, scary things. And there's really not an emotional depth to anything they really do. It's just all for shock value.
Ben Weinman: When I was growing up I discovered metal and it interested me, I liked that it was dark and talked about the fact that the world is not all puppy dogs and ice cream cones. But then it just got ridiculous, humorous, I look at black metal bands and they are supposed to be so evil. But it's not real. It's about fiction. About goblins and the gates of hell, pretty much a bad horror movie.
Jacob Bannon: Our direct inspiration comes from bands like Black Flag ...
Ben Weinman: When we first started playing in a band, we listened to a lot of bands ... even Black Flag and Dead Kennedys, who had something to say and added some honest energy.
Kurt Ballou: [We] also discovered punk and hardcore through skateboarding, and in turn these local bands such as Slapshot, Terminally Ill and DYS and I think we had some of the same intensity and motivation.
While not as frequently discussed these days, the so-called "noisecore" bands of the 90s were perhaps an even more direct influence on today's shitty metalcore artists. Rorschach and their descendants Deadguy were perhaps the first band to put a discordant take on the post-Slayer metalcore formula, [...]