Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups like Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.
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".
Agathocles is a Belgian political grindcore band. Founded in 1985, it is mainly known for producing a large quantity of split seven-inch EPs. They play a style of grindcore they have dubbed "mincecore". Their lyrical themes have focused on anti-fascism, animal liberation and anarchism. All of its members are vegetarians.
Siege was an American hardcore punk band from Weymouth, Massachusetts. Formed in 1981, they were active in the Boston hardcore scene from 1984 to 1985, and reunited briefly in 1991. Drummer Rob Williams and guitarist Kurt Habelt led a live ensemble of reunion performances between 2016 and 2023.
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.
James Spooner is an American film director, tattoo artist, and graphic novelist. He is best known for his 2003 documentary film Afro-Punk, and for co-founding the Afropunk Festival. He also directed the 2007 narrative film White Lies, Black Sheep. His first graphic novel, titled The High Desert, was published in 2022.
Hellnation was an hardcore punk band from Covington, Kentucky. The band was active from 1988 to 2010.
Deathwish, Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was Deeper the Wound, a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. Deathwish established itself quickly, working with a diverse group of bands and eventually becoming one of the most respected and innovative labels in contemporary hardcore punk and aggressive music in general.
Spazz was an American powerviolence band active between 1992 and 2000. The trio released numerous records within this time, many of which are now highly collectible due to their relative rarity. The band's releases often showcased their unusual sense of humour: absurdly long and nonsensical song titles, audio samples from B movies and kung fu films between songs and the occasional use of hip hop beats as well as saxophones, banjos and other instruments rarely associated with hardcore punk. All three of the members shared vocal duties, usually changing in sequence from line to line. The group would typically play at all ages venues. 2015 saw the release of a tribute LP to Spazz by Scottish record label Mind Ripper Collective titled "Spazzin' To The Oldies - A Tribute To Spazz". In 2016, it was announced that Tankcrimes will reissue the out-of-print Spazz albums Sweatin' To The Oldies and Sweatin' 3: Skatin', Satan & Katon.
Rambo are an American punk rock band based in Philadelphia. The band identified with the anarchist, crust punk, cyclist and thrashcore movements. Known for hectic live performances, the band toured extensively in the United States, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, including several sections of the latter continent previously unvisited by touring Western rock bands.
Prayer for Cleansing was an American metalcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The band is noted for their extreme metal influence that was a little more prominent in their music than other metalcore bands at the time. They are also notable for being an early musical starting point for three members of Between the Buried and Me who played in the band.
Powerviolence is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical aspects of heavy metal, powerviolence is just an augmentation of the most challenging qualities of hardcore punk. Like its predecessors, it is usually socio-politically charged and iconoclastic.
Billy Liar is an acoustic punk/folk band from Edinburgh, fronted by the solo singer of the same name. Billy tours as a solo artist or with a band, regularly throughout the UK, mainland Europe and the U.S. and signed to the American label Red Scare Industries in 2019.
Iron Lung are an American powerviolence duo based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The band formed in 1999 in Reno, Nevada, and is currently in Seattle, after spending some time in Oakland, California. Live, the band has toured extensively across the U.S., Asia, Australia and Europe. They have released music on several labels including Prank Records, 625 Thrashcore, and their own label, Iron Lung Records. In recent years, the band has collaborated with other members of the hardcore punk and powerviolence scene, including Hatred Surge and Dave Bailey, formerly of Running for Cover. In 2009, an album titled Public Humiliation was released; a three-way collaboration between Iron Lung and Kortland and Ward's side projects, Pig Heart Transplant and Walls respectively. The recording is of a one-off live performance from Halloween 2008. Jon Kortland is also half of the art project Feeding, which has made artwork for several Iron Lung, Walls and PHT releases, as well as album covers for several other bands.
Tommy Henriksen is an American musician from Port Jefferson Station, New York, best known for his work as a guitarist, bassist and songwriter with Alice Cooper, Hollywood Vampires and German metal band Warlock. He has also fronted punk rockers P.O.L. and released several albums as a solo artist. In addition, Henriksen is a songwriter, arranger, producer and mixer who has worked with artists such as Lady Gaga, Meat Loaf, Lou Reed, Halestorm, Kesha, and Daughtry. Henriksen is currently based out of Zurich, Switzerland where he lives with his family.
Magrudergrind is an American grindcore band formed in 2002. They have released numerous splits and three full-length albums. Since its inception the band has toured Europe and North America multiple times, Puerto Rico, Japan, and South East Asia, along with Exhumed, Despise You, Misery Index, Unholy Grave, Phobia, and Rotten Sound.
AC×DC is an American hardcore punk band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2003. The band has gone through multiple line-up changes and its current line-up consists of vocalist Sergio Amalfitano, guitarist Eddie Oropeza and bassist Ryan Corbett and drummer Jorge Luis Herrera. The band's musical style has been mainly labeled as powerviolence, as well as grindcore and hardcore punk with influences from D-beat, crust punk and death metal. The band's aesthetic has been described as "a strange blend of veganism, straight edge and Satanism."
DUH was a San Francisco-based alternative and noise rock supergroup. The band comprised an ever-rotating line-up that featured members of Steel Pole Bath Tub, Faith No More, Models, Fang, Milk Cult, Phantom 309, Pansy Division and Despise You.
Capitalist Casualties were an American powerviolence / hardcore band. They formed in Rohnert Park, CA around 1986 and had their first concert in 1987 in Santa Rosa, California They have released multiple records, including many splits with other powerviolence / hardcore bands, and have toured nationally and internationally.
