Electro-Rock
tagStarted 2003Peak 2007-2012Last big hit still active
Located in 2 routes
Rock attitude built from heavily distorted, fuzz-saturated synth bass and sliced electro beats. Owing more to French house than to club techno, it stacks compressed, clipping synth lines like power chords, with slap-bass riffs, sidechained pumping and a swaggering, almost metallic crunch. Loud, maximalist and physical, riffs played on machines instead of Marshalls.
History
Born from the mid-2000s French electro wave around the Ed Banger label, where Justice's Cross (2007) fused disco horns, heavy-metal distortion and dance beats into a rock-scaled spectacle. Canada's MSTRKRFT and UK acts like Does It Offend You, Yeah? pushed the grimy synth-rock crossover; the abrasive, riff-like synth bass became the era's defining festival sound.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_(Justice_album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_(band)
- https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10615-cross/