Electronicore
Located in 2 routes
Electronicore (also 'synthcore' or 'trancecore') overlays metalcore's screamed verses, breakdowns and clean-sung hooks with electronic dance elements: trance and dubstep synths, pulsing four-on-the-floor sections, drum machines, glitch effects and auto-tuned vocals. Down-tuned chugging guitars and double-kick drumming trade off with euphoric synth leads and electronic build-and-drop dynamics, giving the music a hyperactive, candy-bright sheen against its heavy core. Production is loud, polished and stuffed with layered keyboards, the contrast between guttural screams and gleaming electronic pop the defining trait, tempos energetic and danceable, the mood frenetic and unashamedly maximalist.
History
Electronicore crystallized in the mid-to-late 2000s as the post-MySpace metalcore wave embraced electronic textures. Britain's Enter Shikari pioneered the fusion, splicing trance synths into post-hardcore on 'Take to the Skies' (2007); in America, Attack Attack! and the Rise Records roster popularized a synth-heavy, breakdown-laden 'crabcore' variant, while I See Stars and Asking Alexandria added dance drops and electronic hooks. Japan's Crossfaith brought rave-grade synths and dubstep wobble to the style, and acts like We Came as Romans and Of Mice & Men carried its melodic, anthemic side into the mainstream. The sound peaked around 2009-2014 before largely folding back into general metalcore, though pioneers such as Enter Shikari and Crossfaith remain active and influential on later electronic-metal hybrids.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Sorry You're Not a Winner(2007) — Enter ShikariSpotifyYouTube
- Stick Stickly(2008) — Attack Attack!SpotifyYouTube
- The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)(2009) — Asking AlexandriaSpotifyYouTube
- We Are the Future(2013) — CrossfaithSpotifyYouTube
- Project Wake Up(2009) — I See StarsSpotifyYouTube
- The Big Bad Wolf(2012) — I See StarsSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Wikipedia: Electronicore
- Take to the Skies
- Stand Up and Scream
- Someday Came Suddenly
- AllMusic artist entries (Enter Shikari, I See Stars, Crossfaith)
- Rate Your Music genre pages
- Dork and theprp.com coverage