Hardcore / Post-Hardcore
familyStarted 1980Peak 1988-2006Last big hit still active
The fast, abrasive, ethically charged wing of underground rock. Shouted or screamed vocals, palm-muted riffing, breakdowns and blast tempos, gang vocals and mosh calls. Spans raw 1980s hardcore, the angular dissonance of post-hardcore, and metalcore's metallic crunch, fiercely DIY and scene-bound.
History
Grew from punk's late-1970s acceleration into a faster, more austere American underground around 1980 (Washington DC, Boston, Southern California), with UK bands like Discharge forging d-beat. Through the late 1980s and 1990s it splintered: youth-crew positivity, straight-edge militancy, crust grind, math-driven chaos, and metalcore's fusion with extreme metal. Built on DIY networks; cross-pollinated heavily with metal.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_of_Today
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_Edge_(song)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugazi_(EP)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Doe_(album)