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Why do people hate the core genres


Avgrund777

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You missed suicidal Ghouls. Of course those stereotypes are also applied to metalheads and punks so the -core genres aren't unique in this pidgeonholing tactic.

If you're talking more specifically about why metalheads tend to dislike the -core genres the reasons are much the same as for nu-metal. So many deathcore and melodic metalcore bands are essentially writing pop music with electric guitars.

 

What little metal exists in their sounds is watered down and only there to seem edgy for commercial appeal. Even their images tend to be tailored for mass appeal. Their music seems to be a secondary concern which is completely the wrong attitude.

 

The music offers maximum gratification for minimal effort like most pop and the target audience is transient in nature. These bands stay trendy and therefore successful because everything about them screams temporary fad. They make no effort to sustain a consistent fanbase because as each wave grows out of the phase a new one replaces them.

 

I'm sure there are exceptions but of course few people are inspired to find out because they assume that all metalcore sounds like killswitch engage and trivium. Grindcore is probably the exception as there do seem to be quite a few metalheads (myself included) who dig the hell out of that stuff.

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Lol@ "deep and meaningful".

I think people bash on "core" because they're ignorant, and they're engaging in tribalistic groupthink to get high-fives from each other online. Ghouly is right about stereotyping, but the image I usually see applied to "core fans" is that of a shallow, image-obsessed teenager: see RO's post for perpetuation of same. Everyone knows intolerant rednecks listen to Pantera, duh.

As RO mentions, the problem comes from the commercial, homogenous sound you'll find in a lot of melodic metalcore and deathcore. I disagree that the bands are all constantly changing according to the latest trend; a lot of what I've heard is a consistent, formula-driven product that's been essentially the same for years, and you can't have both. That sound is usually annoying to me, and some bands reinforce the image stereotype with their own carefully crafted look, so it's not like it comes from nowhere. But trend-hopping and image-consciousness are just as prevalent in other extreme subgenres. I think the name calling is in line with a high school popularity contest. I was guilty of it at one point too, but I'm trying to get better about that. 

The hardcore shows that I've been to here have mostly had great energy, generally welcoming and positive even when the songs themselves are dark and violent. I've seen several metalcore and deathcore bands with great musicianship and sincere songwriting (KSE comes to mind). Stylistically, it doesn't all appeal to me, but that doesn't mean it's fake. One specific issue with recent melodic metalcore and deathcore is the album production, which usually does sound artificial, but seeing bands live is a different story.

Edit - also, most of the hatred I encounter is on forums and comment boards. Lots of people I know IRL just listen to albums and go to shows and don't really care about this stuff in practice, even if they'd cringe at the "metalcore" label.

Some bands I listen to from the realms of hardcore, crust, grindcore, metalcore, deathcore: As The Sun Sets, Assück, Brutal Truth, Carcass, The Communion, Converge, Cult Leader, Daughters, Dead Blue Sky, Decrepit Birth, Dillinger Escape Plan, Discordance Axis, Disfear, Fall Of Efrafa, Fallujah, Fit For An Autopsy, Gigantic Brain, Incendiary, Okazaki Fragments, Oroku, The Red Chord... arguably some of my other favorites have significant -core influence, like Isis, Neurosis, and Swans. Some of these bands changed styles, or only have one album that I dig, and there are plenty more bands that I'm forgetting, don't own, or don't listen to very often that others would consider essential, but whatever. The world of hardcore-influenced music is vast, and far from homogenous, so if you're interested at all, dig in.

Edited by FatherAlabaster
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Perhaps I chose my words poorly. I didn't mean the sound of those bands changes at all, they're more or less the same except trivium who jumped into retro thrash and much like most retro thrash do the job with less then enthralling results. What I meant was that the sound appeals to an ever-changing audience. Old fans grow out of it and move on, new fans come in because the music is "rebellious". It certainly isn't true of these genres more broadly but you can't deny there is a large contingent of bands doing this.

 

You're right though it isn't isolated to just metalcore, or even to metal and rock, commercial pressure must be intense once you reach a certain level of popularity. Even Carcass changed from grindcore to death metal to melodeath back in the 90s when melodeath became a commercial opportunity.

 

Oh and you forgot Burn Your World where's the love for KSMASH?

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Pretty much every valid point has been made here, though I really think above all it has to do with somewhat conflicting images between the scenes. I remember in high school it was always beef between the core kids and the metal kids, almost out of pure obligation. Stupid, yeah, but its easy to get swept up in that mob mentality when you're young, which most of the bands putting out the core stuff are, as are most of the fans. I think alot of the aggression probably just came from metalheads who got pissed when other people would lump them in with the core scene just out of ignorance, which only exacerbates the situation. 

I mean, I tend to shy away from most metalcore simply because alot of its just isnt good, imo. But eh, its got its place I guess. I also notice alot of times that you'll find musicians in metalcore bands go off and do real metal side projects, which sortof tells me that even they understand that metalcore in particular is overwhelmingly vanilla metal, tailored strictly for mass appeal. Sure Trivium's talented, but their music fucking sucks to me, I'll take Matt Heafy's work in Capharnaum any day. 

I'm just talking about metalcore right there though,  I really love alot of grindcore and a good bit of hardcore, and I dont really pick up on an abundance of hate for those genres, I think metalcore's just like today's hair metal, kinda the pretentious younger brother that somehow gets all the pussy. But ay, both genres have their select good bands through the years.

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You're certainly on the money with melodic metalcore but don't make the mistake of lumping all metalcore into this category. FA, BAN, and KSMASH almost certainly know a great deal more about the genre then me and I'm sure they could provide some top notch examples of metalcore done the right way. I do know D.R.I were called metalcore at one point playing their brand of crossover thrash but that's the extent of my knowledge right there.

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I don't hate "core" I just don't identify with much within it so tend to leave it to others to enjoy.  I have a Parkway Drive album somewhere (JBaker would be so proud) but I rarely listen to it.  It has an energy that appeals to me but the longevity is poor for my taste.  As I explore metal further (it has taken me 26 years to get to this point) I still never find myself drawn to "core" but I don't think that is necessarily an age thing just a personal impatience with a genre that I agree - with my limited knowledge - has a lot of the same going on.

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