Editing Mathcore (section)

== Characteristics ==
===Music===
According to [[Metal Hammer]], "mathcore [is] the sound of [[Heavy metal music|metal]] being twisted into startling new shapes."<ref>{{Cite web |last=updated |first=Metal Hammer last |date=2020-03-26 |title=The 100 best metal albums of the 90s |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-100-best-metal-albums-of-the-90s/5 |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref> The genre emphasizes complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of [[irregular time signatures]], [[polymeters]], [[syncopations]] and tempo changes, while at the same time the drummers play with overall loudness.<ref name=wang>{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/breakfastserial/2014/10/31/mad-for-mathcore-appreciating-a-subgenre-of-heavy-metal-rock-music/|publisher=[[Columbia University]]|title=Mad for Mathcore: Appreciating a Subgenre of Heavy Metal Rock Music|first=Angel|last=Wang|date=October 31, 2014|website=blogs.cuit.columbia.edu|url-status=live|archive-date=April 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402115327/http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/breakfastserial/2014/10/31/mad-for-mathcore-appreciating-a-subgenre-of-heavy-metal-rock-music/}}</ref><ref name=overdrive>{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=https://overdrive-mag.com/2017/11/30/shaping-metal-top-3-influential-mathcore-albums/|title=Shaping Metal: Top 3 Most Influential Mathcore Albums|first=Brandon |last=Tadday |website=Overdrive-mag.com|date=November 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://www.themonolith.com/music/top-ten-songs-d-is-for-the-dillinger-escape-plan/|title=Top Ten Songs: "D" Is For The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=June 20, 2013|website=Themonolith.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320034311/http://www.themonolith.com/music/top-ten-songs-d-is-for-the-dillinger-escape-plan/|archive-date=March 20, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=https://gnartallica.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/exclusive-interview-car-bombs-greg-kubacki/|date=November 11, 2012|title=Exclusive Interview: CAR BOMB's Greg Kubacki |first=Lane |last=Oliver|website=Gnartallica.wordpress.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217183621/https://gnartallica.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/exclusive-interview-car-bombs-greg-kubacki/|archive-date=February 17, 2018}}</ref> In the words of [[The Dillinger Escape Plan]] bassist [[Liam Wilson]], their "choppy rhythms that people get kind of tongue-twisted on" are "[[Latin jazz|Latin rhythms]]" mixed with the speed and "stamina" of [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], drawing a parallel between them and [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]]'s use of [[Indian classical music|Eastern]] sounds within a [[jazz]] context.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/liam-wilson-of-the-dillinger-escape-plan/26050|title=Liam Wilson of The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=March 9, 2010|first=Bryan|last=Beller|website=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|url-status=live|archive-date=August 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806024920/http://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/liam-wilson-of-the-dillinger-escape-plan/26050}}</ref> Most pioneering mathcore drummers had jazz, [[Orchestral percussion|orchestral]] or [[music theory|academic]] backgrounds, including [[Dazzling Killmen]]'s [[Blake Fleming]],<ref name=dazzling>{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|date=November 29, 2016|url=https://clrvynt.com/dazzling-killmen-interview/|title=How Dazzling Killmen Merged Avant-Garde Jazz and Punk Fury|first=Brad|last=Cohan|website=Clrvynt.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202191544/http://clrvynt.com/dazzling-killmen-interview/|archive-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> [[Craw (band)|Craw]]'s Neil Chastain,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.chastaincentral.com/content/music.html#Neil|website=Chastaincentral.com|title=Neil Chastain, Percussionist, Composer, and Music Director|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017210239/http://www.chastaincentral.com/content/music.html#Neil|archive-date=October 17, 2006}}</ref> [[Coalesce (band)|Coalesce]]'s [[James Dewees]],<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url=https://www.punknews.org/article/45799/interviews-james-dewees-reggie-and-the-full-effect-the-get-up-kids-coalesce|website=Punknews.org|title=Interviews: James Dewees (Reggie and the Full Effect, The Get Up Kids, Coalesce)|date=January 11, 2012 |first=Sean |last=Mikula|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318120201/https://www.punknews.org/article/45799/interviews-james-dewees-reggie-and-the-full-effect-the-get-up-kids-coalesce|archive-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> [[Botch (band)|Botch]]'s [[Tim Latona]],<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-09-16/botch-should-have-been-bigger-than-the-dillinger-escape-plan|title=Botch could have been bigger than The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=September 16, 2015 |first=Stephen |last=Hill |website=[[TeamRock.com]]}}</ref> The Dillinger Escape Plan's [[Chris Pennie]],<ref name=pennyblack2002>{{cite web|access-date=January 12, 2018|url=http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/magsitepages/article/2953/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Interview|title=Dillinger Escape Plan - Interview| first = Mark| last = Rowland| date = October 17, 2002| website=Pennyblackmusic.co.uk| url-status=live| archive-url = https://archive.today/20171225102115/http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/magsitepages/article/2953/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Interview| archive-date = December 25, 2017}}</ref> and [[Converge (band)|Converge]]'s [[Ben Koller]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://sickdrummermagazine.com/the-drummers/sick-drummer-hall-of-fame/ben-koller/|title=Ben Koller|date=September 14, 2006|website=Sickdrummermagazine.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731043628/http://sickdrummermagazine.com/the-drummers/sick-drummer-hall-of-fame/ben-koller/|archive-date=July 31, 2017}}</ref> As with the rhythm section, the guitars perform [[riff]]s that constantly change and are seldom repeated after one section. Early bands were almost completely [[atonal]] with the guitars or all the instruments playing [[polyphonic]] dissonance.<ref name=wang/> After the first The Dillinger Escape Plan records, the guitar work of most bands became extremely technical as well and "not only musically challenging, but physically demanding."<ref name=wang/><ref name=cory>{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://www.invisibleoranges.com/the-dillinger-escape-plan-a-body-of-work/|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan: A Body of Work|first=Ian |last=Cory |date=November 17, 2016 |website=[[Invisible Oranges]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119051806/http://www.invisibleoranges.com/the-dillinger-escape-plan-a-body-of-work/|archive-date=November 19, 2016}}</ref>

In a 2016 article, Ian Cory of ''[[Invisible Oranges]]'' described mathcore's emphasis on technical complexity as "the means by which" they attain the aggressiveness of [[punk rock|punk]], "but never the end unto itself", distinguishing it from "the overflowing excess" of [[progressive metal]].<ref name=cory/> Writer [[Keith Kahn-Harris]] has described some mathcore bands as a mix between the aggressiveness of [[grindcore]] and the idioms of [[free jazz]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book | first = Keith | last = Kahn-Harris | author-link = Keith Kahn-Harris | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wwgd9y-Ww5UC&pg=PA4 | date = 2007 | title = Extreme Metal | publisher = [[Berg Publishers]] | page = 4 | isbn = 978-1-84520-399-3 | quote = Contemporary grindcore bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan [...] have developed avant-garde versions of the genre incorporating frequent time signature changes and complex sounds that at times recall free jazz. |access-date=February 26, 2018}}</ref>

=== Lyrics ===
Early mathcore lyrics were addressed from a realistic worldview and with a pessimistic, defiant, resentful or sarcastic point of view. They have been singled out for their philosophical and poetic elements.<ref name=wang/><ref name=coalesce_prindle>{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|title=Coalesce|website=Markprindle.com|url=https://www.markprindle.com/coalesce.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617141138/http://www.markprindle.com/coalesce.htm|archive-date=June 17, 2008}}</ref><ref name=coalesce_svbterranean>{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=https://svbterranean.net/2017/03/01/march-madness-coalesce-functioning-on-impatience/|first=Lane |last=Oliver |date=March 1, 2017|title=March Madness: COALESCE – "Functioning on Impatience"|website=Svbterranean.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302160922/https://svbterranean.net/2017/03/01/march-madness-coalesce-functioning-on-impatience/|archive-date=March 2, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=322|ps=. What were the lyrical influences?<br>[[Dave Verellen]]: [...] stuff that I witnessed was usually what had an impact on me. I'd look at a social situation or whatever was going on in the world, and then just try to be creative with it. [...] I was a [[Joan of Arc (band)|Joan of Arc]] fan, [...] and half the reason was because the guy [[Tim Kinsella]] had such weird lyrics. I've always been attracted to abstract stuff like that, so I think that's where I drew most of my lyrics from.}}<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 26, 2018|quote=Jacob Bannon loves to wax poetic, so when his opaque elegies suddenly turn to simple, direct metaphors, it's almost like your parents calling you by your full name: you stop, you notice, you listen.|title=The Brilliance Behind Converge's Unintelligible Lyrics|first=Scott|last=Butterworth|date=December 23, 2014|website=[[Noisey]]|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-brilliance-behind-converges-unintelligible-lyrics/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180226062412/https://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/article/65zzbd/the-brilliance-behind-converges-unintelligible-lyrics|archive-date=February 26, 2018}}</ref> Some bands satirized and criticized the militant branches of the [[hardcore punk ideologies]] prominent in the 1990s.<ref name=coalesce>{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://www.crashandbang.com/?page_id=3|title=History |author=Ryan J. Downey|date=September 2007|website=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]|publisher=www.crashandbang.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418112603/http://www.crashandbang.com/?page_id=3|archive-date=April 18, 2008}}</ref>{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=321-322, 323}} Others, such as Converge's [[Jacob Bannon]] and The Dillinger Escape Plan's [[Dimitri Minakakis]], wrote about deeply personal issues.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/converges-jacob-bannon-untangles-the-meaning-of-every-song-on-his-bands-new-album-the-dusk-in-us/|title=Converge's Jacob Bannon Untangles the Meaning of Every Song on His Band's New Album, The Dusk in Us|website=[[Pitchfork.com]]|date=November 7, 2017|first=Matthew |last=Schnipper|url-status=live|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107125143/https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/converges-jacob-bannon-untangles-the-meaning-of-every-song-on-his-bands-new-album-the-dusk-in-us/}}</ref>{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=314-315}}

Although musically rooted in extreme metal, some mathcore artists have shown contempt for extreme metal fictional and horror lyrics.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 23, 2018|url=http://veilsofteeth.com/jacob-bannon/|title=Jacob Bannon (Converge) |first=Greg |last=Svitil |date = 1996|website = Veilsofteeth.com|quote=[[Jacob Bannon]]: I feel that [bands such as] [[Slayer]] are the [[This Is Spinal Tap|Spinal Tap]] of metal. There's nothing to them. They're just there, and they're just a band that likes to write heavy, scary things. And there's really not an emotional depth to anything they really do. It's just all for [[shock value]]. |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180223102326/http://veilsofteeth.com/jacob-bannon/|archive-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 23, 2018|url=https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/dillinger-escape-plan-guitarist-talks-new-album-and-papa-roach|title=Dillinger Escape Plan Guitarist Talks New Album And Papa Roach|website=[[Rock Sound]]|date=April 24, 2009 |quote=Ben Weinman: When I was growing up I discovered metal and it interested me, I liked that it was dark and talked about the fact that the world is not all puppy dogs and ice cream cones. But then it just got ridiculous, humorous, I look at black metal bands and they are supposed to be so evil. But it's not real. It's about fiction. About goblins and the gates of hell, pretty much a bad horror movie. |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150413054345/https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/dillinger-escape-plan-guitarist-talks-new-album-and-papa-roach|archive-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:The Dillinger Escape Plan-1.jpg|thumb|150px|Greg Puciato singing while hanging head down from the ceiling in 2008]]

=== Live performances ===
Some early mathcore bands incorporated light shows synchronized with the music,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=February 26, 2018|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/01/12/that-tour-was-awesome-botch-jesuit-the-dillinger-escape-plan-1998/|website=[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]]|title=That Tour Was Awesome – Botch/Jesuit/The Dillinger Escape Plan (1998)|date=January 12, 2017|first=Kevin|last=Stewart-Panko|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180118095821/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/01/12/that-tour-was-awesome-botch-jesuit-the-dillinger-escape-plan-1998/|archive-date=January 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dillinger_escape_plan-hazard_warning|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan {{!}} Hazard Warning|author=Natalie Zina Walschots|website=[[Exclaim!]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171210072225/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dillinger_escape_plan-hazard_warning|archive-date=December 10, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=February 26, 2018|date=June 17, 2013}}</ref> while others were noted for their reckless, chaotic performances that usually ended up with fights and injuries. Guitarists Jes Steineger of Coalesce and [[Ben Weinman]] of The Dillinger Escape Plan commonly featured erratic and violent behaviors.<ref name=coalesce/><ref name=noisefull>{{ cite web | last = Tsimplakos | first = Jason | date = November 5, 2013 | url = http://noisefull.com/interviews/dillinger-escape-plan-ben-weinmann-greg-puciato | title = The Dillinger Escape Plan (Ben Weinmann & Greg Puciato) | website = [[Noisefull.com]] | location = Glasgow, Scotland | publication-date = November 25, 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20170825095332/http://noisefull.com/interviews/dillinger-escape-plan-ben-weinmann-greg-puciato | archive-date = August 25, 2017 | access-date = February 22, 2018 }}</ref><ref name=sing365>{{cite web|last=Apostolopoulos|first=Tom |url=http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Biography/EDEAB9F3FFF02E6348256CEA000DD6C2|title=Dillinger Escape Plan Biography|date=January 18, 2011|website=Sing365.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202052253/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Biography/EDEAB9F3FFF02E6348256CEA000DD6C2|archive-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref> In 2001, vocalist [[Greg Puciato]] joined The Dillinger Escape Plan and starred in the [[The Dillinger Escape Plan#Stage performances|most controversial live performances of the band]] until their disbandment in 2017, being described by ''Invisible Oranges'' as "the perfect physical embodiment of [the band's music]" because of his imposing physique along with destructive behavior.<ref name=cory/>