Editing Metalcore (section)

===Origins: 1990s===
[[File:Integrity_Tokyo_2017_unholy.jpg|thumb|right|Integrity in [[Tokyo, Japan]] in 2017.]]
One of the earliest metalcore scene was that of [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]. Fronted by [[Integrity (band)|Integrity]] and [[Ringworm (band)|Ringworm]], the sound of bands in the scene was distinctly darker than what the genre would become.<ref name="Schafer, 2019">{{cite web |last1=Schafer |first1=Joseph |title=States Of Metal: Ohio Thrives On Grit And Determination |url=https://www.kerrang.com/states-of-metal-ohio-thrives-on-grit-and-determination |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=23 January 2019 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Integrity's debut album ''Those Who Fear Tomorrow '' (1991) merged hardcore with apocalyptic lyrics and metal's guitar solos and chugging riffs to create one of the primeval albums in the genre.<ref name="Young 2020">{{cite web |last1=Young |first1=Simon |title=The 21 best U.S. metalcore albums of all time |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-21-best-us-metalcore-albums-of-all-time |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=9 June 2020 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://loudwire.com/who-invented-metalcore/ | title=Who Invented Metalcore? | website=[[Loudwire]] | date=28 November 2023 }}</ref> ''[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]'' magazine writer Elis Enis stated that the album "influenced practically every breakdown that's been recorded since".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=10 MOST INFLUENTIAL METALCORE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-most-influential-metalcore-albums-all-time#integrity-those-who-fear-tomorrow |website=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]] |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Whereas, Ringworm's debut ''The Promise'' (1993) made use of a style closer to crossover thrash while also putting a heavy emphasis on breakdowns.<ref name="JorgeM, 2020" /> The term "holy terror" refers to this specific style of metalcore which Integrity and Ringworm pioneered.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yanick |first1=Joseph |title=A Documentary About Ohio Hardcore is Coming: We Interviewed the Director of 'Destroy Cleveland' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/destroy-cleveland-doc/ |website=[[Vice Media]] |date=22 March 2015 |access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref> The style is typified by soaring guitar leads,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whelan |first1=Kez |title=Columnus Metallicus: Heavy Metal For September Reviewed By Kez Whelan |url=https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/metal/dying-fetus-incantation-atomck/ |website=[[The Quietus]] |date=5 September 2023 |access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref> gravelly vocals<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gluck |first1=Michael |title=Pulling Teeth Vicious Skin |url=https://lambgoat.com/albums/2363/pulling-teeth-vicious-skin/ |access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref> and lyrics discussing [[western esotericism]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=ADAMS |first1=GREGORY |title=Five Unexpected Elements That Shaped Integrity's 'Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume' |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/five_unexpected_elements_that_shaped_integritys_occult-inspired_new_lp_howling_for_the_nightmare_shall_consume |website=[[Exclaim!]] |access-date=3 January 2025}}</ref>

Philadelphia's [[Starkweather (band)|Starkweather]] were also an important early metalcore band, with their album ''Crossbearer'' (1992) which merged early metal's grooves and dark atmospheres with elements of hardcore.<ref name="Martins, 2020">{{cite web |last1=Martins |first1=Jorge |title=Top 10 Most Important Moments In the Evolution of Metalcore |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/top_10_most_important_moments_in_the_evolution_of_metalcore-107030 |website=[[Ultimate Guitar]] |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> [[Rorschach (band)|Rorschach]] also pioneered a distinctly dissonant and [[noise music|noise]]-influence niche into this early metalcore sound, which would go on to define [[noisecore]] and [[mathcore]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McKenty |first1=Finn |author-link=Finn McKenty |title=The History of Metalcore/Screamo |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2010/06/07/the-history-of-metalcorescreamo/ |website=[[MetalSucks]] |date=7 June 2010 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Breiham |first1=Tom |title=Watch Members Of Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, & More Cover Botch's Mathcore Classic "To Our Friends In The Great White North" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2188993/watch-members-of-converge-the-dillinger-escape-plan-more-cover-botchs-mathcore-classic-to-our-friends-in-the-great-white-north/news/ |website=[[Stereogum]] |date=6 June 2022 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

In 1993, [[Earth Crisis]] released "Firestorm", a song which became one of the most influential in metalcore.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marwood |first1=Lance |title=Earth Crisis: "People really take the bait when it comes to the divide and conquer propaganda." |date=5 June 2023 |url=https://v13.net/2023/06/earth-crisis-karl-buechner-interview-cover-stoy-firestorm/ |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> The band's militant [[vegan]] [[straight edge]] ethic and emphasis on chug riffs saw them immediately influence a wave of subsequent bands and gained coverage by major media outlets like ''[[CNN]]'', ''[[CBS]]'' and ''[[MTV]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Downey |first1=Ryan |title=Biography Earth Crisis |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/earth-crisis-mn0000160870/biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> The [[Firestorm (EP)|EP the song was a part of]] was also one of the earliest releases by [[Victory Records]] who go on to be a defining part of the metalcore scene in the coming years, through releasing many of the style's most successful albums.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bellino |first1=Emily |title=Five Times Victory Records Ruled |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/10/21/five-times-victory/ |website=[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]] |date=21 October 2019 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

[[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] too developed [[Boston hardcore#1990s|an early metalcore scene]], led by [[Overcast (band)|Overcast]] who formed in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kennelty |first1=Greg |title=LISTSUNEARTH Names The 11 Best Lesser-Known Metalcore Classics, Announces New Album |date=3 March 2023 |url=https://metalinjection.net/lists/unearth-names-the-11-best-lesser-known-metalcore-classics-announces-new-album |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Much of this scene were based around [[Hydra Head Records]], which was founded by [[Aaron Turner]] after moving to Boston. [[Converge (band)|Converge]] were one of the earliest and most prominent groups from the city, formed in 1990.<ref name="Hill 2020">{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Stephen |title=How Boston hardcore changed rock music |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-boston-hardcore-changed-rock-music |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |date=March 2020 |access-date=7 July 2021}}</ref> Using Rorschach's music as their sonic template,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=5-10-15-20: Converge's Kurt Ballou |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37497-5-10-15-20-converges-kurt-ballou/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=7 January 2010 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> the band's experimental attitude, emotional lyrics and attention to dynamics led to them becoming one of the most influential bands in the genre.<ref name="Martins, 2020" /> Converge, along with [[Morris Plains, New Jersey]]'s [[the Dillinger Escape Plan]] and [[Tacoma, Washington]]'s [[Botch (band)|Botch]] were three of the founding acts in the style's mathcore subgenre,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Luis |first1=Michael |title=A Brief History of Mathcore In Ten Albums |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/mathcore-guide |website=[[Bandcamp Daily]] |date=12 June 2019 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> with [[Kansas City, Missouri]]'s [[Coalesce (band)|Coalesce]] and [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]'s [[Deadguy]] being prominent acts transitioning towards the style.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith-Engelhardt |first1=Joe |title=20 mathcore albums that made the genre what it is today |url=https://www.altpress.com/best-mathcore-albums-of-all-time/ |website=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |date=21 January 2021 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Converge's guitarist [[Kurt Ballou]] opened the recording studio GodCity Studio in 1998, and would go on to record many of the most influential  subsequent hardcore records from the city.<ref name="Hill 2020" />

[[New York City]]'s [[Merauder]] released their debut album ''Master Killer'' in 1996, merging the sounds of metalcore, earlier New York hardcore and the newly emerged [[beatdown hardcore]] style. Of the album, ''[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]'' writer Elis Enis stated "any self-proclaimed 'metallic hardcore' band of the last 25 years is indebted to ''Master Killer'''s steel-toed stomp."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=10 MOST INFLUENTIAL METALCORE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-most-influential-metalcore-albums-all-time#merauder-master-killer |website=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]] |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Along with [[All Out War (band)|All Out War]], Darkside NYC and Confusion, Merauder were a part of a wave of bands defining a newer, increasingly metallic style of hardcore in New York that had long been one of the epicentres of the genre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=Metal And Hardcore Legends Remember All Out War's For Those Who Were Crucified |url=https://www.kerrang.com/metal-and-hardcore-legends-remember-all-out-wars-for-those-who-were-crucified |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=22 July 2019 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Long Island's [[Vision of Disorder]] were also a prevalent band in the scene, being one of the first bands to incorporate clean singing into the genre, which would soon become a staple, as well as incorporating elements of [[nu metal]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McKenty |first1=Finn |title=LET'S TALK ABOUT VISION OF DISORDER! |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2011/04/08/lets-talk-about-vision-of-disorder/ |website=[[MetalSucks]] |date=8 April 2011 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> In a 2005 article by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine, writer Greg Pato stated that "with seemingly every local teen waving the VOD banner circa the mid/late '90s, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before VOD would become the band to take 'metalcore' to a massive audience".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Prato |first1=Greg |title=Bloodsimple / Sept. 24, 2005 / Levittown, N.Y. (Club Voltage) |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bloodsimple-sept-24-2005-levittown-ny-club-voltage-61208/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Hatebreed 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Metalcore band [[Hatebreed]].]]
[[Bridgeport, Connecticut]]'s [[Hatebreed]] released their debut album ''[[Satisfaction is the Death of Desire]]'' in 1997. The album helped the band achieve underground success, selling 158,000 copies, according to [[Nielsen SoundScan]],<ref name=Victory>{{cite magazine |title=Victory Scores With Indie Grit |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |last=Reesman |first=Bryan |date=3 April 2004 |access-date=29 November 2019 |page=22 |volume=116 |number=14 |publisher=[[Nielsen Business Media, Inc.]] |issn= 0006-2510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhAEAAAAMBAJ&q=hatebreed+satisfaction+is+death+of+desire+soundscan&pg=PA22}}</ref> and holds the record for Victory Record's best selling debut album.<ref name="Hill 2015" /> The band's style merged classic hardcore with beatdown and metalcore,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=Jake |title=10 Metalcore Bands Who Don't (Or Barely) Use Clean Vocals |url=https://loudwire.com/metalcore-bands-little-no-clean-singing/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |date=12 January 2023 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> while also overtly referencing metal bands like [[Slayer]]. In a 2015 ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' article, writer Stephen Hill stated "The difference between Hatebreed and many of their influences is that where a band like Madball were happy to co-exist with metal bands without feeling like they were part of the same scene, Hatebreed actively went out of their way to become the hardcore band metal fans listen to."<ref name="Hill 2015">{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Stephen |title=In Praise Of... Hatebreed – Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/in-praise-of-hatebreed-satisfaction-is-the-death-of-desire |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |date=October 2015 |access-date=29 August 2023}}</ref> Other influential metalcore bands of the time include  [[Shai Hulud (band)|Shai Hulud]],<ref name=killyour>{{cite web|title=Kill Your Stereo – Reviews: Shai Hulud – Misanthropy Pure|url=http://www.killyourstereo.com/reviews/169/shai-hulud-misanthropy-pure/|quote=Shai Hulud, a name that is synonymous (in heavy music circles at least) with intelligent, provocative and most importantly unique metallic hardcore. The band's earliest release is widely credited with influencing an entire generation of musicians|access-date=13 November 2009|archive-date=27 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327210110/http://www.killyourstereo.com/reviews/169/shai-hulud-misanthropy-pure/|url-status=dead}}.</ref><ref name=sputnik>{{cite web |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/14839/Shai-Hulud-Hearts-Once-Nourished/ |title=Shai Hulud – Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion Review |work=Sputnikmusic |access-date=11 July 2012 |quote=''[[Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion]]'' is pretty much the prime in early melodic metalcore. So many bands in both the modern metalcore and hardcore scene have drawn vast influence from them, because of how perfect they blend hardcore and metal.}}</ref><ref name=inatthedeep>{{cite web|url=http://www.iatde.alivewww.co.uk/zombieapocalypse.htm|title=In at the Deep End Records|quote=Regardless of whether or not you liked Shai Hulud, it is undeniable that ''Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion'' was an oft-imitated and highly influential release in the mid-to-late nineties.}}</ref> [[Zao (American band)|Zao]]<ref name=msjz>{{cite web|title=Metal Hammer – The Top 10 best proto-metalcore records|date=22 July 2020|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-10-best-proto-metalcore-records|quote=Zao is one of the best examples of early metalcore, and their influence on the genre is undeniable. The guitar work, the high throaty style of the vocals, and the band aesthetics are all pieces that would have great influence on bands down the road.}}.</ref> and [[Disembodied (band)|Disembodied]].<ref>Sharpe-Young, p. 119</ref>

[[Orange County, California]] metalcore band [[Eighteen Visions]] contrasted the metalcore scene's usual hyper masculine aesthetic of "army and sports clothes" with "skinny jeans, [[eyeliner]] and hairstyles influenced by [[Orgy (band)|Orgy]] and [[Unbroken (band)|Unbroken]]".<ref name=Scene/> This visual style led to the band being called "fashioncore".<ref name=Scene>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |title=From Hardcore to Harajuku: The Origins of Scene Subculture |work=[[PopMatters]] |last=Stewart |first=Ethan |date=25 May 2021 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525180042/https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ocweeklyfashioncore>{{cite web |url=https://www.ocweekly.com/how-eighteen-visions-became-the-oc-metal-band-known-for-inventing-fashioncore-6569812/ |title=How Eighteen Visions Became The OC Metal Band Known For Inventing "Fashioncore" |work=[[OC Weekly]] |last1=Wiederhorn |first1=Jon |last2=Turman |first2=Katherine |date=17 July 2013 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604141108/https://www.ocweekly.com/how-eighteen-visions-became-the-oc-metal-band-known-for-inventing-fashioncore-6569812/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Jasamine White-Gluz of ''[[Exclaim!]]'' wrote that Eighteen Visions look "more like a boy band than a popular hardcore group. Critics tag the band for putting fashion at the centre of their music, but it adds a playful and interesting touch to a band that sounds much tougher than it looks."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/lamb_of_god_chimaira_eighteen_visions_atreyu-rainbow |title=Lamb of God / Chimaira / Eighteen Visions / Atreyu Rainbow Montreal QC - May 16, 2003 |work=[[Exclaim!]] |last=White-Gluz |first=Jasamine |date=1 June 2003 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608133232/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/lamb_of_god_chimaira_eighteen_visions_atreyu-rainbow |url-status=live }}</ref> A scene of bands in Orange County including [[Bleeding Through]], [[Avenged Sevenfold]] and [[Atreyu]] continued this in Eighteen Visions' wake,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.altpress.com/features/what_is_emo_history_definition/ |title=What is Emo, Anyway? We Look at History to Define a Genre |work=[[Altpress.com|Alternative Press]] |last=Richman |first=Jesse |date=24 January 2018 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608130901/https://www.altpress.com/features/what_is_emo_history_definition/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/bleeding_through-wolves_among_sheep |title=Bleeding Through Wolves Among Sheep |work=[[Exclaim!]] |last=Deneau |first=Max |date=1 December 2005 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608130859/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/bleeding_through-wolves_among_sheep |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cjlo.com/articles/easy-breezy-brutal-three-major-movements-in-heavy-metal-makeup |title=Easy, Breezy, Brutal: Three Major Movements in Heavy Metal Makeup |work=Cjlo |date=10 February 2014 |access-date=8 June 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608130909/http://www.cjlo.com/articles/easy-breezy-brutal-three-major-movements-in-heavy-metal-makeup |url-status=live }}</ref> and influenced [[emo]] and [[scene (subculture)|scene]] fashion in the coming decade.<ref name=Scene />

As the decade drew to a close, a wave of metalcore bands began incorporating elements of [[melodic death metal]] into their sound. This formed an early version of what would become the [[melodic metalcore]] genre, with [[Shadows Fall]]'s ''[[Somber Eyes to the Sky]]'' (1997), Undying's ''This Day All Gods Die'' (1999), [[Darkest Hour (band)|Darkest Hour]]'s ''The Prophecy Fulfilled'' (1999), [[Unearth]]'s ''[[Above the Fall of Man]]'' (1999), [[Prayer for Cleansing]]'s ''Rain in Endless Fall'' (1999) being some of the style's earliest releases.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=The Music Sound |date=7 May 2014 |quote=While death metal and hardcore had always intermingled to an extent, the first clearly identifiable instances of melodic Swedish metal being combined with hardcore seem to have sprung almost simultaneously, with Undying's This Day All Gods Die, Darkest Hour's The Prophecy Fulfilled, Prayer for Cleansing's The Rain in Endless Fall, Shadows Fall's With Somber Eyes to the Sky, and Unearth's Above the Fall of Man all being released within a year of each other (1998-99). It is unclear who first got the idea to combine the two styles. Darkest Hour had released an EP called The Misanthrope in 1996 which arguably contained elements of their later sound but was for the most part aggro-hardcore in the vein of Damnation a.d. On the other hand, Day of Suffering's 1997 album The Eternal Jihad is cited as an influence for many of the North Carolina bands that followed, such as Undying and Overcast is seen as having started the genre in Massachusetts.}}</ref> [[CMJ]] writer Anthony Delia also credited Florida's [[Poison the Well (band)|Poison the Well]] and their first two releases ''[[The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation]]'' (1999) and ''[[Tear from the Red]]'' (2002) as "design[ing] the template for most of" the melodic metalcore bands to come.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Delia|first1=Anthony|title=CMJ Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XY5HXiUDbskC |access-date=27 April 2018|issue=821|publisher=[[CMJ]]|date=7 July 2003 |quote=Poison The Well designed the template for most of today's melodic metalcore acts, spawning countless copycats in the process. The band's last two efforts, 1999's The Opposite Of December...A Season Of Separation and 2002's Tear From The Red, are genre essentials, but no one is going to argue that those albums were constructed of memorable parts, rather than complete, efficiently executed songs; you knew when to rock out and when to sing along.}}</ref>