The History and Evolution of

By: Billy Laird

Thesis Statement

“Deathcore is a style of music different from the normal path of other modern metal styles. It encompasses elements of multiple styles to create something new and exciting.”

What Is Deathcore?

• Deathcore is a fusion of Hardcore• Punk and Death Metal Music.• Defined by an "excessive" use

of death metal riffs, blast beats and use of hardcore punk breakdowns.

What is Deathcore?

• Bands also incorporate guitar solos and melodic riffs similar to those in metalcore. Like in other extreme metal genres, deathcore guitarists down tune their guitars to give their music a heavy sound, most play in drop B or drop A tuning.

• Often associated with a straightedge lifestyle. • Or With Smoking Marijuana

The Beginning

• Deathcore itself would not exist if it wasn’t for those bands who created the genres it stems from.

Punk Rock

• Began with the Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash etc. in mid 70’s.

• John Holmstrom, founding editor of Punk magazine, recalls feeling "punk rock had to come along because the rock scene had become so tame that [acts] like Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel were being called rock and roll, when to me and other fans, rock and roll meant this wild and rebellious music."

Hardcore Punk

• The introduction of Hardcore came in the late 70s thanks to the popularity of Punk Rock.

• Hardcore introduced the elements of the Breakdown and brought Screaming Vocals into the mixture.

• Notable bands include Suicidal Tendencies, Ill Repute, Social Distortion, and Bad Religion.

•Metalcore influence is debated among fans but the similarities to Deathcore cannot be ignored.•Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various

elements of extreme metal andhardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. • Contemporary practitioners of the genre include Killswitch

Engage, Underoath, All That Remains, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Bullet for My Valentine and The Devil Wears Prada.

Metalcore Influence(?)

Heavy Metal

• Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden • Judas Priest evolved the genre by ridding

much of the Blues Influence.• Motörhead introduced a Punk influence,

changing the genre even more.• Introduced “Shred” style of guitar playing.• Fast, Intricate guitar riffs, backed by fast

drums and bass.

Metal Evolution

• Thrash came into the scene in the 80’s and had a heavy influence on the inception of Death Metal.

• Introduced a more angry tone of vocal work, including some screams and growls.

• Thrash slpit into many varieties of Extreme Metal, including Death, Doom, Melodic, Symphonic and many others.

Death Metal• The bands credited as the

biggest inspiration for the genre are Slayer and Venom.

• "Slayer's music was directly responsible for the rise of death metal," according to MTV News.

• First actual Death Metal band?

• Death. Formed in 1983.Death was first to popularize “screaming vocals”.

The Front Line Of

Deathcore

Bring Me the Horizon

Suicide Silence

All Shall Perish

Front Line (cont.)

After The Burial Born Of Osiris

Whitechapel

Suicide Silence Drummer Alex Lopez’s Kit. Many toms and cymbals for a variety of pitches and density of sound.

All Shall Perish Lead guitarist Francesco Artusato, brandishing his signature 7 string Ibanez guitar.

Phil Bozeman the vocalist for Whitechapel. Notable for being able to produce every sound heard on albums, during live shows.

The Equipment

Guitars, often 7 or 8 string (Whammy Bar optional).

Double-Bass Pedals. (A must for the Deathcore drummer)

Bass guitar, for that extra bit of 'heavy'. (Often 5 string for that Extra Low String)

The Mic. Kinda needless to mention, but still.

The LookBoth are semi-right and semi-wrong. But it is funny.

The StylePicking out a Deathcore fan somewhere usually isn't very hard. In some ways its quite close to Metalheads, and also close to those Hardcore kids.Gauges are typical. (Look @ my ears if you don't know what they are)Band Tees are a Must! Skinny jeans, or baggy cargos are considered everyday attire.Long hair, shaved head, or layers (On guys and girls)Facial piercings like snake bites, spider bites, angel bites, labret piercings, dimples, nose and tongue are all very common.Tattoos. Sleeves, chest pieces, back, neck, and hands.Metal jewelry. Chains, rings, studded belts, bracelets, etc.Consider rule of thumb. The more angry you look, the more hardcore you are.Makeup is for girls.

Lyrical Theme

•Deathcore and Death Metal are close in this respect as well, but Death Metal is more about killing and torture, while Deathcore is more angry and about fighting/beating people up.•Uses High and

Low Screams, Pig Squeals, Growls, Group Shouts, and Occasional Clean

Will put lyrics w/ videos

The Acacia Strain

The Breakdown

• The most important thing in any song has to be the breakdown.

• The breakdown is exactly what it sounds like.• A rapid slowing of the guitar and drums, to create a

slow, heavy rhythm. • Breakdowns are sometimes found in songs of these

genres as they can be used to eschew traditional verse-chorus-verse songwriting.

Breakdowns

• When played live, breakdowns are usually responded to by the audience moshing or slam dancing.

• Vocalists also tend to throw in a single, repeated statement throughout the breakdown, giving those who are not dancing or moshing an opportunity to sing along.

Similar Genres• Metalcore- Very close to

Deathcore but focuses more on the guitar riffs, and also uses clean vocals.• Melodic Deathcore or

Metalcore- More harmonization, possibly the addition of Keyboards.

• Death Metal- More guitar focus, often ,more vulgar lyrics.

Self Involvement

• I personally have been in several different bands, some of them Deathcore and some not.

• I have played different instruments, including bass, keyboards, and guitar before I began practicing to Scream, which is what I do now.

Examples!

Song 1: Whitechapel's Eternal RefugeSong 2: Born Of Osiris' RercreateSong 3: The Agonist's Business Suits and Combat Boots

Works Cited

DeathCoreKing, . "What You Need To Know About Metalcore/Deathcore." Ultimate-Guitar.com. N.p., 09/21/2010. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/genres_battles/what_you_need_to_know_about_metalcoredeathcore.html>.

Wikipedia contributors. "Deathcore." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 18 May 2012 at 07:01.. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathcore>.

Wikipedia contributors. "Break(Music)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, This page was last modified on 11 May 2012 at 22:34.. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_(music)

All Pictures found Via Google Images!Wikipedia supplied much info, thank you Wiki contributors!

I own none of the rights to anything presented!

Outline

I) History and EvolutionA) What it is

1) Definition2) Info3)Beginning

B) PunkC) HardcoreD) Metalcore InfluenceE) Heavy MetalF) EvolutionG) ThrashH) Death Metal

II) The Front LineA) BMTHB) All Shall PerishC) Suicide SilenceD) ATBE) BoOF) Whitechapel

III) The EquipmentA) Drum Kit, Guitar, VocalistB) Double BassC) MicD) GuitarsE) Bass

IV) Pull off the partA) The LookB) The StyleC) Examples

V) Other StuffA) Lyrical ThemeB) BreakdownsC) Similar GenresD) Personal InvolvementE) Songs UsedF) Works CitedG) Outline