Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to

thrashcore Thrashcore (also known as fastcore) is a fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore, often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less d ...

and

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical aspects of heavy metal, powerviolence is just an augmentation of the most challenging qualities of hardcore punk. Like its predecessors, it is usually socio-politically charged and iconoclastic.

History

Siege are considered the pioneers of powerviolence. Additionally,

Infest Infest may refer to: *Infest, wild animal overpopulation, much in the same way that cockroaches do * ''Infest'' (album), a 2000 hard rock album by Papa Roach *Infest (band), American hardcore band *Infest (festival), an alternative electronic mu ...

have received credit for having an early impact on the genre. The microgenre solidified into its commonly recognized form in the early 1990s. This is best exemplified by bands such as Man Is the Bastard, Crossed Out, Neanderthal, No Comment and Capitalist Casualties. Powerviolence groups took inspiration from Siege, Hüsker Dü,

SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is ...

, Deep Wound,

Neon Christ Neon Christ was an American hardcore punk band from Atlanta, Georgia. History The band was formed in 1983 by Randy DuTeau (vocals), William DuVall (guitar), Danny Lankford (bass), and Jimmy Demer (drums). For a brief spell in 1985, they added a ...

Hirax The Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) is an interferometric array of 1024 6-meter (20 ft) diameter radio telescopes, operating at 400-800MHz, that will be deployed at the Square Kilometer Array site in the Karoo regi ...

, Impact Unit, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Negative FX and Corrosion of Conformity. Spazz vocalist and bassist Chris Dodge's record label

Slap-a-Ham Records Slap a Ham Records was an independent label from San Francisco owned and operated by Chris Dodge, bassist of the band Spazz as well as others. The label is generally seen as a highly influential entity within the hardcore punk scene in California ...

was a fixture during the rapid rise and decline of powerviolence, releasing influential records by Neanderthal, No Comment, Crossed Out, Infest, Slight Slappers, and Spazz. The label's Fiesta Grande was an annual powerviolence festival held at

924 Gilman The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California, about ...

from 1993 to 2000. The label 625 Thrashcore (founded by Spazz drummer Max Ward) started a similarly themed festival in 2003, called Super Sabado Gigante. While powerviolence is closely related to thrashcore (often referred to simply as "thrash"), it is markedly different from thrash metal in both sound and approach.

Style

While the term ''powerviolence'' originally included a number of stylistically diverse bands, it typically refers to bands who focus on speed, brevity, breakdowns, and constant tempo changes. Powerviolence songs are often very short, with some lasting less than twenty seconds. Groups such as Man Is the Bastard, Plutocracy, Azucares, and No Le$$ took influence from progressive rock and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

. Powerviolence groups tend to be very raw and under-produced. This is true of both their sound and packaging. Some groups (e.g. Man Is the Bastard and

Dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

) took influence from

anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcor ...

and crust punk, emphasizing animal rights and anti-militarism. Groups such as

Despise You Despise You are an American powerviolence band from Inglewood, California, formed in 1994. The group is noted for helping influencing the powerviolence movement and for their bleak lyrics about topics such as gang violence, misanthropy, and self-h ...

and Lack of Interest wrote lyrics about misanthropy, drugs, and inner-city issues. Groups such as Spazz and

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...

, on the other hand, wrote lyrics mocking points of interest for hardcore and metal fans. Their lyrics often consisted of inside jokes that referenced specific people, many of whom were unfamiliar to those outside the band. Other groups associated with powerviolence included

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

, Dropdead,

Black Army Jacket Black Army Jacket was an American powerviolence band. They released one album and many 7-inch EPs, splits and compilation appearances. Their members have gone on to play in such bands as Municipal Waste, Deny the Cross, Matt Pond PA, Burnt by th ...

, Hellnation, and

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

. The

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

group

Burning Witch Burning Witch was an American doom metal band from Seattle, Washington, active between 1995 and 1998. Aside from EPs and split releases, the band released a compilation album called ''Crippled Lucifer'', which had songs of their early EPs. Hist ...

(who released music on the Slap-A-Ham label) often played shows with powerviolence groups.

Legacy and influence

Powerviolence groups had a strong influence on later grindcore acts, such as Agoraphobic Nosebleed.

Mark McCoy Charles Bronson was an American powerviolence band from DeKalb, Illinois, active from 1994 to 1997. Musical style The band borrowed from the early powerviolence of Infest."Middle America brought Illinois' Charles Bronson, a band that took a ...

of Charles Bronson went on to form

Das Oath Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombian ...

, a popular

group. Members of Man Is the Bastard formed Bastard Noise. A handful of bands from the powerviolence scene of the 1990s have continued to record and perform decades later, including Bastard Noise, Capitalist Casualties,

, Lack of Interest, Infest, Slight Slappers, Stapled Shut, etc.

Weekend Nachos Weekend Nachos were an American hardcore punk band from DeKalb, Illinois. History Weekend Nachos began in 2004, after releasing a collection of demos that they had recorded. The band released their debut EP ''Torture'' the following year via Toot ...

, Nails,

Magrudergrind Magrudergrind is an American grindcore band formed in 2002. They have released numerous splits and three full-length albums. Since its inception the band has toured Europe and North America multiple times, Puerto Rico, Japan, and South East Asia ...

, early

Ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

, Hatred Surge, Mind Eraser and Full of Hell are considered contemporary powerviolence acts. When Eric Wood from Man Is The Bastard was asked in 2021 about the new Powerviolence bands he answered:

Emoviolence

Emoviolence is a fusion genre that combines elements of powerviolence and screamo. Common characteristics shared by emoviolence bands include screamed vocals, blast beats, extensive use of amplifier feedback, and small elements of melody. The term "emoviolence" was jokingly created by the band In/Humanity, and bands commonly associated with the term include Orchid, Usurp Synapse, Jeromes Dream, and Pg. 99.

References

{{hardcorepunk Grindcore Hardcore punk genres American rock music genres American styles of music