Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...

and fast subgenre of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier 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 ...

and grindcore. 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 Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

History

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

are considered the pioneers of powerviolence. Additionally, Infest 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 Man Is the Bastard was an American hardcore punk band based in Claremont, California. The band existed from 1990 to 1997, releasing mostly vinyl splits, extended plays, and albums on obscure labels from around the world. By 1997, the group ended a ...

Crossed Out Crossed Out was a powerviolence band from Encinitas, California. The band was active from early 1990 until late 1993. The group is considered to be a very important band that helped define powerviolence with a style that incorporated political lyr ...

, Neanderthal,

No Comment No comment is a phrase used as a response to journalistic inquiries which the respondent does not wish to answer. Public figures may decline to comment on issues they are questioned or have nothing to say about the issue at the time. ''No commen ...

and

Capitalist Casualties Capitalist Casualties were an American powerviolence / hardcore band. They formed in Rohnert Park, CA around 1986 and had their first concert in 1987 in Santa Rosa, California They have released multiple records, including many splits with oth ...

. Powerviolence groups took inspiration from

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

, SSD,

Deep Wound Deep Wound was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They released one self-titled 7" and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, '' Bands That Could Be God'', both of which are sought after by fans and re ...

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 Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (often abbreviated and referred to as D.R.I.) is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas in 1982. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist S ...

Negative FX Negative FX was a hardcore punk band from Boston, formed in 1981. Though the band lasted only a short time, playing a total of five shows (six flyers exist), the band was well known for their involvement in the local straight edge scene of the ...

and

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (also known as COC) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with guitarist Woody Weatherman as the sole const ...

. 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 from 1993 to 2000. The label

625 Thrashcore Max Ward, occasionally playing under the moniker of Hirax Max, is an American power violence and thrashcore musician, playing for such bands as Spazz, Plutocracy, Capitalist Casualties, What Happens Next?, Bombs of Death, and Scholastic Deth. ...

(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 Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

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

, Plutocracy, Azucares, and No Le$$ took influence from

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

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 Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

, emphasizing

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and

anti-militarism Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especia ...

. 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, 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 Dropdead is an American hardcore punk band based in Providence, Rhode Island. They have been active in the punk scene since 1991, having been formed in January of that year. The band's songs are generally short and very fast-paced, with few last ...

, Black Army Jacket,

Hellnation Hellnation was an hardcore punk band from Covington, Kentucky. The band was active from 1988 to 2010. The band's sound has been described as thrashcore, powerviolence and grindcore. Hellnation's style was composed of quick guitar riffs, large am ...

, 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 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. Hi ...

(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 Agoraphobic Nosebleed (abbreviated as ANb) is an American grindcore band formed in 1994 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Its line-up has changed often over the years, with guitarist and drum programmer Scott Hull being the only cont ...

. Mark McCoy of Charles Bronson went on to form Das Oath, a popular

group. Members of Man Is the Bastard formed

Bastard Noise Bastard Noise is an American noise band founded in 1991 by musicians Eric Wood, Henry Barnes, and W. T. Nelson. The project started as a type of sister band to the trio's previous group Man Is The Bastard. While Man Is the Bastard broke-up in l ...

. A handful of bands from the powerviolence scene of the 1990s have continued to record and perform decades later, including Bastard Noise,

, 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, 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 Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

. 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 Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

Usurp Synapse Usurp Synapse was a screamo band from Lafayette, Indiana. The group combined fast and frantic grindcore influenced drumming and guitar work, and raw screams. History Usurp Synapse formed in 1998 in Lafayette, Indiana. Their line up changed s ...

Jeromes Dream Jeromes Dream is a screamo band from Connecticut, originally active from 1997 to 2001, and again from 2018 onwards. History Jeromes Dream began on September 13, 1997 after a short jam session between bassist Jeff Smith, guitarist Nick Antonopoul ...

, and

Pg. 99 Pg. 99 (also spelled pageninetynine) was a screamo band from Sterling, Virginia, a town on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. They are considered one of the pioneers of screamo. The band formed as a six-piece in late 1997 and broke up as an eig ...

References

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