Thrashcore (also known as fastcore) is a fast-
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
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 p ...
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
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 ...
, less
metallic
Metallic may be a reference to:
*Metal
* Metalloid, metal-like substance
*Metallic bonding, type of chemical bonding
* Metallicity, in astronomy the proportion of elements other than helium and hydrogen in an object
*Metallic color, a color that ...
forerunner of
grindcore. The genre is sometimes associated with the
skateboarder
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...
subculture.
Terminological ambiguity
Thrashcore is often confused with
crossover thrash
Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...
and sometimes
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, . ...
.
[Felix von Havoc]
''Maximum Rock'n'Roll'' #198
Retrieved June 20, 2008.["Powerviolence: The Dysfunctional Family of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrgghhh!!". ''Terrorizer'' no. 172. July 2008. p. 36-37.] Further confusion is added by the fact that many crossover bands, such as
D.R.I., began as influential thrashcore bands.
Throughout the '80s, the term "thrash" was in use as a synonym for
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 p ...
(as in the ''
New York Thrash
''New York Thrash'' is a hardcore punk compilation album released by ROIR in 1982.
Considered a definitive document of the early New York hardcore and late 1970s punk scene, ''New York Thrash'' features rare and otherwise unreleased recordings, ...
'' compilation of 1982). It eventually came to be used for the faster, more intense style of hardcore punk. The term thrashcore is of recent vintage but dates from at least 1993. The "-core"
suffix is necessary to distinguish it from the thrash metal scene, which is also referred to as "thrash" by fans. Still more confusingly, the term "thrashcore" is occasionally used by the
music press
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
to refer to thrash metal-inflected
metalcore.
History
Origins
Just as
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 p ...
groups distinguished themselves from their
punk rock predecessors by their greater intensity and
aggression, thrashcore groups (often identified simply as "thrash") sought to play at breakneck tempos that would radicalize the innovations of hardcore. Early American thrashcore groups included
Cryptic Slaughter
Cryptic Slaughter is an American crossover thrash band based in Santa Monica, California, and originally formed in 1984.
Biography
Cryptic Slaughter was formed in 1984 by Les Evans (age 17), Scott Peterson (age 14), and Adam Scott (age 15), wh ...
(Santa Monica),
D.R.I. (Houston), HYPE (Toronto Canada),
Septic Death
Septic Death was an American hardcore punk band active in the 1980s. The foursome from Boise, Idaho was a major influence for the development of grindcore, thrashcore and "speedcore".
History
Septic Death was formed in 1981 by Brian " Pushead ...
(Boise, Idaho) and
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 ...
(Weymouth, Massachusetts). The British
Electro Hippies, the Dutch
Lärm
Lärm (German for ''noise'') were a Dutch straight edge hardcore band formed in 1981, first playing under the name of Total Chaoz. They referred to their music as "extreme noise", though having nothing to do with noise rock or noise music.
Due t ...
, the Italian
Raw Power, and the Japanese
S.O.B. also practiced important examples of the style. Some of
Negative Approach
Negative Approach is an American hardcore punk band, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little known ...
's later work was influential on the scene.
Powerviolence
The powerviolence scene grew out of thrashcore as an American counterpart to the British
grindcore scene, which had emerged from
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 ...
, with bands such as
Septic Death
Septic Death was an American hardcore punk band active in the 1980s. The foursome from Boise, Idaho was a major influence for the development of grindcore, thrashcore and "speedcore".
History
Septic Death was formed in 1981 by Brian " Pushead ...
,
Infest and
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 ...
being the first to move towards the style.
Powerviolence groups saw themselves as distinct from grindcore because of the increasing proximity of grindcore groups to the
death metal being performed in Florida, Sweden, and Brazil. Powerviolence groups wished to avoid the association with
heavy metal music and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
that
crossover thrash
Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...
,
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, . ...
, and grindcore had made, while also incorporating "tempo changes with droney and sludgey down tempo parts".
As well as from thrashcore, powerviolence groups also took inspiration from crust punk, and eventually from
noise music. Main groups associated with powerviolence included
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Charles Bronson,
Spazz and
Rorschach.
Grindcore
Thrashcore groups such as
S.O.B.,
Cryptic Slaughter
Cryptic Slaughter is an American crossover thrash band based in Santa Monica, California, and originally formed in 1984.
Biography
Cryptic Slaughter was formed in 1984 by Les Evans (age 17), Scott Peterson (age 14), and Adam Scott (age 15), wh ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
were major influences on early grindcore acts such as
Napalm Death,
Carcass
Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to:
*Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc.
*Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being
*The str ...
and
Repulsion. Grindcore is considered to be more metallic, due to its influence from
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 ...
.
Revival
Contemporary thrashcore band Trash Talk performing in 2010
The '90s saw a revival of the thrashcore style, as groups that had previously been associated with
powerviolence
Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical ...
or
grindcore began to explore their debt to this earlier form of extreme music such as rock and metal. This was sometimes referred to as "
bandanna
A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative pur ...
thrash", in reference to the headgear preferred by many of the performers.
[Interview with Max Ward]
''Maximum Rock'n'Roll''. Retrieved June 19, 2008. Prominent '90s thrashcore groups included Code 13, MK-ULTRA,
Guyana Punch Line,
What Happens Next? and
R.A.M.B.O. (from the United States),
Vitamin X (from the Netherlands),
Vivisick (from Japan) and
Voorhees (from the UK). These groups sometimes felt a greater association with other elements of '80s hardcore punk, such as
straight edge,
anarcho-punk,
youth crew
Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original yout ...
, or
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 ...
, than most initial thrashcore groups did.
Record labels
*
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. ...
*Havoc Records
*Ebullition Records
*
Slap-a-Ham Records
*Deep Six Records
*Six Weeks
*Sound Pollution Records
References
Bibliography
*
Blush, Steven (2001). ''
American Hardcore: A Tribal History''.
Feral House.
{{hardcorepunk
Hardcore punk genres
Punk rock genres
American rock music genres
American styles of music