I thoroughly enjoy rock music, especially of the metal variety. It’s not the only thing I listen to, of course, but metal has been with me since childhood, and my tastes haven’t really wavered over time (which is a rarity amongst most people). I’m not often a fan of the popular music of the day, and these days, it’s no different. A very popular form of music right now is metalcore (and all of the subgenres therein, like deathcore).

In case you hadn’t guessed by the name, this is metal (or hard rock) mixed with hardcore. Hardcore itself is a mix of metal and super-angsty punk rock. Quick primer: punk rock has been the driving force behind pop music even since its inception in the 1970s. It drove glam rock in the 1980s, alternative rock in the 1990s, and even “nu-metal” in the early 2000s. Now, we’ve got metalcore, and bands that try to tout their “metal roots” with just a touch of hardcore added in. However, it’s all just a sham, and the reverse is what’s actually true.

These bands are 99% hardcore, with maybe a smidgin of metal thrown in; or, in deathcore’s case, they’re just growling and screaming for effect. Sorry, that doesn’t make you a death metal band. Worse yet, hardcore’s not known for its musical proficiency; like its punk rock forerunner, it’s very simplistic and easy-to-play music. In fact, that’s exactly the point; like punk, it’s a form of “rebellion” against the more musically disciplined genres, like progressive rock. (British punk bands in the 1970s railed against the prog groups, because the latter weren’t “working class” enough. Sheesh.) The problem is that without any semblance of musical learning, you’ve got a very generic and watered-down product, no matter what genre you mix it with.

Let me give you an example. Despised Icon’s first album, Consumed By Your Poison, was decent; it was rather straightforward death metal with a touch of hardcore. But later, as the band realized hardcore’s popularity, even more of it was added to their music. Their most recent disc, The Ills of Modern Man, is trash. The hardcore influence completely muddied and diluted their previous efforts, and as a result, they sound just like everyone else in the genre. They’ve lost their identity.

Example number two: a few years back, I went to see some random show at the Webster Theater (a real dive, but one of the only places close by). One of the opening acts was Deadwait, a local band that promoted themselves as “hardcore death.” That claim was bullshit. They were a hardcore band through and through, with a second singer that attempted in vain to do random death shrieks à la Chuck Schuldiner.

So as you can see, it’s a joke. Wrapping all of this up is the insane amount of subgenres that have cropped up within metalcore. There’s deathcore, mathcore, techcore…you get the idea. The funniest part? They all sound alike! The subgenres were just created (often by bands who label themselves) to be “different.” Well, guess what: they’re not. At least take pride in your own damn work; trying too hard to be someone else and failing shows a complete lack of confidence. If you want to play shitty music, that’s fine, but don’t make up some pretentious label just to differentiate yourself from the five hundred other bands that sound just like you. Prove it with your songwriting skill…that is, of course, if you actually have any.