[1] Keith Morris, Black Flag. American Hardcore, 2006. Film. Directed by Paul RACHMAN. USA, AHC Productions
[2] Bobby Steele, Misfits. American Hardcore, 2006. Film. Directed by Paul RACHMAN. USA, AHC Productions
[3] Ian Mackaye, Minor Threat. American Hardcore, 2006. Film. Directed by Paul RACHMAN. USA, AHC Productions
[4] Steven Blush (2010). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. 2nd ed. Port Townsend: Feral House. 44/45.
[5] Chris Foley, American Hardcore, 2006. Film. Directed by Paul RACHMAN. USA, AHC Productions
[6] Keith Morris, American Hardcore, 2006. Film. Directed by Paul RACHMAN. USA, AHC Productions
[7] Steven Blush (2010). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. 2nd ed. Port Townsend: Feral House. 47.
[8] Steven Blush (2010). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. 2nd ed. Port Townsend: Feral House. 23.
[9] Steven Blush (2010). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. 2nd ed. Port Townsend: Feral House. 60.
All videos are from http://www.youtube.com unless stated otherwise.
Images have been correctly captioned with the website they were obtained from.
All lyrics stated have been taken from CD/record inserts/inlays respectively. (Exception to We Stare At Mirrors lyrics, website has been stated).
Minor Threat album covers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Two_7%22s_on_a_12%22 (In My Eyes and Minor Threat)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Step_%28album%29 (Out Of Step)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_Days_%28EP%29 (Salad Days)
Brutality Will Prevail Album covers:
http://www.dyingdiydistro.com/img/p/205-254-large.jpg (Forgotten Soul)
http://lms-static.co.uk/article/images/13540.jpg (Root Of All Evil)
Ceremony album cover:
http://revhq.com/images/covers/250/mal25.jpg (Violence Violence)
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Hardcore
I have made this blog because I find that simply writing down my essay won't help to show the reader what I want them to see. I want them to be able to hear the music or see the visuals whilst they read about it, and so this is the most convenient format as I can embed many objects, mainly videos and images.
In this blog I will be looking at hardcore as a genre when it first emerged during the early 1980's and what it is today. Doing this will involve me studying what hardcore actually is as a genre, the DIY ethics behind it and why this was something not seen in previous genres, studying a couple of bands from each era and looking at the music they made, what the general characteristics are for the genre and what the live shows were/are like
So to start, let's take a look at the meaning of the word 'hardcore'.
What does the term 'hardcore' mean? When used in the descriptive it can mean “resistant to change” or “obscene or explicit”.
The latter are exactly the kind of words I would use to describe the hardcore punk emergence of the 1980's. It was obscene; in-your-face; angry; hate-fuelled; chaotic and violent. It was a huge jumble of emotions thrown into the grinder and the noise that came out was hard-hitting – but most of all, it was honest. It didn't mess around and it had a point.
The latter are exactly the kind of words I would use to describe the hardcore punk emergence of the 1980's. It was obscene; in-your-face; angry; hate-fuelled; chaotic and violent. It was a huge jumble of emotions thrown into the grinder and the noise that came out was hard-hitting – but most of all, it was honest. It didn't mess around and it had a point.
In 1981, Ronald Regan became the new president of the United States and many would argue that this was the main catalyst for hardcore punk. Everyone was becoming concerned about what this would mean regarding things such as freedom of speech, repression and civil liberties. All kinds of social groups were protesting for their rights, such as the feminists, the black community and students.
People were becoming tired with the empty promise of 'you go to school, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, makes lots of money, have a big family etc.'[1]
Hardcore punk (1980s)
Hardcore punk initially started as a reaction against punk rock. When people thought of punk, they thought of The Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious, but that's not what hardcore punk bands wanted to be like, as Sid Vicious was nothing more than a 'nihilistic junkie'[2]. The difference between hardcore punk and punk rock is both musically and lyrically. Musically because hardcore focuses on speed and rhythm whereas punk focuses on catchy hooks and mid-tempos. Lyrically, the two genres differ in the way that, aswell as looking at topics such as the government, economy and establishments, hardcore punk looked at more personal issues. Unlike punk, which mainly took an anti-establishment stance rather than a personal one. The name came about to define their niche, define what made them different than standard punk rock:
“We started calling it hardcore, you know like, like hardcore porn, it's right down to the core, it's the real deal.”[3]
Bands such as KISS and Alice Cooper were portraying expensive lifestyles, ridiculous fashion and flashy live shows and it was annoying people who were growing up having to listen to this stuff due to the fact that none of it was at all realistic, and in that sense, it went hand-in-hand with the empty promises from the government; as mentioned above. Hardcore reacted against this. They weren't going to dress up in outrageous outfits, a plain t-shirt and jeans with a pair of boots was just fine. This didn't show off an expensive lifestyle but that's not what they wanted to show - because they didn't have an expensive lifestyle. Bands knew that this kind of music wasn't going to get big or famous and they weren't going to make enough money to sustain a lifestyle. They were doing it for the fun of it and because it was fresh and new to them. A chance to stand out and express themselves without having to be all 'nicey nicey' about it.
Most of the people in hardcore hated how they were living their lives: people they work with; crappy job; broken families and authority figures. Hardcore was a chance to get away from all that and be with people like them, people who understood each other. The live shows of hardcore punk still held similar features to that of punk rock of the 70's. There was energy, there was drugs and there was drinking. The majority of people at these shows were kids aged between 13 and 16 who were on all sorts of drugs and having sex with many people. But I'll go more in depth into the live shows later on.
Characteristics
Hardcore was simple. It was fast, aggressive and easy to play. Most hardcore punk bands made songs that used 3 power chords, played as fast as they could; a simple drum beat, played as fast they could; and angry vocals, shouted as fast as they could. Keeping with the theme of simplicity, songs we're nearly always in 4/4 timing.
With most bands playing the same 3 chords over and over, a lot of the music sounds the same, especially with near identical drum beats. But there were the bands that stood out from the rest by doing some things a little bit different. A good analogy I have found is "If you asked someone to paint a picture with a thousand colours, they'd probably try to use most of 'em. But with only three colours they might do very interesting work".[4]
Bands used the traditional roster for a band line up - a drummer, a bassist, rhythm and lead guitarists (although by lead, it refers mainly to octave leads over powerchords and quick bursts of solos) and a vocalist.
The songs were based mainly on keeping the rhythm, and exploiting it to the extremes, rather than providing interesting melody lines.
With most bands playing the same 3 chords over and over, a lot of the music sounds the same, especially with near identical drum beats. But there were the bands that stood out from the rest by doing some things a little bit different. A good analogy I have found is "If you asked someone to paint a picture with a thousand colours, they'd probably try to use most of 'em. But with only three colours they might do very interesting work".[4]
Bands used the traditional roster for a band line up - a drummer, a bassist, rhythm and lead guitarists (although by lead, it refers mainly to octave leads over powerchords and quick bursts of solos) and a vocalist.
The songs were based mainly on keeping the rhythm, and exploiting it to the extremes, rather than providing interesting melody lines.
“The whole thing with hardcore was that it was just people picking up a guitar, learning 3 chords and playing as fast as they could.” [5]
Bands were making songs that were on average, no longer than a minute in length. The philosophy was “choose a topic, get to the point, and do it in less than 30 seconds”.
The main feature of the songs were the vocals; shouting, not singing. The shouting style fits with the simplicity of the genre. You didn't have to do it perfect like you would if you were singing and near anyone could do it.
The quality of early hardcore records is in most cases, low and poor. This is not manufactured on purpose though, this is due to most hardcore bands having little money. The recordings tend to get across the rawness and energy that can be found at live shows. Bands such as Minor Threat and Circle Jerks recorded mainly to promote their live shows, and not really caring for how the record came out.
At the time, hardcore punk was being written by teenagers from both ends of the spectrum. It originally started being written by late-teens, but the majority of people at the shows were 13-16 year olds, who saw the music and then became inspired to write it themselves. And thus started forming bands and playing hardcore punk music.
The music wasn't particularly aimed at anyone - the musicians knew that they weren't going to change the political state of affairs by dedicating a song to Reagan or that they were going to change the fact their parents had split up. The music was written for people like themselves who could relate to it rather than a certain demographic, people who have the same problems and feel the same emotions.
The quality of early hardcore records is in most cases, low and poor. This is not manufactured on purpose though, this is due to most hardcore bands having little money. The recordings tend to get across the rawness and energy that can be found at live shows. Bands such as Minor Threat and Circle Jerks recorded mainly to promote their live shows, and not really caring for how the record came out.
At the time, hardcore punk was being written by teenagers from both ends of the spectrum. It originally started being written by late-teens, but the majority of people at the shows were 13-16 year olds, who saw the music and then became inspired to write it themselves. And thus started forming bands and playing hardcore punk music.
The music wasn't particularly aimed at anyone - the musicians knew that they weren't going to change the political state of affairs by dedicating a song to Reagan or that they were going to change the fact their parents had split up. The music was written for people like themselves who could relate to it rather than a certain demographic, people who have the same problems and feel the same emotions.
Lyrical Content
"The lyrics that we were writing had nothing to do with about holding hands and smiling and skipping off into the sunset." [6]
Hardcore punk of the 80's was written about many topics, the majority being negative. Things such as the new president, the government, police and police brutality, family and social problems, fighting, drinking, drugs and sex. The way the lyrics were shouted really gets across the type of emotion within this music. If it was to be sung in melody, it would have nowhere near the same amount of impact as it does this way. It displays the rawness and the passion behind the words, giving them even more depth to people listening to it.
'You feel like a whore, but what you did the night before, you decided to be all loose'
Black Flag - Slip It In
'Get your bravery from a six-pack, get your bravery from a half-pint, drink your whiskey, drink your grain, bottoms up and you don't feel the pain'
Minor Threat - Bottled Violence
'Take away rights, from black and whites, united youth, we'll try the truth'
Negative FX - Citizens Arrest
Hardcore punk of the 80's was written about many topics, the majority being negative. Things such as the new president, the government, police and police brutality, family and social problems, fighting, drinking, drugs and sex. The way the lyrics were shouted really gets across the type of emotion within this music. If it was to be sung in melody, it would have nowhere near the same amount of impact as it does this way. It displays the rawness and the passion behind the words, giving them even more depth to people listening to it.
'You feel like a whore, but what you did the night before, you decided to be all loose'
Black Flag - Slip It In
'Get your bravery from a six-pack, get your bravery from a half-pint, drink your whiskey, drink your grain, bottoms up and you don't feel the pain'
Minor Threat - Bottled Violence
'Take away rights, from black and whites, united youth, we'll try the truth'
Negative FX - Citizens Arrest
Fashion
The whole thing about hardcore fashion was that it was anti-fashion. This ties in with the whole anti-mainstream/establishment ethos. During the early 80's, punk fashion was the 'cool' thing to be doing; mohawks, denim jackets, paper-clip piercings, dyed hair, boots, padlock chains etc...
It was counter-culture but to the extreme. In a way, hardcore was the counter counter-culture. What it did was strip everything down to the bare minimum. The main style for hardcore of the 1980's was combat boots, tshirts, jeans and a shaved head. People often drew on plain tshirts, with the intent of 'creating' their own tshirt. This reflects the DIY ethic that hardcore carried. People were looking for something that wasn't built around fashion, and this was hardcore.
'We didn't look like your average punk, like Hollywood or The Clash; we didn't have no money for leather jackets. We weren't dressing up, we were dressing down.' [7]
It was counter-culture but to the extreme. In a way, hardcore was the counter counter-culture. What it did was strip everything down to the bare minimum. The main style for hardcore of the 1980's was combat boots, tshirts, jeans and a shaved head. People often drew on plain tshirts, with the intent of 'creating' their own tshirt. This reflects the DIY ethic that hardcore carried. People were looking for something that wasn't built around fashion, and this was hardcore.
'We didn't look like your average punk, like Hollywood or The Clash; we didn't have no money for leather jackets. We weren't dressing up, we were dressing down.' [7]
Image from http://www.magicbulletrecords.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/minorthreat2-big.jpg
DIY labels/releases/tours
"It was a really important time in music history because music actually rose above business" [8]
"It was a really important time in music history because music actually rose above business" [8]
DIY was one of the main ethics behind hardcore. Because hardcore was against all of the 'industrialized' music scene where promoters would come to the bands asking them to play, or they would sell millions of records, or their songs would be played on the radio nationwide, hardcore bands relied on themselves to put on shows and release records. There were no big labels for hardcore bands, so people started them up themselves, with very limited resources. In fact, numerous well-known hardcore labels 'office space' was typically located in someones basement, with perhaps a desk to create flyers and record covers and a filing cabinet for paperwork.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3030/3033086613_2e0eda2f39.jpg
One such hardcore label is SST Records (originally an order company for electrical components and parts under the name Solid State Transmitters (SST Electronics)). The owner of the company is Greg Ginn, the guitarist for Black Flag.
Originally, Ginn sold modified World War II radio equipment.At a young age, he was a whizz at electronics; holding patents for various devices, the most lucrative for an antenna tuner. When the punk scene first started emerging and Ginn got into it, he sold his company on and started up SST Records.
The practices Ginn used within this label are the definition of 'DIY'. Scouting artists to sign was merely a case of go to a gig, and see if the band is any good. He did this with bands such as The Minutemen after seeing them at their first gig. They were immediately signed and a release was planned.
To print records, Ginn simply looked in a phonebook for pressing plants, and he took the artwork, the songs and any inlay designs to be printed.
The bands on SST Records were all from working-class towns and cities such as Hawthorne, Lawndale and Redondo. Their lives spoke a message of 'we don't want to be in Hollywood, with the fashionable leather jacket types.' [9]
All the bands did was practice, then practice some more, as the majority of bands didn't have any real commitments regarding jobs, maybe just some on and off role at a store or a petrol station.
The bands also played anywhere they could, from venues and clubs to basements, garages, living rooms, house parties, parks, where ever there would be people watching and where ever they could share their music.
Bands would have to create all their promotional items themselves, such as t-shirts, flyers and records. The band Minor Threat were known for making and designing all of their records themselves. Originally, they took a record from England and opened up the casing itself to see how it was made. They then placed it on a piece of paper and drew around it, laid the artwork inside the template and took it to a printing company who then printed the piece of paper. Then they cut out every copy using scissors and glued them together. Every 7” they released they created by hand.
Show-wise, getting to other cities or states was a case of being able to drive, or knowing someone that could. There were no tour buses, it was all done by members or friends of the band. A lot of flyers for shows were simply hand drawn with a piece of paper and a marker pen. This all relates back to the idea of doing things yourself, make your own material, get yourself to other places, make your own records.
DIY was a very new idea in relation to music. Music had previously been a business-backed art. Without the publishing companies, record labels, promoters and marketing departments,the majority of music in the world would have gotten nowhere. But because hardcore was such a niche genre, such a new experience, noone was willing or ready to make the commitment to market or manufacture it. Thus placing the responsibility on the bands themselves.
DIY was a very new idea in relation to music. Music had previously been a business-backed art. Without the publishing companies, record labels, promoters and marketing departments,the majority of music in the world would have gotten nowhere. But because hardcore was such a niche genre, such a new experience, noone was willing or ready to make the commitment to market or manufacture it. Thus placing the responsibility on the bands themselves.
Live performances
Live performances in hardcore were centred on violence. What punks were doing was 'pogoing' and everybody in hardcore saw that as something lame, something boring. If you went to a hardcore show, you could expect to come out missing a couple of teeth or with some part of your face bleeding. The shows were famous for being unpredictable and made up mainly of kids (13 - 16 year olds).
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-LvJQKf6B5U/TBPeF5bgGgI/AAAAAAAACE8/8iVDbU0spmA/s1600/BadBrains_Live_Name5.jpg
There's a classic video on the internet of Black Flag front man Henry Rollins taking some punches from an audience member, and then retaliating in full force. This just shows how much hardcore shows were about violence. It was exciting, unpredictable and that's what the kids wanted.
While there was this violence amongst hardcore fans, there was also a sense of community. Everyone still looked out for eachother, if someone got knocked down, they would get helped back up. The act of violence was either during fights, or just during the music when people would be running around flinging fists or launching kicks into the air with heavy combat boots on.
http://www.juiceonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/blackflag.jpg
Despite all this, fans of hardcore were still connected through the music and the attitude it expressed.
Minor Threat
One of the most influential, yet short-lived, bands of hardcore punk was Minor Threat. They formed in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. They are perhaps best known for being the pioneers of the straight edge movement.
They released one album and three EPs and on their first EP, they had a song titled Straight Edge. This is where the term was coined from. The song is a first person narrative about someone saying that they don't need to get 'fucked up' or high.
'I'm a person just like you, but I've got better things to do, than sit around and fuck my head, hang out with the living dead'
The reason Ian Mackaye wrote this song was because he was tired of every band boasting a drug fuelled existence, planning their lives around different ways to not be sober. He is saying he doesn't need to do it. He doesn't need to be intoxicated to live his life.
Straight edge can be recognised by the letter 'X'. This can be placed in names, band names; for example 'xTyrantx', or it can be tattoed or drawn upon the body; the most common place being on the back of the hands.
Minor Threat created every 7" they released by hand. They took an English record, and took apart the casing. Doing this, they worked out how to fold it back together to make the finished case. Once they had done this, they lay the unfolded product onto a piece of paper and drew around it with a marker. They then laid the album artwork inside and took it to a printing company to get printed. They stuck every one together by hand.
DIY was Ian Mackayes main driving force, he believed that he wanted to be part of a group, something like a tribe. He wanted to create something new. They created their own social clique, they went to shows together, listened to records, hung out, partied. They took over the music scene of DC at the time.
Minor Threat : Minor Threat 1981
Minor Threat : In My Eyes 1981
Minor Threat : Out Of Step 1983
Minor Threat : Salad Days 1985
They released one album and three EPs and on their first EP, they had a song titled Straight Edge. This is where the term was coined from. The song is a first person narrative about someone saying that they don't need to get 'fucked up' or high.
'I'm a person just like you, but I've got better things to do, than sit around and fuck my head, hang out with the living dead'
The reason Ian Mackaye wrote this song was because he was tired of every band boasting a drug fuelled existence, planning their lives around different ways to not be sober. He is saying he doesn't need to do it. He doesn't need to be intoxicated to live his life.
Straight edge can be recognised by the letter 'X'. This can be placed in names, band names; for example 'xTyrantx', or it can be tattoed or drawn upon the body; the most common place being on the back of the hands.
Minor Threat created every 7" they released by hand. They took an English record, and took apart the casing. Doing this, they worked out how to fold it back together to make the finished case. Once they had done this, they lay the unfolded product onto a piece of paper and drew around it with a marker. They then laid the album artwork inside and took it to a printing company to get printed. They stuck every one together by hand.
DIY was Ian Mackayes main driving force, he believed that he wanted to be part of a group, something like a tribe. He wanted to create something new. They created their own social clique, they went to shows together, listened to records, hung out, partied. They took over the music scene of DC at the time.
Hardcore (2000s)
Characteristics
In recent years hardcore music has dropped the 'punk' and branched out into various sectors of music. Hardcore has been mixed with many different types of music such as ambient and jazz, and has also been used to create completely new ones such as sludge and metalcore. Not only has it taken on influences from different genres, but the overall 'original' hardcore sound has been tweaked and distorted in ways that would disfigure a Stretch Armstrong. The use of power-chords is still there, although in certain genres, it's not as primary nor as simple as it used to be. Bands such as Backtrack and Cruel Hand still embrace the simplicity of hardcore punk but create songs with more 'depth'; adding in breakdowns, build-ups, intro's, outro's and bridges.
There are bands that make hardcore more melodic, one such band is We Stare At Mirrors. They recorded an EP and a couple of demo songs. They split up however, before they could release the EP and so uploaded it for free download on a blog.
The band talk about depression, leaving the comfort of youth, love and wrong in the world. The vocalist, Harry Fanshawe, was really into philosophy, and he showed this in his lyrics. You can read them here on his blog:
http://harryfanshaweblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/we-stare-at-mirrors-upheaval-full.html
Lyrics such as the ones in the song Reparation express the feelings of leaving youth, growing up and realising you're not as invincible as you think you are when you're young.
'The hardest thing to encounter on this journey is the search for yourself, and for that my friend, time will take its time, and you will have to wait'
'The tall trees that makes this place secret can take its toll on any man's fears, but the light that seeps in through the branches takes a brave mans eye to see'.
Reparation treats the idea of youth as a metaphor. In this song, it is referred to as an island or a city. The chanting line that is used to end the song being 'the people are gold in the city that never grows'.
This is just another way of how hardcore has been moulded to create new genres, because the lyrics still retain that sense of urgency, emotion and helplessness, whereas the music differs vastly from hardcore punk. The vocals are shouted however, shouted so much that the voice sometimes breaks during the songs.
The reason hardcore has become much more intricate in recent years is because it has been around for nearly 3 decades. This has allowed plenty of time for people to experiment with it and think 'I wonder what happens if I put this there' etc.
One of the main features of hardcore these days is the upbeat 'two-step' rhythm - snare hits on every second beat and guitars providing a solid 'chuggy' rhythm.
Due to hardcore having a more 'raw' sound than most other genres, feedback can often be heard in songs. A genre that builds feedback directly into songs is sludge metal. The guitars and bass are heavily distorted and downtuned far lower than normal hardcore, normally either drop A# or drop B. Sludge metal often uses a blues scale, but as it is downtuned and heavily distorted, it allows for vocals to be shouted over it, rather than sung.
http://harryfanshaweblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/we-stare-at-mirrors-upheaval-full.html
Lyrics such as the ones in the song Reparation express the feelings of leaving youth, growing up and realising you're not as invincible as you think you are when you're young.
'The hardest thing to encounter on this journey is the search for yourself, and for that my friend, time will take its time, and you will have to wait'
'The tall trees that makes this place secret can take its toll on any man's fears, but the light that seeps in through the branches takes a brave mans eye to see'.
Reparation treats the idea of youth as a metaphor. In this song, it is referred to as an island or a city. The chanting line that is used to end the song being 'the people are gold in the city that never grows'.
This is just another way of how hardcore has been moulded to create new genres, because the lyrics still retain that sense of urgency, emotion and helplessness, whereas the music differs vastly from hardcore punk. The vocals are shouted however, shouted so much that the voice sometimes breaks during the songs.
The reason hardcore has become much more intricate in recent years is because it has been around for nearly 3 decades. This has allowed plenty of time for people to experiment with it and think 'I wonder what happens if I put this there' etc.
One of the main features of hardcore these days is the upbeat 'two-step' rhythm - snare hits on every second beat and guitars providing a solid 'chuggy' rhythm.
Due to hardcore having a more 'raw' sound than most other genres, feedback can often be heard in songs. A genre that builds feedback directly into songs is sludge metal. The guitars and bass are heavily distorted and downtuned far lower than normal hardcore, normally either drop A# or drop B. Sludge metal often uses a blues scale, but as it is downtuned and heavily distorted, it allows for vocals to be shouted over it, rather than sung.
Notice the raw quality of this track and the feedback that can be heard. This relates back to the raw feel of hardcore punk.
Lyrical Content
It is nigh on impossible to pigeonhole a certain set of themes or topics which hardcore focuses on. Nearly every hardcore band has different subjects which it picks upon and explores, many have personal meaning to the vocalist while others are about general topics. An example of this would be Trash Talk and Ceremony. The bands have the same sort of style musically, although lyrically their content differs widely - Ceremony speaking of hatred and anger, while Trash Talk's lyrics are of depression and struggle.
However, I will try to give a rough area which different styles focus on. But keep in mind I'm just being vague.
Melodic hardcore bands such as Heart In Hand, Azriel and More Than Life focus on friendship, love and struggle.
"And, these watercolours, that I painted our perfect life with, will run"
Heart In Hand - Ghosts
"In those young days you were to be my guide.
Not one moment did you leave my side"
Lyrical Content
It is nigh on impossible to pigeonhole a certain set of themes or topics which hardcore focuses on. Nearly every hardcore band has different subjects which it picks upon and explores, many have personal meaning to the vocalist while others are about general topics. An example of this would be Trash Talk and Ceremony. The bands have the same sort of style musically, although lyrically their content differs widely - Ceremony speaking of hatred and anger, while Trash Talk's lyrics are of depression and struggle.
However, I will try to give a rough area which different styles focus on. But keep in mind I'm just being vague.
Melodic hardcore bands such as Heart In Hand, Azriel and More Than Life focus on friendship, love and struggle.
"And, these watercolours, that I painted our perfect life with, will run"
Heart In Hand - Ghosts
"In those young days you were to be my guide.
Not one moment did you leave my side"
Azriel - Hold On
Bands such as Cruel Hand and Back Track who have that 3-chord feel to them speak about subjects such as personal struggles in life.
"I had a feeling that was only once, that my life had meaning but that doesn't mean too much"
Cruel Hand - Begin Descension
Dark hardcore combines elements of slude-metal and doom-metal with the upbeat elements of hardcore. Thick textures are created using the guitar (which is typically down-tuned to the extent of drop A) and the vocals tend to utilise raw shouting. Bands like Brutality Will Prevail and Eyehategod project feelings of depression, suffering, lonliness, anti-religion and death.
"I scar my body, like a good boy, it takes practice at self-abuse"
Eyehategod - Left To Starve
"Wrong choice, I've fucked up again. The best day of my life will be the day I die"
Brutality Will Prevail - Lost and Alone
There are bands that still create songs with the intent of delivering their point as quick as possible. Bands such as Ceremony do this, having songs ranging from between 15 seconds to just over 2 minutes long. Ceremony deliver messages of hatred for everything fake, music 'scene's, religion and government.
Bands such as Cruel Hand and Back Track who have that 3-chord feel to them speak about subjects such as personal struggles in life.
"I had a feeling that was only once, that my life had meaning but that doesn't mean too much"
Cruel Hand - Begin Descension
Dark hardcore combines elements of slude-metal and doom-metal with the upbeat elements of hardcore. Thick textures are created using the guitar (which is typically down-tuned to the extent of drop A) and the vocals tend to utilise raw shouting. Bands like Brutality Will Prevail and Eyehategod project feelings of depression, suffering, lonliness, anti-religion and death.
"I scar my body, like a good boy, it takes practice at self-abuse"
Eyehategod - Left To Starve
"Wrong choice, I've fucked up again. The best day of my life will be the day I die"
Brutality Will Prevail - Lost and Alone
There are bands that still create songs with the intent of delivering their point as quick as possible. Bands such as Ceremony do this, having songs ranging from between 15 seconds to just over 2 minutes long. Ceremony deliver messages of hatred for everything fake, music 'scene's, religion and government.
Fashion
Fashion is still as integrated with music now as it was back in the 1960's. And while a lot of hardcore bands speak of not 'following the crowd' and breaking free of the 'mould', there is still the stereotypical fashion, as there is with any social clique.
Just like the fashion of hardcore punk in the 1980's, hardcore fashion today still takes a 'dressed-down' approach. Outfits tend to consist of band tshirts, plain tshirts, checkered shirts, hoodies, skinny jeans, shorts, anything really, anything not over the top.
Something that has become widely popular, and most say is inspired by hardcore of the 1980's by people such as Henry Rollins (pictured left), are tattoos. Back in the 80's people used to get tattoos of band logos, lyrics, whatever they wanted on them. Nowadays, tattoos are not as taboo as they used to be. Back in the 80's if someone had an arm full of tattoos, they were looked down upon as low-class members of society. However, these days if you see someone with tattoos all over their body you associate them with a certain stereotype of people, depending on what tattoos they have got.
Fashion is still as integrated with music now as it was back in the 1960's. And while a lot of hardcore bands speak of not 'following the crowd' and breaking free of the 'mould', there is still the stereotypical fashion, as there is with any social clique.
Just like the fashion of hardcore punk in the 1980's, hardcore fashion today still takes a 'dressed-down' approach. Outfits tend to consist of band tshirts, plain tshirts, checkered shirts, hoodies, skinny jeans, shorts, anything really, anything not over the top.
Something that has become widely popular, and most say is inspired by hardcore of the 1980's by people such as Henry Rollins (pictured left), are tattoos. Back in the 80's people used to get tattoos of band logos, lyrics, whatever they wanted on them. Nowadays, tattoos are not as taboo as they used to be. Back in the 80's if someone had an arm full of tattoos, they were looked down upon as low-class members of society. However, these days if you see someone with tattoos all over their body you associate them with a certain stereotype of people, depending on what tattoos they have got.DIY labels/releases/tours
A well known DIY label, famous for being home to bands such as Brutality Will Prevail, Throats and Trash Talk, is Holy Roar Records. Holy Roar is an independent label started in 2006 and to date has put out 50 records. The label makes use of nearly every format for listening to music, including: CDs; vinyl; cassettes and even floppy disks. This was their main selling point, because when the label first began it released limited copies of whichever format they used – ranging from 50–200. They have a similar way of doing things with merchandise. For the band Brutality Will Prevail, almost every t-shirt; hoody; or hat has been limited to about 60 - 100 prints with no reprints. As you can imagine, this ensures that their merchandise will get bought because people won't want to miss out.
As most bands will tell you, one of the hardest things when starting up is getting gigs outside of your local area.
I myself have just organised a weekend tour for my band, it will be some of our first gigs out of our hometown. This tour is entirely DIY. I have emailed/rang and hassled promoters and venues for slots on any shows. In total I think I messaged roughly 170 venues, about 6 got back, 5 of which said they cannot do it due to licensing issues.
We have 3 dates, Stoke on the Friday, Redditch on the Saturday and North Yorkshire on the Sunday. We will be driving to these locations ourselves in 2 cars, all of the equipment squeezed in. We are all putting money together for petrol money to be able to get to the destinations because we aren't relying on getting paid by venues because it most likely won't happen.
We have designed a tshirt for this tour which we will be selling for £5 at each of the shows. We are having 30 tshirts made, taking influence from bands such as Brutality Will Prevail that create limited edition merchandise. Any profits made from this will probably go towards petrol for the rest of the tour. We'll be taking some rough demo CDs to give away at the gigs, sort of an incentive to listen to us or buy our tshirt.
We shall also be sleeping in the cars, with the equipment, after playing gigs.
The drive behind this tour is that noone is going to come searching for us on the internet to find our music, we have to go to them to deliver it.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_t1IBmcyRirc/TUl38QAVIWI/AAAAAAAAAN0/6szMJWYcYmI/s1600/IMGP4119.JPG
As most bands will tell you, one of the hardest things when starting up is getting gigs outside of your local area.
I myself have just organised a weekend tour for my band, it will be some of our first gigs out of our hometown. This tour is entirely DIY. I have emailed/rang and hassled promoters and venues for slots on any shows. In total I think I messaged roughly 170 venues, about 6 got back, 5 of which said they cannot do it due to licensing issues.
We have 3 dates, Stoke on the Friday, Redditch on the Saturday and North Yorkshire on the Sunday. We will be driving to these locations ourselves in 2 cars, all of the equipment squeezed in. We are all putting money together for petrol money to be able to get to the destinations because we aren't relying on getting paid by venues because it most likely won't happen.
We have designed a tshirt for this tour which we will be selling for £5 at each of the shows. We are having 30 tshirts made, taking influence from bands such as Brutality Will Prevail that create limited edition merchandise. Any profits made from this will probably go towards petrol for the rest of the tour. We'll be taking some rough demo CDs to give away at the gigs, sort of an incentive to listen to us or buy our tshirt.
We shall also be sleeping in the cars, with the equipment, after playing gigs.
The drive behind this tour is that noone is going to come searching for us on the internet to find our music, we have to go to them to deliver it.
Live performances
Hardcore music is still home to some of the wildest live shows. Much like the shows of the 80's, hardcore shows are still just as unpredictable and energetic. There are bands who have gained their fan-base through their live performances, one of these bands being The Chariot. They are endorsed by various instrument manufacturers, but they get stock instruments, the basic and cheapest model. This allows them to literally destroy their equipment on stage. This video is made up entirely of live performances.
But this isn't all the band can do, they are actually great songwriters, and they write sections for various instruments and ensembles such as orchestras, harps, choirs and piano melodies. This next video was recorded live as it was filmed and shows off some of their finer songwriting.
Brutality Will Prevail
Brutality Will Prevail. Although the name is typical of something a deathcore band should be called, this band are far from it. This band is a down-tempo, sludge band that mixes hardcore elements with catchy riffs and drawn out instrumental sections. They are downtuned to drop A# and this gives their music a generally darker sound. The band take an anti-religion stance, and this is displayed in both their albums through lyrics and artwork.
Their first album, 'Forgotten Soul', displays their ability to create bleak soundscapes with their guitars, such as the track Death (a prelude to the following song Regret). The song makes use of a sample containing some whispering and the sound of falling rain. A guitar is then faded in playing a slow, dischordant riff throughout the song which is joined by various feedback sounds from the other guitar. 
Brutality Will Prevail : Forgotten Soul 2009
This album is full of upbeat 'two-step' sections and heavy, chug-filled beatdowns. But what sets it apart is their tendency to break into slowed-down guitar fills, sliding up and down the fret board and making use of a crunch tone on the amp.
If you listen to the title track of the album, at around 2.38, you will hear the guitar take control as it leads on into a new section. This is then followed by one of those chug-filled beatdowns I was on about.
The lyrical content of this album is based around themes of depression, death, suicide, lonliness and hatred. The only lyrics in the final song of the album, No Conviction, are 'In this cruel world, I've learned to trust noone but myself'. As I said earlier when trying to pigeon-hole lyrical themes, sludge metal focuses on dark topics like what I stated above. And this band are no exception.
Brutality Will Prevail : Root Of All Evil 2010
Their newest album takes on a far more mature approach to song-writing, and is known to be the album where they discovered how to fully utilise the hardcore/sludge combination. The album starts off with a crunchy guitar playing a swing influenced riff. This is then joined by the rest of the instruments as it bursts into a riff built off of a blues scale, involving a lot of sliding and the toms of the drum kit pounding on the beat. The lyrics instantly pick up the themes of the previous album, 'no escape from this life I don't wanna live' and 'each day I play a game I never win'. All of the lyrics can be found on this website: http://www.rootofallevil.co.uk
This album still contains similar features as 'Forgotten Soul', but developed in a more mature way by focusing on things such as creating texture and thickness with the guitar tones. The final track of the album begins with a single guitar, playing a riff made up of slides and vibratos.
This is the track Life. It is another good example of their ability to create bleak soundscapes with the guitars. The intro consisting of a lonely guitar affected with delay and lo-fi. The tempo of the entire song is really slow, and it gives it a feeling of dragging out. This is one of the darkest songs on the album, with lyrics such as 'it frightens me more than life, it frightens me more than death' and 'take me to a place I can die'. It shows the feeling of being overwhelmed by life,enough to make you scared to live.
The album flows better than 'Forgotten Soul', and they have included an instrumental and even an acoustic song; Rot Away. Rot Away makes use of a different time signature than the rest of the album, it is written in 5/4. The song is also sung and the lyrics are still in keeping with the themes found throughout the album.
As I said before, this album displays many themes, a main one is anti-religion. Inside the CD case/record sleeve there are 2 more photographs. These have been given titles. The one pictured above (the album cover) is titled 'No Money'. There is another photo of a girl with a bottle of alcohol in her hand, no top on in the dark entitled 'No Life'. And there is a picture of a church window, with a stained glass image on. This one entitled 'No Religion'.
The bands live performances display huge amounts of energy. In this video if you watch when the vocalist swings his head, you can see the sweat pouring off!
The band have a superb stage presence, and look the part with the guitarists playing Gibsons, having them lowered down to less-than-waist height. All the members use the simple 'dressed-down' appearance, normally wearing plain white tshirts and shorts or jeans.
Merchandise is nearly always LTD edition from this band. They print roughly between 60-100 items at any one time and it is very rare that they have a reprint. Because the merch can be so rare, it is often really valuable amongst the niche market, and people have been known to sell tshirts that cost £10 originally for £40-£50 on Ebay.
Ceremony
Ceremony formed in 2005 in the San Francisco Bay area. The feel that this band gets across with its music is pure anger and hatred. A characteristic used when hardcore first emerged. The bands debut album is an attack on everything fake – fake personalities; fake looks; fake lives and fake people. The best example of this is the song You’re All the Same:
Ceremony formed in 2005 in the San Francisco Bay area. The feel that this band gets across with its music is pure anger and hatred. A characteristic used when hardcore first emerged. The bands debut album is an attack on everything fake – fake personalities; fake looks; fake lives and fake people. The best example of this is the song You’re All the Same:
‘Fuck your catchy one liners
Fuck your dress-to-impress
You can go fuck yourself with that trendy shit
Fuck your bad attitudes
Fuck your weak high-class
Fuck all you pretenders keep your life of trash’
This is mainly shown in the vocals and lyrics of Ross Farrar. Their song lengths rarely go above 1 minute but that’s all the time they need to deliver their message. In fact, on one of their albums, ‘Violence Violence’ they manage to power through 20 songs in just over 20 minutes. this sort of song length reflects the influence from bands such as Minor Threat who kept their songs 'short and sweet'.
This is mainly shown in the vocals and lyrics of Ross Farrar. Their song lengths rarely go above 1 minute but that’s all the time they need to deliver their message. In fact, on one of their albums, ‘Violence Violence’ they manage to power through 20 songs in just over 20 minutes. this sort of song length reflects the influence from bands such as Minor Threat who kept their songs 'short and sweet'.
Live, the band are unpredictable and the vocalist tends to end up rolling around on the floor or jumping around swinging his arms without any caution towards fans. Very Black Flag-esque.
Ceremony : Violence Violence 200
Their debut album, 'Violence Violence' starts off with a song containing a slightly out of tune guitar playing arpeggios. Even though the song is only 1:15 in length, it creates the feeling that you've been listening to it for far longer. When it leads into the next song, it brings in the speed and ferocity of what hardcore punk was. Drum beats that verge on blasting, powerchords strummed as fast as possible, and Farars yells dominating the music.
This album explores themes such as the government, hatred for people around you, alcoholism, religion and death.
'You can never be in love until you learn to be alone.
You will never miss those heavy eyes until you're left with none.
You can never achieve true happiness until you hang your head'
Ghosts
'Light won't carry through the room, the doors are locked, it's darkening.
Every step I take gets worse, solutions want to fail me'
Along
I still revolve around a world I choose to cut off.
One nation under God over a burning cross'
This album explores themes such as the government, hatred for people around you, alcoholism, religion and death.
'You can never be in love until you learn to be alone.
You will never miss those heavy eyes until you're left with none.
You can never achieve true happiness until you hang your head'
Ghosts
'Light won't carry through the room, the doors are locked, it's darkening.
Every step I take gets worse, solutions want to fail me'
Along
I still revolve around a world I choose to cut off.
One nation under God over a burning cross'
Walking Home
Hardcore has changed drastically in the time it's been around, up until the present day. It will always continue to change. It has inspired and had an impact on more genres than I can count; metalcore, deathcore, sludge metal, emo, grunge, dark hardcore and many more. It has also been mixed with genres you wouldn't expect it to be mixed with; jazz, ambient, electro, dubstep and rap - some working better than others.
Hardcore nowadays is more complex and more thought out. When hardcore first started, it was a headfirst dive into making something fast, loud and simple. People have found different ways to express that same energy and passion but in more interesting ways, after all there's only so many ways you can play 3 power chords without copying an entire song. Everything has been explored more, artwork, instrument choice, live performances, culture, merchandise, marketing, the list goes on.
There will never again be the same excitement as there was when hardcore first came around. The brief time where it was fresh and new. This could also be a reason as to why it has been explored more. People aren't rushing to create music just for the sake of creating music, people have decided to take time with their music and create pieces they can be really proud of.
Hardcore music from both eras, is below the business radar. Nobody is fighting to sign different bands and nobody is scrambling to get them to play at their huge venue. Hardcore bands will play anywhere, at anytime, and live shows are perhaps the most important part of hardcore music. It's where everyone gathers, where everyone can meet and socialise; enjoy the music.
I think, hardcore punk was far more exciting than hardcore of the present day. Only because of how new it was. The vocal style had never been heard of before, the speed and ferocity it was delivered with had not been utilised before. It opened the gate to a vast number of other genres. However, musically, I think that present day hardcore tops hardcore punk. There's so much that has been explored and far more to explore. The use of minimalism in build ups, utilising feedback effectively, interjecting fast hardcore bursts with drawn out instrumentals or down-tempo chuggy riffs.
I don't think that there will be an end to exploring hardcore music. The ethics behind it, the music it produces, and the audiences it generates are truely unique amongst the music world.
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