Fall 2025, Episode 1
15:00 - 16:00 Sunday November 9th, 2025
Ayan & Christian

We're kicking off WREK's new music history specialty show by discussing the precursors to and origins of METALCORE – typically considered a "fusion genre combining elements of Hardcore Punk and Metal." [1] Recognizable by its "drop-tuned guitar riffs, constant double kick drumming with varying tempos and techniques, breakdown sections, and screaming or shouting vocals," this genre and its influence is ever-present in DIY scenes across the world and in Atlanta (as well as in many mainstream successes of the 2000s, which we will focus more on next week).

At the top of the hour, we played a handful of influential hardcore punk tracks from the 1980s, being sure to notably shoutout NYC's hardcore punk scene with Cro-Mags. Afterall, "it was this New York-style hardcore that metalcore grew directly out of." [2]

Ayan and I then moved into the early 1990s highlighting some of the earliest "metalic hardcore" bands: Integrity and Ringworm from Cleveland as well as Jersey City's Rorschach and Syracuse's Earth Crisis.

We then dedicated the back third of the hour to the more technical, "mathcore" bands that were popular in the late 1990s (mathcore is typically considered a subgenre of or very closely related to metalcore). Converge especially was a major player in the development of metalcore/mathcore, as many of their band members went on to support/produce other successful bands in the 2000s. Converge's album Jane Doe (2001) is often considered the quintessential metalcore album and was my personal introduction to the entire genre back in highschool. This being the case, it was a good closer for the episode.

Next week, we will keep following this thread through the 2000s and into the present day. Thanks for tuning in!

Playlist

"I" (1982) by Bad Brains

"The Swinging Man" (1984) by Black Flag

"Hard Times" (1986) by Cro-Mags

"Pavlov's Dogs" (1990) by Rorschach

"In Contrast Of Sin" (1990) by Integrity

"Numb - Blind To Faith" (1993) by Ringworm

"Forced March" (1995) by Earth Crisis

"Antithesis" (1995) by Converge

"Mondrian Was a Liar" (1999) by Botch

"A Disgust For Details" (1997) by Coalesce

"Helvetica" (1997) by Kiss It Goodbye

"Heaven in Her Arms" (2001) by Converge

Sources / Further Learning

[1] Rate Your Music
[2] Wikipedia
[3] A Rough Guide to Metalcore (Youtube video by The Metal Tempest)
[4] An Ignorant Guide to Metalcore (Youtube video by Coolea)