Genre Seeker: Deathcore - The Art of Harsh Vocals

Yes m'dears.

Those disturbing, ear-piercing, monstrous screams... together with the incoherent shaping of words, and bullet-like guitar riffing are signs that you have just listened to deathcore.

Quite literally obvious, deathcore is a sub-genre that fuses the styles of death metal and metalcore together. If you are someone who don't particularly like metal, let alone death metal or metalcore, please do not ever try deathcore, your ears might get traumatized. Now, while death metal as a genre presented morbid or dark lyrical themes, standard harsh vocals, and rather complex instrumentals, metalcore on the other hand was a resultant sub-genre which incorporated hardcore elements into the death metal style. Basically, metalcore was, well, more hardcore in every aspect of the death metal style. Harsh vocals were given more room to expand with metalcore vocalists experimenting with different forms of growling or screaming, and there was also the occasional moment of clean singing thrown in as well. Instrumentals went up a notch in terms of complexity, but sometimes just end up sounding plain thrashy though. As for lyrical themes, they can range from esoteric topics like philosophy to good ol' love.

So... deathcore was in its essence, a spin-off of a spin-off. This can be summed up quite simply by the equation below.

Death Metal + Metalcore = Death Metal + (Death Metal + Hardcore) = Deathcore

What you get out of deathcore however, is quite vastly different from its roots. Instrumentals no longer have any discernible rhythmic pattern (or at least not so obvious until after many listens), the harsh vocal range and experimentation is so much greater, and the lyrical themes mostly don't even make sense let alone their lyrics, meaning they can be just about any topic in life you can think of. If you are someone who has been exposed to some deathcore, and is currently going "What? How can all this crazy screaming and growling be music?! It's noise!"

Well, I would beg to differ. Under the unspoken laws of avant-garde music, deathcore can be (in my personal opinion) alternatively known as the art of harsh vocals. You see, it IS the crazy screaming and growling here that is the main focus of this avant-garde music genre. The guitars and drums are kinda secondary here, since the vocalists of deathcore bands are actually taking on the hardest role. If they don't do their growling-screaming thingamajig properly, they can end up with very frequent throat inflammations (or even throat cancer when they are old). I think they use their diaphragm the most when doing their standard growls, not their larynges. Anyway, it might be an interesting thing to note that the different types of harsh vocals presented in deathcore can be somewhat amusing and intriguing to listen to at the same time. In fact, I would dare say they are the only thing of interest to look out for in most deathcore bands.

There are quite a few different types of harsh vocals employed by current deathcore bands, namely...

The Shriek


The Low Growl


The High Scream (0:29 - 0:31)


The Pig Squeal (0:47 - 0:59 and any other similar parts in the song)


The Shriek-Growl (this is darned hard to do O.O)


Clean Vocals (they can be surprisingly quite good, differs from band to band though)


The Scream-Growl (rather common type apart from the Low Growl)


Alright, your eardrums must be ringing now. That about sums up the various types of harsh vocals in deathcore so far, and if you think this is extreme enough, there are sub-genres closely related to deathcore, that are even more extreme. Grindcore, noisecore, anyone?

Yes, deathcore may be the ugliest sub-genre of metal yet, but well, metal was all about being ugly in the first place (with the exception of symphonic, power, and some progressive metal). It is not really accepted as "music" by bands from other less extreme genres, most notably the frontman of Bayside, but hey, these guys are fronting an avant-garde genre that they have great passion for, and doesn't that put them on the same stage as the guys from the other genres? Even Black Sabbath's original heavy metal style was not widely accepted at first, but as time went by, look what became of the metal behemoth.

Deathcore is certainly not for the weak-hearted, hearing-impaired, pop-loving average Joe, but if you feel like the mainstream's not offering you enough, try delving into deathcore, you just might like it. There must be a reason why Bring Me The Horizon has shot to fame within a short span of 3 years you know.

Within The Ruins: Creature

Year released: 2009
Official website: www.myspace.com/withintheruins
Label: Victory Records

Tracks:

1. The Book Of Books [3:58]

2. Arsenal [3:50]

3. Dig A Ditch [4:23]

4. Call Off The Wedding [3:38]

5. Extinguish Them [3:56]

6. Jump Ship [2:53]

7. Creature [3:31]

8. Tractor Pull [4:56]

9. Holy Mess [4:36]

10. Victory [2:16]

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There is no doubt about it.

Creature, is just like what its name and its artwork is all about: A mean, teeth-gnashing, ferocious machine of aural destruction that showcases a relentless display of abstract vibrance. Its instrumentals are as colourful as its monstrously cartoonish-looking cover, and its technicality is one that rivals Skullgrid, making it undoubtedly one of the fresher metal albums I have ever come across in my fourth-running month as a music reviewer so far.

Within The Ruins, the Massachusetts band whose eccentric brilliance gave birth to this wild beast of fretboard breakdowns, insane tempos, swift guitar riffs, and good old I-don't-really-care-what-you-think-about-me attitude, probably did not have it easy in the process of producing this successful debut album of theirs.


Take a listen!: Like seriously, there isn't really a solid way of describing this.

Needless to say, WTR's members have been practising innumerable hours everyday ever since they met back at their old high school and formed the band in 2000, and it is only with such effort can any musician reach this high level of perfection of their instruments. It is a little hard to believe that their early influences came from the likes of Metallica and As I Lay Dying, because they are both generally thrash and metalcore respectively, which is a little of what WTR exhibits on this album, but yet not quite it as well. Now how do you put it, it is just like an eagle's egg mistakenly landing up in a swallow's nest, and although the infant eagle learns the ways of the swallow initially, it eventually grows big enough to consume the swallow and mutate into something different (that is not to imply that swallows have mutating effects upon consumption however, as this is just a random analogy). Yeah, basically, WTR is purely a unique band in their own right, crafting a sound that is so borderless and daring that they do not resemble anyone else and which gives them the edge in terms of experimenting with their style further in future.

Being on the front brink of progressive metalcore, WTR has so far successfully blended technicality, ferocity, death, and hardcore into a jam-packed arena of blistering aural bliss. A very interesting thing to note about their music would be that although it is metal, it does not give off the typical heavy feel. Creature, unlike most metal albums, actually skims along in an energetic fit for the whole album due to the incessant staccatos omnipresent throughout the guitars parts. This is a plus point for me, because it is the first time I am seeing such an effect being used to great texture rendering, seamlessly creating multi-layered melodies together with a seemingly unending torrent of stop-starts which is easy on the metalhead's ear (after a long day of blasting the poor eardrums with the daily diet of melo-death and thrash of course) and yet retains the gritty melodic satisfaction one can only derive from metal. It really gets me greatly anticipating what this ingenious band would come up with next. Perhaps technical black metal might be up next on their music laboratory's roster? :P

Already receiving a positive reception from live shows across America on their virgin tour which kickstarted at the beginning of this year, WTR is one band whose current inflating fan base is one you would not want to miss out on joining. Such bands whom continuously inject freshness into the quickly rusting underground metal scene deserve as much support as they can get to increase the exposure they get, and perhaps then, their producers or band manager might finally start telling them to get a better image too. Although almost individual masters of their own instruments, WTR still lacks one thing many underground American metal bands still lack today: A better image.

Seriously, there you are making kick-ass music, and yet you look like you wouldn't be out of place walking amongst ordinary Americans on some ordinary American street.

  

 

WTR ought to lose that teenage punk image by replacing their dull mushroom-head goodie boy haircuts in place of, say, a mohawk or long, braided hair? Okay, maybe they can even try out a monstrous-looking haircut like the Devil's Lock to enhance the image of their album or something. Honestly, no metalhead would ever want to have sweet memories of a kick-ass album being tainted by abysmal nightmares of a suck-ass band image.

All in all, pick up this album if it is available at your local CD store. If you have enough cash to spare for iPods, why not apportion some towards increasing the productivity capacity of good metal bands? Certainly, this is one band whose progress you would not want to be missing out on, as they are sure to continue churning out technical masterpieces that would blow you off your seat.

Hell, I want that Creature shirt!


Health Warning: This video might cause seizures or temporary paralysis, I'm not kidding, the video says so itself.


Verdict: 9.0 / 10

Behold... The Arctopus: Skullgrid

Year released: 2007

Label: Black Market Activities

Official Website: www.beholdthearctopus.com

Tracks:

1. Skullgrid [1:07]

2. Canada [5:31]

3. Of Cursed Womb [2:58]

4. You Are Number Six [8:50]

5. Some Mist [3:47]

6. Scepters [3:43]

7. Transient Exuberance [7:37]

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Not strictly speaking, the music that Behold... The Arctopus plays would be to the contemporary music era what 20^th Century music was to the classical music era. A strong preference for complicated instrumentals, irregular and perpetually schizophrenic rhythms, together with the blatantly obvious lack of vocals are what shapes the musical brilliance of this former trio (now a duo, as their drummer left recently in 2008) hailing from Brooklyn, New York City.

Behold... the technical mastery and insanity!: Be ready for a wild ride.

Right from the very first second of this album, BTA delves right into the systematic chaos instantly, wasting no time in explicitly telling the unsuspecting listener what they are in for. Well, in for a swift treat that is. With finger dexterity on the bass line that would make Robert Trujillo proud, rambunctious guitar riffs that would make Protest The Hero dying for a friendly duel, and drums that put the oomph into the music with its resounding air-vibrating thuds, this band sure doesn't do things the usual way. While most metal bands typically only bring in the main melodic idea of their music after some time into the music (and then plain development of it afterwards), BTA does it s-t-r-a-i-g-h-t-a-w-a-y whether you like it or not. In fact, they bring in multiple ideas at once nearly 100% of the time, and then abandon development on most of them afterwards, teasing the listener's ear. Rest assured though, at the very essence of their musicianship is the inspiration they gained from modern (20^th Century, Impressionistic) and contemporary music (progressive rock, heavy metal), thus, there IS still a main melodic idea somewhere in each of their scatter-brained songs. A few listens should do the trick if you can't hear the main subject right away on the first listen, and you can definitely be forgiven for not being capable of that feat initially because of the 'overloading' experience the explosion of musical ideas BTA's music does to you.

We've got the Joker on our fingertips!: From left to right – Mike Lerner (Guitar), Colin Marston (Warr Guitar), Charlie Zeleny (Drums, left in December 2008)

One point of criticism about this album though, would be that as the album dashes along in all its 'here-there-everywhere' madness, it tends to fall into what I personally call the “Repetitive Trap” that oh-so-many bands these days fall into regardless of whatever genre they belong to. They overly emphasize on some insignificant portions of their songs from time to time, such as just plainly shredding or riffing in the post-climax section with no tangible aim or direction in mind, giving the impression to listeners that they are listening to the 'filler' section of the song. This induces the much-undesired act of intolerance that all musicians hate: Pressing of the 'Next' button. Also, alacritics might diss this album for the fast rhythm on every song that gets tiring sometimes, like bringing your ears on a full-sprint all the time without stopping to rest (although that would be to the rhythmic preference of the individual listener).

Watch those fingers fly and the fretboards burn!

Perfect for music aficionados looking for a blast of fresh air, Skullgrid is a good album that will definitely whet your appetite for more of such avant-garde music. Traditionalists might want to stay away from this album and the rest of BTA's music though, as music that does not stick to any perceivable structure, standard rhythms, and orthodox presentation of a sole musical idea is most definitely not your idea of audible pleasure.

Verdict: 9.4 / 10