mathcore

According to Metal Hammer, "mathcore [is] the sound of metal being twisted into startling new shapes."{{Cite web |last=updated |first=Metal Hammer last |date=2020-03-26 |title=The 100 best metal albums of the 90s |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-100-best-metal-albums-of-the-90s/5 |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=louder |language=en}} The genre emphasizes complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatures, polymeters, syncopations and tempo changes, while at the same time the drummers play with overall loudness.{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/breakfastserial/2014/10/31/mad-for-mathcore-appreciating-a-subgenre-of-heavy-metal-rock-music/|publisher=Columbia University|title=Mad for Mathcore: Appreciating a Subgenre of Heavy Metal Rock Music|first=Angel|last=Wang|date=October 31, 2014|website=blogs.cuit.columbia.edu|url-status=live|archive-date=April 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402115327/http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/breakfastserial/2014/10/31/mad-for-mathcore-appreciating-a-subgenre-of-heavy-metal-rock-music/}}{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=https://overdrive-mag.com/2017/11/30/shaping-metal-top-3-influential-mathcore-albums/|title=Shaping Metal: Top 3 Most Influential Mathcore Albums|first=Brandon |last=Tadday |website=Overdrive-mag.com|date=November 30, 2017}}{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://www.themonolith.com/music/top-ten-songs-d-is-for-the-dillinger-escape-plan/|title=Top Ten Songs: "D" Is For The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=June 20, 2013|website=Themonolith.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320034311/http://www.themonolith.com/music/top-ten-songs-d-is-for-the-dillinger-escape-plan/|archive-date=March 20, 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=https://gnartallica.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/exclusive-interview-car-bombs-greg-kubacki/|date=November 11, 2012|title=Exclusive Interview: CAR BOMB's Greg Kubacki |first=Lane |last=Oliver|website=Gnartallica.wordpress.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217183621/https://gnartallica.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/exclusive-interview-car-bombs-greg-kubacki/|archive-date=February 17, 2018}} In the words of The Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson, their "choppy rhythms that people get kind of tongue-twisted on" are "Latin rhythms" mixed with the speed and "stamina" of heavy metal, drawing a parallel between them and John McLaughlin's use of Eastern sounds within a jazz context.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/liam-wilson-of-the-dillinger-escape-plan/26050|title=Liam Wilson of The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=March 9, 2010|first=Bryan|last=Beller|website=Bass Player|url-status=live|archive-date=August 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806024920/http://www.bassplayer.com/artists/1171/liam-wilson-of-the-dillinger-escape-plan/26050}} Most pioneering mathcore drummers had jazz, orchestral or academic backgrounds, including Dazzling Killmen's Blake Fleming,{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|date=November 29, 2016|url=https://clrvynt.com/dazzling-killmen-interview/|title=How Dazzling Killmen Merged Avant-Garde Jazz and Punk Fury|first=Brad|last=Cohan|website=Clrvynt.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202191544/http://clrvynt.com/dazzling-killmen-interview/|archive-date=December 2, 2016}} Craw's Neil Chastain,{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.chastaincentral.com/content/music.html#Neil|website=Chastaincentral.com|title=Neil Chastain, Percussionist, Composer, and Music Director|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017210239/http://www.chastaincentral.com/content/music.html#Neil|archive-date=October 17, 2006}} Coalesce's James Dewees,{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url=https://www.punknews.org/article/45799/interviews-james-dewees-reggie-and-the-full-effect-the-get-up-kids-coalesce|website=Punknews.org|title=Interviews: James Dewees (Reggie and the Full Effect, The Get Up Kids, Coalesce)|date=January 11, 2012 |first=Sean |last=Mikula|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318120201/https://www.punknews.org/article/45799/interviews-james-dewees-reggie-and-the-full-effect-the-get-up-kids-coalesce|archive-date=March 18, 2013}} Botch's Tim Latona,{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-09-16/botch-should-have-been-bigger-than-the-dillinger-escape-plan|title=Botch could have been bigger than The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=September 16, 2015 |first=Stephen |last=Hill |website=TeamRock.com}} The Dillinger Escape Plan's Chris Pennie,{{cite web|access-date=January 12, 2018|url=http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/magsitepages/article/2953/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Interview|title=Dillinger Escape Plan - Interview| first = Mark| last = Rowland| date = October 17, 2002| website=Pennyblackmusic.co.uk| url-status=live| archive-url = https://archive.today/20171225102115/http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/magsitepages/article/2953/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Interview| archive-date = December 25, 2017}} and Converge's Ben Koller.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://sickdrummermagazine.com/the-drummers/sick-drummer-hall-of-fame/ben-koller/|title=Ben Koller|date=September 14, 2006|website=Sickdrummermagazine.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731043628/http://sickdrummermagazine.com/the-drummers/sick-drummer-hall-of-fame/ben-koller/|archive-date=July 31, 2017}} As with the rhythm section, the guitars perform riffs that constantly change and are seldom repeated after one section. Early bands were almost completely atonal with the guitars or all the instruments playing polyphonic dissonance. After the first The Dillinger Escape Plan records, the guitar work of most bands became extremely technical as well and "not only musically challenging, but physically demanding."{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://www.invisibleoranges.com/the-dillinger-escape-plan-a-body-of-work/|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan: A Body of Work|first=Ian |last=Cory |date=November 17, 2016 |website=Invisible Oranges|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119051806/http://www.invisibleoranges.com/the-dillinger-escape-plan-a-body-of-work/|archive-date=November 19, 2016}}

In a 2016 article, Ian Cory of Invisible Oranges described mathcore's emphasis on technical complexity as "the means by which" they attain the aggressiveness of punk, "but never the end unto itself", distinguishing it from "the overflowing excess" of progressive metal. Writer Keith Kahn-Harris has described some mathcore bands as a mix between the aggressiveness of grindcore and the idioms of free jazz.{{cite book | first = Keith | last = Kahn-Harris | author-link = Keith Kahn-Harris | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wwgd9y-Ww5UC&pg=PA4 | date = 2007 | title = Extreme Metal | publisher = Berg Publishers | page = 4 | isbn = 978-1-84520-399-3 | quote = Contemporary grindcore bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan [...] have developed avant-garde versions of the genre incorporating frequent time signature changes and complex sounds that at times recall free jazz. |access-date=February 26, 2018}}

Early mathcore lyrics were addressed from a realistic worldview and with a pessimistic, defiant, resentful or sarcastic point of view. They have been singled out for their philosophical and poetic elements.{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|title=Coalesce|website=Markprindle.com|url=https://www.markprindle.com/coalesce.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617141138/http://www.markprindle.com/coalesce.htm|archive-date=June 17, 2008}}{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=https://svbterranean.net/2017/03/01/march-madness-coalesce-functioning-on-impatience/|first=Lane |last=Oliver |date=March 1, 2017|title=March Madness: COALESCE – "Functioning on Impatience"|website=Svbterranean.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302160922/https://svbterranean.net/2017/03/01/march-madness-coalesce-functioning-on-impatience/|archive-date=March 2, 2017}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=322|ps=. What were the lyrical influences?
Dave Verellen: [...] stuff that I witnessed was usually what had an impact on me. I'd look at a social situation or whatever was going on in the world, and then just try to be creative with it. [...] I was a Joan of Arc fan, [...] and half the reason was because the guy Tim Kinsella had such weird lyrics. I've always been attracted to abstract stuff like that, so I think that's where I drew most of my lyrics from.}}{{cite web|access-date=February 26, 2018|quote=Jacob Bannon loves to wax poetic, so when his opaque elegies suddenly turn to simple, direct metaphors, it's almost like your parents calling you by your full name: you stop, you notice, you listen.|title=The Brilliance Behind Converge's Unintelligible Lyrics|first=Scott|last=Butterworth|date=December 23, 2014|website=Noisey|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-brilliance-behind-converges-unintelligible-lyrics/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180226062412/https://noisey.vice.com/en_ca/article/65zzbd/the-brilliance-behind-converges-unintelligible-lyrics|archive-date=February 26, 2018}} Some bands satirized and criticized the militant branches of the hardcore punk ideologies prominent in the 1990s.{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://www.crashandbang.com/?page_id=3|title=History |author=Ryan J. Downey|date=September 2007|website=Alternative Press|publisher=www.crashandbang.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418112603/http://www.crashandbang.com/?page_id=3|archive-date=April 18, 2008}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=321-322, 323}} Others, such as Converge's Jacob Bannon and The Dillinger Escape Plan's Dimitri Minakakis, wrote about deeply personal issues.{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/converges-jacob-bannon-untangles-the-meaning-of-every-song-on-his-bands-new-album-the-dusk-in-us/|title=Converge's Jacob Bannon Untangles the Meaning of Every Song on His Band's New Album, The Dusk in Us|website=Pitchfork.com|date=November 7, 2017|first=Matthew |last=Schnipper|url-status=live|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107125143/https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/converges-jacob-bannon-untangles-the-meaning-of-every-song-on-his-bands-new-album-the-dusk-in-us/}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=314-315}}

Although musically rooted in extreme metal, some mathcore artists have shown contempt for extreme metal fictional and horror lyrics.{{cite web|access-date=February 23, 2018|url=http://veilsofteeth.com/jacob-bannon/|title=Jacob Bannon (Converge) |first=Greg |last=Svitil |date = 1996|website = Veilsofteeth.com|quote=Jacob Bannon: I feel that [bands such as] Slayer are the Spinal Tap of metal. There's nothing to them. They're just there, and they're just a band that likes to write heavy, scary things. And there's really not an emotional depth to anything they really do. It's just all for shock value. |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180223102326/http://veilsofteeth.com/jacob-bannon/|archive-date=February 23, 2018}}{{cite web|access-date=February 23, 2018|url=https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/dillinger-escape-plan-guitarist-talks-new-album-and-papa-roach|title=Dillinger Escape Plan Guitarist Talks New Album And Papa Roach|website=Rock Sound|date=April 24, 2009 |quote=Ben Weinman: When I was growing up I discovered metal and it interested me, I liked that it was dark and talked about the fact that the world is not all puppy dogs and ice cream cones. But then it just got ridiculous, humorous, I look at black metal bands and they are supposed to be so evil. But it's not real. It's about fiction. About goblins and the gates of hell, pretty much a bad horror movie. |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150413054345/https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/dillinger-escape-plan-guitarist-talks-new-album-and-papa-roach|archive-date=April 13, 2015}}

File:The Dillinger Escape Plan-1.jpg

Some early mathcore bands incorporated light shows synchronized with the music,{{cite web|access-date=February 26, 2018|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/01/12/that-tour-was-awesome-botch-jesuit-the-dillinger-escape-plan-1998/|website=Decibel|title=That Tour Was Awesome – Botch/Jesuit/The Dillinger Escape Plan (1998)|date=January 12, 2017|first=Kevin|last=Stewart-Panko|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180118095821/https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/01/12/that-tour-was-awesome-botch-jesuit-the-dillinger-escape-plan-1998/|archive-date=January 18, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dillinger_escape_plan-hazard_warning|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan {{!}} Hazard Warning|author=Natalie Zina Walschots|website=Exclaim!|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171210072225/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dillinger_escape_plan-hazard_warning|archive-date=December 10, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=February 26, 2018|date=June 17, 2013}} while others were noted for their reckless, chaotic performances that usually ended up with fights and injuries. Guitarists Jes Steineger of Coalesce and Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan commonly featured erratic and violent behaviors.{{ cite web | last = Tsimplakos | first = Jason | date = November 5, 2013 | url = http://noisefull.com/interviews/dillinger-escape-plan-ben-weinmann-greg-puciato | title = The Dillinger Escape Plan (Ben Weinmann & Greg Puciato) | website = Noisefull.com | location = Glasgow, Scotland | publication-date = November 25, 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20170825095332/http://noisefull.com/interviews/dillinger-escape-plan-ben-weinmann-greg-puciato | archive-date = August 25, 2017 | access-date = February 22, 2018 }}{{cite web|last=Apostolopoulos|first=Tom |url=http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Biography/EDEAB9F3FFF02E6348256CEA000DD6C2|title=Dillinger Escape Plan Biography|date=January 18, 2011|website=Sing365.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202052253/http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Dillinger-Escape-Plan-Biography/EDEAB9F3FFF02E6348256CEA000DD6C2|archive-date=February 2, 2013}} In 2001, vocalist Greg Puciato joined The Dillinger Escape Plan and starred in the most controversial live performances of the band until their disbandment in 2017, being described by Invisible Oranges as "the perfect physical embodiment of [the band's music]" because of his imposing physique along with destructive behavior.

Before the term "mathcore" was coined, mainly in the 1990s, the style had been referred to as "chaotic hardcore" or "noisecore",Whitney Strub, "Behind the Key Club: An Interview with Mark "Barney" Greenway of Napalm Death ", PopMatters, May 11, 2006. [http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/napalm-death-060511.shtml [1]] Access date: September 17, 2008."Botch ... a noisecore pioneer", 'Terrorizer, "Grindcore Special", #180, Feb. 2009, p. 63. though the genre's existence before this time is generally recognized. Kevin Stewart-Panko of Terrorizer referred to groups such as Neurosis, Deadguy, Cave In, Today Is the Day, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Coalesce, Candiria, Botch, and Psyopus as falling under this label.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in Noisecore", Terrorizer no. 75, Feb 2000, p. 22-23. Stewart-Panko described the sound of these bands as a "dynamic, violent, discordant, technical, brutal, off-kilter, no rules mixture of hardcore, metal, prog, math rock, grind and jazz."

The term is generally applied by journalists, rather than by musicians themselves. Jacob Bannon of Converge stated:{{cquote|I really don't know what mathcore is. Converge is an aggressive band. We have elements of hardcore, punk, and metal for sure. But I think trying to define our efforts and other bands with a generic subgenre name is counter productive. We all have something unique to offer and should be celebrated for those qualities rather than having them generalized for easy consumption.{{Cite news |title=Axe to Grind: Four Tense Questions with Converge |work=New York Press |date=October 28, 2009 |url=http://www.nypress.com/blog-5310-axe-to-grind-four-tense-questions-with-converge.html |first=Rebecca |last=Huval |agency=Press Play (blog) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606220152/http://www.nypress.com/blog-5310-axe-to-grind-four-tense-questions-with-converge.html |archive-date=June 6, 2011}}

}}

Early antecedents to mathcore were practiced by post-hardcore bands of the 1980s and early 1990s. Post-hardcore is a broad term to define bands that maintain the aggressiveness and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Hardcore punk pioneers Black Flag incorporated characteristics reminiscent to mathcore during their mid-1980s experimental period, including heavy metal laden riffs and lengthy songs, as well as fusion-style time signatures, polyrhythms, instrumental songs and improvisational sections.Steven Blush, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, "Thirsty and Miserable", Los Angeles: Feral House, 2001, p. 66{{cite web|url=http://www.heavymetalbebop.com/post/41782901627/9-greg-ginn|title=#9: GREG GINN|first=Hank|last=Shteamer|date=July 2012|website=www.heavymetalbebop.com|location=Manhattan, New York City|access-date=February 15, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171124014716/http://www.heavymetalbebop.com/post/41782901627/9-greg-ginn|archive-date=November 24, 2017}} At that time, their biggest influences were the Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson during its 1972–1975 lineup. Author Steven Blush said that their new direction "proved too much for many fans", yet numerous mathcore trailblazers would later credit Black Flag as an inspiration.{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/an-interview-w-16/|title=an interview w/ Charles Maggio of Rorschach (who are in the middle of their short run of reunion dates)|date=September 24, 2009|website=BrooklynVegan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502115213/http://www.brooklynvegan.com/an-interview-w-16/|archive-date=May 2, 2016}}{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://epitaph.com/news/article/converge-interview-with-singer-jake-bannon-from-at-both-ends|quote=Jacob Bannon: Our direct inspiration comes from bands like Black Flag ... |publication-date=October 27, 2004|date= October 16, 2004|first=Stephen |last=Fallis|publisher=Epitaph.com|title=Converge interview with singer Jake Bannon from At Both Ends.}}{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/950|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan |first=Jasper|last=Hesselink|date=April 2005|website= www.lordsofmetal.nl|quote=Ben Weinman: When we first started playing in a band, we listened to a lot of bands ... even Black Flag and Dead Kennedys, who had something to say and added some honest energy.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171228152730/http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/interviews/view/id/950|archive-date=December 28, 2017}} Among others post-hardcore bands usually credited are Minutemen,{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/brian-cook-russian-circles-on-minutemens-double-nickels-on-the-dime/|title=Brian Cook (Russian Circles) on Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime|date=June 27, 2012|website=Ghettoblastermagazine.com|first=Timothy|last=Anderl|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215151817/http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/brian-cook-russian-circles-on-minutemens-double-nickels-on-the-dime/|archive-date=February 15, 2018}} who were heavily influenced by avant-garde rock and jazz,{{cite web | access-date = February 17, 2018 | url = https://www.furious.com/perfect/mikewatt.html | title = Mike Watt interview | first = Jason | last = Gross | date = October 1997 | website = Furious.com | publisher = Perfect Sound Forever | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19990218112021/https://www.furious.com/perfect/mikewatt.html | archive-date = February 18, 1999 | df = mdy-all }} The Jesus Lizard,{{cite web|url=http://www.metalorgie.com/interviews/1630_Kurt-Ballou-Converge_English-interview-november-2017|access-date=February 15, 2018|title=Kurt Ballou (Converge) English interview, november 2017|publication-date=December 2017|date=November 2017|website=Metalorgie.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215210706/http://www.metalorgie.com/interviews/1630_Kurt-Ballou-Converge_English-interview-november-2017|archive-date=February 15, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metalnews.de/interviews/Jes+Steineger+von+Coalesce.618.html|access-date=February 15, 2018|title= .: INTERVIEWS :: Jes Steineger von Coalesce|website=Metalnews.de|language=de|first=Michael |last=Siegl |date=June 6, 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180215205501/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:b-3puG3ecOkJ:www.metalnews.de/interviews/Jes%2BSteineger%2Bvon%2BCoalesce.618.html|archive-date=February 15, 2018}}{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=https://www.avclub.com/with-we-are-the-romans-botch-helped-redefine-hardcore-1798253844|title=With We Are The Romans, Botch helped redefine hardcore|first=Kevin |last=Warwick|website=The A.V. Club|date=November 1, 2016|url-status=live|archive-date=November 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083605/https://music.avclub.com/with-we-are-the-romans-botch-helped-redefine-hardcore-1798253844}} inspired by progressive rock,{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://smithlahrman.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-duane-denison-february-3.html|title=Interview with Duane Denison, February 3, 1993 |location=Chicago, Illinois|first=Matthew |last=Smith-Lahrman |publication-date=January 30, 2012|date=February 3, 1993|website=Smithlahrman.blogspot.com|url-status=live|archive-date=February 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217133353/http://smithlahrman.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-duane-denison-february-3.html}}{{cite web|access-date=February 17, 2018|url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/12/11/cbs-sf-talks-to-the-jesus-lizard-drummer-mac-mcneilly-part-ii/|title=CBS SF Talks To The Jesus Lizard Drummer Mac McNeilly, Part II|date=December 11, 2017 |first=Dave |last=Pehling|location=San Francisco, California|website=KPIX-TV}} Fugazi,{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://nowxspinning.tumblr.com/post/67775340768/interview-68-brian-cook-of-botch-russian|title=Interview #68 /// Brian Cook of Botch / Russian Circles |date=November 22, 2013|website= Nowxspinning.tumblr.com|url-status=live|archive-date=February 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218122856/http://nowxspinning.tumblr.com/post/67775340768/interview-68-brian-cook-of-botch-russian}}{{sfn|Farris|2011|loc=1:36:13}}{{ cite web | access-date = February 21, 2017 | url = https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/converge_the_best_way_to_learn_is_just_start_doing_it.html | title = Converge: 'The Best Way To Learn Is Just Start Doing It' | date = February 19, 2008 | first = Carlos | last = Ramirez | website = Ultimate Guitar Archive | url-status = live | archive-date = June 16, 2017 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20170616142041/https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/converge_the_best_way_to_learn_is_just_start_doing_it.html | df = mdy-all }} and Drive Like Jehu,{{cite web|access-date=February 15, 2018|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/rank-your-records-converge-jacob-bannon/|title=Rank Your Records: Converge's Jacob Bannon Reflects on the Seminal Hardcore Band's Eight Albums|first=David |last=Anthony|date=June 15, 2017|website=Noisey|url-status=live|archive-date=February 15, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180215214402/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/ywzqbw/rank-your-records-converge-jacob-bannon}}{{sfn|Farris|2011|loc=1:28:28}} who drew from math rock and krautrock.{{cite podcast| last = Khanna| first = Vish| url = http://vishkhanna.com/2015/10/08/ep-217-do-you-compute-the-story-of-drive-like-jehu/| title = Ep. #217: Do You Compute – The Story of Drive Like Jehu| publication-date = October 8, 2015| issue = 217| website = Vishkhanna.com| time = 34:19-34:35 (Mark Trombino on Bastro and Slint), 1:13:55-1:14:52 (Trombino on Spiderland), 1:17:45-1:18:23 (John Reis's influences) and 1:19:46-1:19:58 (Trombino on the band's influences)| access-date = February 16, 2018}}

In the 1990s, the hardcore punk scene started to embrace extreme metal openly and also was highly ideologized, with most of the popular bands being part of subcultures, religions or political groups.{{cite web|access-date=February 22, 2017|title=Punk turned in on itself in 1995, and out came the wolves|first=Jason |last=Heller|website=The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/punk-turned-in-on-itself-in-1995-and-out-came-the-wolv-1798265787|date=January 14, 2014}}{{sfn|Farris|2011|loc= 2:15:08}} Some mathcore bands started inspired by straight edge and Hare Krishna groups, including Converge, Coalesce and Botch.{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|url=https://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/kurt-ballou-converge-talks-gear-and-guitars-264751|title=Kurt Ballou (Converge) talks gear and guitars|first=Josh |last=Gardner |date=July 22, 2010|website=MusicRadar|quote=Kurt Ballou: [We] also discovered punk and hardcore through skateboarding, and in turn these local bands such as Slapshot, Terminally Ill and DYS and I think we had some of the same intensity and motivation.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007121310/https://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/kurt-ballou-converge-talks-gear-and-guitars-264751|archive-date=October 7, 2011}} On the other hand, the more unorthodox bands that substantially influenced mathcore remained in the underground.

Two bands usually credited as mathcore forerunners are mid-westerners Dazzling Killmen and Craw, who at the time were considered part of the "noisier" branch of math rock.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_heroically_weird_jazz_damaged_art_rock_of_laddio_bolocko|title=The heroically weird, jazz-damaged art rock of Laddio Bolocko |first=Ron |last=Kretsch|website=Dangerousminds.net|date=2016}}{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/craw-reissue-interview-2015/|website=Noisey|title=How a Reissue Campaign Will Stick Craw's Music Into the Post-Hardcore Canon|first=Bradley|last=Zorgdrager|date=December 10, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180226124011/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/rpyxpb/craw-reissue-interview-2015|archive-date=February 26, 2018}}{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://feckingbahamas.com/history-math-rock-pt-1-guess-black-flag-math-rock-now|title=THE HISTORY OF MATH ROCK Pt 1: "SO I GUESS BLACK FLAG IS 'MATH ROCK' NOW?!"|first1=Nikk |last1=Hunter |first2=William |last2=Covert|date=August 16, 2015|url-status=live|archive-date=April 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420011630/http://feckingbahamas.com/history-math-rock-pt-1-guess-black-flag-math-rock-now}} Their debut albums were released in 1992 and 1993 respectively. They were characterized by a "metallic post-hardcore" sound but with constant time signature changes and vocals with an "animalistic sound of a man losing his mind". Three out of four members of Dazzling Killmen knew each other from jazz school, while Craw had a classical percussionist and a jazz bassist.{{cite web|access-date=February 26, 2018|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/delorean/craw-1993-1997|title= 1993-97: Craw - 1993-1997|first=Joe |last=Hemmerling |date=December 10, 2015 |website=Tiny Mix Tapes|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112070725/https://www.tinymixtapes.com/delorean/craw-1993-1997|archive-date = January 12, 2016}} Both were joined by saxophonists on some performances.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://www.punkvinyl.com/2010/05/21/selections-from-the-punk-vault-dazzling-killmen/|title=Selections from The Punk Vault – Dazzling Killmen|date=May 21, 2010|website=Punkvinyl.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525104055/http://www.punkvinyl.com/2010/05/21/selections-from-the-punk-vault-dazzling-killmen/|archive-date=May 25, 2010}}

In 1989, New Jersey band Rorschach was formed within the youth crew hardcore scene but soon developed a more complex and dissonant metallic hardcore style.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://www.noecho.net/features/on-suffering-remembered-rorschachs-needlepack-25th-anniversary|title=On Suffering Remembered: Rorschach's Needlepack 25th Anniversary|first=Freddy|last=Alva|date=February 25, 2016 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314043314/http://www.noecho.net/features/on-suffering-remembered-rorschachs-needlepack-25th-anniversary|archive-date=March 14, 2016}} They were influenced by hardcore punk bands such as Die Kreuzen and Black Flag, as well as thrash metal bands Voivod and Slayer. After their disbandment in 1993, their guitarist Keith Huckins joined Deadguy in 1994 and played on their sole studio album, 1995's Fixation on a Co-Worker.{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=http://www.noecho.net/interviews/keith-huckins-rorschach-deadguy-kiss-it-goodbye|title=Keith Huckins (Rorschach, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye)|first=Carlos|last=Ramirez|website=Noecho.net|date=May 9, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513222544/http://www.noecho.net/interviews/keith-huckins-rorschach-deadguy-kiss-it-goodbye|archive-date=May 13, 2014}} The discordant sound of both bands had a profound impact on the first mathcore bands.{{cite web|access-date = February 25, 2018|title = THE HISTORY OF METALCORE/SCREAMO|url = https://www.metalsucks.net/2010/06/07/the-history-of-metalcorescreamo/|date = June 7, 2010|author = Sergeant D|website = MetalSucks|quote = While not as frequently discussed these days, the so-called "noisecore" bands of the 90s were perhaps an even more direct influence on today's shitty metalcore artists. Rorschach and their descendants Deadguy were perhaps the first band to put a discordant take on the post-Slayer metalcore formula, [...]|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100610213118/http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/06/07/the-history-of-metalcorescreamo/|archive-date = June 10, 2010|df = mdy-all}}{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=325}}{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|url=https://www.theprp.com/thevault/interviews/drowningman.shtml|title=Interview: Drowningman|date=November 25, 2000|first=Brian|last=Webb|website=theprp.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330023207/http://www.theprp.com/thevault/interviews/drowningman.shtml|archive-date=March 30, 2013}}{{sfn|Farris|2011|loc=2:14:13}}

At this period, several pioneering mathcore bands began to form: Botch from Washington in 1993; Coalesce from Missouri, Cable from Connecticut and Knut from Switzerland in 1994; Cave In from Massachusetts and Drowningman from Vermont in 1995. In 1990, Massachusetts band Converge was formed but they started writing and playing what they consider "relevant" music in 1994.{{cite web|access-date=February 24, 2018|url=https://jacobbannon.com/pages/about-us|title=ABOUT|website=Jacobbannon.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227060144/https://jacobbannon.com/pages/about-us|archive-date=December 27, 2016}} Referring to the burgeoning mathcore scene, The Dillinger Escape Plan's founder and guitarist Ben Weinman said:

{{Blockquote

|text=The [hardcore punk] scene I was in initially was really pretty close-minded... was really revolved around causes: veganism, Christianity, Krishna, straight edge, all that stuff was a huge part of all the bands that were playing ... it became just kind of this clique and this popularity contest. [They] weren't concerned with music, they weren't great musicians, they weren't pushing themselves, they were writing music that just sounded like the bands from before but without that passion and innovation. ... And it was great to see bands like [Dazzling Killmen and Deadguy] who were just music and just killing it, and had so many different influences, were underground, but still musically-driven. ... And I was like: "That's what I want to do!"

|author=Ben Weinman, 2011{{sfn|Farris|2011|loc= 2:08:26, 2:15:08}}

}}

Converge was formed as an amalgamation of extreme metal, crossover thrash and hardcore punk, but in the mid-1990s they were heavily affected by early metalcore and post-hardcore bands, such as Rorschach, Universal Order of Armageddon and Starkweather.{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2013/01/02/say-what-not-so-long-long-converge-quotes/|website=Decibel|title=Say What? Not So Long Long Converge Quotes|date=January 2, 2013 |first=Chris |last=Dick}}{{cite web|access-date=February 18, 2018|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37497-5-10-15-20-converges-kurt-ballou/|date= January 7, 2010|title=5-10-15-20: Converge's Kurt Ballou|website=Pitchfork.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109022353/https://pitchfork.com/news/37497-5-10-15-20-converges-kurt-ballou/|archive-date=January 9, 2010}} Their second and third albums, 1996's Petitioning the Empty Sky and 1998's When Forever Comes Crashing, developed an increasingly technical and bleak style.{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/converge_have_innovation_through|website=Exclaim!|title=Converge Have Innovation Through Suffering|first=Chris |last=Gramlich|date=January 1, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112042022/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/converge_have_innovation_through|archive-date=January 12, 2016}}

At their first stages, Coalesce and Botch were influenced by Syracuse, New York metalcore and vegan straight edge pioneers Earth Crisis.{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url=http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/march_9th_at_studio7_firestorm-iphone|title=Guilty Pleasure March 9th at Studio7!!! Firestorm!!!|first=Brian|last=Cook|date=February 29, 2008|newspaper=The Stranger|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171006203657/http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/02/march_9th_at_studio7_firestorm-iphone|archive-date=October 6, 2017}}{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|title=The Oral History Of Botch: Thank God For Worker Bees|url=http://altpress.com/features/69.htm|first=Chris |last=French |date=June 29, 2007|website=Alternative Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228044448/http://altpress.com/features/69.htm|archive-date=February 28, 2008}} Vocalist Sean Ingram relocated to Syracuse to be nearer to its scene, but ended up disillusioned with their ostracizing attitude and on his return to Missouri formed Coalesce. They incorporated influences from progressive metal band Tool, with founding drummer Jim Redd stating that they "wanted to be" them "with none of the quiet parts", but only using their "heavy guitars, heavy drums, wacky time signatures, and loud-quiet dynamics". Whereas their debut album Give Them Rope (1997) was considered "an underground milestone that helped [further] what was soon [universally] called 'metalcore'",Lars Gotrich, [https://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/10/25/141573753/coalesce-a-tale-of-two-ropes "Coalesce: A Tale of Two Ropes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420061034/http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/10/25/141573753/coalesce-a-tale-of-two-ropes |date=April 20, 2015 }}, All Songs Considered, October 25, 2011. their sophomore studio album, Functioning on Impatience, became a landmark of mathcore in 1998.

Botch initially tried to become a political-straight edge band but got discouraged by the "elitist" and aggressive stance of many of their participants.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=321-322, 323}} Their second album We Are the Romans of November 1999 was influenced by Drive Like Jehu, Sepultura and Meshuggah.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=324}} This album has influenced numerous bands and met high critical acclaim throughout the years, being lauded by TeamRock in 2015 as "one of the greatest albums in the history of heavy music".{{cite web|access-date=February 22, 2018|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-09-16/botch-should-have-been-bigger-than-the-dillinger-escape-plan|title=Botch could have been bigger than The Dillinger Escape Plan|date=September 16, 2015 |first=Stephen |last=Hill|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326003254/http://teamrock.com/feature/2015-09-16/botch-should-have-been-bigger-than-the-dillinger-escape-plan|archive-date=March 26, 2016 }}

In 1997, The Dillinger Escape Plan evolved from the political-oriented act Arcane because they did not want to become part of "cliques" again.{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|title=Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman: 'We Never Want to Be An Assembly Line of Riffs'|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/dillinger_escape_plans_ben_weinman_we_never_want_to_be_an_assembly_line_of_riffs.html|website=Ultimate Guitar Archive|date=April 16, 2013 |first=Steven |last=Rosen|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171210121114/https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/dillinger_escape_plans_ben_weinman_we_never_want_to_be_an_assembly_line_of_riffs.html|archive-date=December 10, 2017}} They turned around their sound significantly in their second EP, Under the Running Board of 1998, and their debut album, Calculating Infinity of September 1999, drawing from progressive death metal bands Cynic, Meshuggah and Death, as well as King Crimson and several jazz fusion artists.{{cite web|access-date=February 22, 2018|url=http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=2051|title=Chris Pennie (Coheed & Cambria) – unleashed and moving forward|website=Mikedolbear.co.uk|first=Jerome|last=Marcus|date=October 2009|publication-date=January 1, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171126012328/http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=2051|archive-date=November 26, 2017}} Both records created an extremely technical and fast brand of mathcore, which "launched an arms race in the metallic hardcore scene" and went on to define the subgenre substantially.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|loc=308-309}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-w486923/the-dillinger-escape-plan-calculating-infinity-1999-w486974 |title=The Dillinger Escape Plan, 'Calculating Infinity' (1999) - The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time |last=Considine |first=J.D. |author-link=J. D. Considine|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 21, 2017 |access-date=February 22, 2018}} Relapse Records marketed Calculating Infinity as "math metal" because its sound and the album's title "sounded mathematical", yet this was not the band's intent.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=314-315}}{{cite web|access-date=February 21, 2018|url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/calculating-infinity-mw0000695657|website = AllMusic|first = Jason |last = Hundey|title = The Dillinger Escape Plan {{!}} Calculating Infinity |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120717053639/https://www.allmusic.com/album/calculating-infinity-mw0000695657|archive-date=July 17, 2012}}

In 1999, Converge released the split album The Poacher Diaries expanding drastically their technical elements, but afterwards main songwriter Kurt Ballou called it "a failed experiment".{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=https://www.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/converge-look-back-jane-doe/|title=Converge Look Back On 'Jane Doe'|date=March 8, 2017|first=Andy|last=O'Connor|website=Vinylmeplease.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313095140/http://www.vinylmeplease.com/magazine/converge-look-back-jane-doe/|archive-date=March 13, 2017}} This inspired him to change his focus to song structure and the "memorable" elements that initially attracted him to music, birthing their 2001 album Jane Doe. This record was the first with drummer Ben Koller and bassist Nate Newton who made significant contributions to the songwriting.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=332-335}} Jane Doe exerted considerable influence in extreme music circles and attained a cult following.{{sfn|Mudrian|2009|p=331}}

Other important albums of this period are 1996's Variable Speed Drive by Cable,{{cite magazine|access-date=February 25, 2018|title=Cable {{!}} Brilliance meets resilience|page=61|first=Jadd |last=Shickler|magazine=Unrestrained!|date=February 6, 2008|issue=27|url=https://issuu.com/metalindia/docs/unrestrained_27_free}} 1998's Until Your Heart Stops by Cave In,{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=https://www.themonolith.com/music/the-mathcorner-vol-4-sponsored-by-the-letter-c-getting-down-with-cave-in-coalesce-and-candiria/|website=Themonolith.com|title=THE MATHCORNER VOL. 4: SPONSORED BY THE LETTER C – GETTING DOWN WITH CAVE IN, COALESCE, AND CANDIRIA|date=January 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331095100/http://www.themonolith.com/music/the-mathcorner-vol-4-sponsored-by-the-letter-c-getting-down-with-cave-in-coalesce-and-candiria/|archive-date=March 31, 2013}} 2000's Rock and Roll Killing Machine by Drowningman,{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/2433/reviews/152-|website=Drowned in Sound|title=Drowningman {{!}} Rock n Roll Killing Machine |date=October 23, 2000|first=Mat |last=Hocking |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226011920/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/2433/reviews/152-|archive-date=February 26, 2018}} and 2002's Challenger by Knut.{{cite web|access-date=February 25, 2018|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/challenger-mw0000216216|title=Knut {{!}} Challenger |first=William |last=York|website=AllMusic}}

In the early 2000s several new mathcore bands started to emerge. Norma Jean's earlier records are often compared to Converge and Botch.Bosler, Shawn. [http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/apr2005/norma_jean.aspx?terms=D+Shawn+Bosler&searchtype=2&fragment=True Christian metalcore heavyweights Norma Jean make new believers with O' God, the Aftermath."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217011602/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/apr2005/norma_jean.aspx?terms=D+Shawn+Bosler&searchtype=2&fragment=True |date=February 17, 2012 }} Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on August 3, 2008.Bansal, Vik. [http://www.musicomh.com/albums/norma-jean-2_0106.htm "Norma Jean - O God The Aftermath (Abacus)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006212513/http://www.musicomh.com/albums/norma-jean-2_0106.htm |date=October 6, 2008 }} musicOMH.com. Retrieved on August 3, 2008.Heisel, Scott. "Listening Station" Alternative Press. Issue 242 Page 168. Other new mathcore bands that cite older mathcore bands as an influence or are compared to them include Car Bomb,{{cite book |author=Angle, Brad |title=Centralia review |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ePsDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22car+bomb%22+%22mathcore%22&pg=PA38 |publisher=Guitar World |access-date=December 17, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} The Locust,Ken McGrath. "Destruction and Chaos are Never Far Behind". Interview with Bobby Bray. Sorted Magazine. 2003. [http://www.sortedmagazine.com/Distorted.php3?nID=497] Access date: October 4, 2008. Daughters,Steve Carlson, Hell Songs review, "Blog Critics", October 19, 2006. {{cite web |url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/19/095721.php |title=Music Review: Daughters - Hell Songs |access-date=October 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216140310/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/19/095721.php |archive-date=December 16, 2008 }} Access date: September 13, 2008. Some Girls,"San Diego Reader"[http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/some-girls/] Access date: September 13, 2008. Look What I Did,Harris, Chris. [http://www.noisecreep.com/2009/12/10/look-what-i-did-new-album-atlas-drugged/ "Look What I Did Name Upcoming LP 'Atlas Drugged'"]Noisecreep The Number Twelve Looks Like YouMiller, Kirk. [http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/feb2007/thenumber12lookslikeyou.aspx?terms=dillinger+escape+plan&searchtype=2&fragment=True "The Number Twelve Looks Like You: Put on Your Rosy Red Glasses - You know, the kind Bootsy Collins wears..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217011435/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/feb2007/thenumber12lookslikeyou.aspx?terms=dillinger+escape+plan&searchtype=2&fragment=True |date=February 17, 2012 }} Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on August 3, 2008. and Ion Dissonance.[http://www.themetalforge.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1302 Ion Dissonance - Minus The Herd review] Minus the Herd represents a new direction and sound for the band... ...the changes aren't just from a vocal perspective; as the chaotic elements of Ion Dissonance's metalcore/mathcore sound has been toned down to make way for a groovier and more accessible feel throughout.

Bands such as Rolo Tomassi, Frontierer, The Armed, Black Matter Device, The Callous Daoboys, and SeeYouSpaceCowboy have been described as modern practitioners of the genre by Bandcamp{{Cite web|url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/2019/06/12/mathcore-guide/|title=A Brief History of Mathcore In Ten Albums|last=Editorial|date=June 12, 2019|website=Bandcamp Daily|language=en|access-date=June 16, 2019}} and Alternative Press.{{Cite web|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/|title=Upcoming Hardcore Bands|last=Editorial|date=June 5, 2019|website=Altpress|language=en|access-date=February 28, 2020}}

• List of mathcore bands

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Mudrian

| first1 = Albert

| author1-link = Albert Mudrian

| date = 2009

| title = Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

| publisher = Da Capo Press

| isbn = 978-0306818066

| url-access = registration

| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306818066

}}

• Interview with Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan: {{cite AV media

| last = Farris

| first = Diane

| date = December 22, 2011

| url = https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=43191&archive=74419

| title = Diane's Kamikaze Fun Machine from 12/22/2011

| type = radio broadcast

| publisher = WFMU

| access-date = February 21, 2018

}}

{{Metalcore}}

{{Hardcore punk}}

{{Heavy metal}}

{{Extreme metal}}

Category:Extreme metal

Category:Metalcore genres

Category:Hardcore punk genres

Category:Fusion music genres