Origins and early development
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of heavy metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. In the late 1980s to early 1990s, pioneering bands were founded such as Integrity, Earth Crisis and Converge, whose hardcore punk-leaning style is sometimes referred to as metallic hardcore. The term "metalcore" is a portmanteau of the words "metal" and "hardcore" and was originally tongue-in-cheek.
Evolution or diversification
During the decade, the genre diversified, with Converge, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch and Coalesce pioneering mathcore, while Overcast, Shadows Fall and Darkest Hour merged the genre with melodic death metal to create melodic metalcore. During the early 2000s, melodic metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine and Parkway Drive found mainstream popularity. Artists began to draw influence from a wide variety of sources, which led to the genre cultivating a plethora of fusion genres including electronicore, deathcore, nintendocore, progressive metalcore and nu metalcore.
Cultural or musical significance
It is debated whether metalcore is a subgenre of metal and hardcore, or a genre of its own, and many metalheads do not regard metalcore as a heavy metal subgenre. In the subsequent years, the genre saw increased success through social networking on Myspace and internet memes such as crabcore. In the 2010s and through to the 2020s, the genre saw even greater commercial success, with albums by Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, Asking Alexandria, the Devil Wears Prada and Of Mice & Men penetrating the top 10 of international albums charts.
