When Even is “Melodicore” Anyway?

“Melodicore”... short for “melodic metallic hardcore”, sometimes referred to as “melodic emocore” and way too often confused for melodic hardcore, is a style that manifested itself in the late 1990s thanks to bands such as Shai Hulud, Stretch Arm Strong, Taken and Hopesfall, who took the metallic hardcore of bands like Hatebreed and Converge and incorporated more melodic vocals (not necessarily clean vocals, but screams and shouts that were more melodic than that of those bands) and occasional melodic guitar lines, to create an uplifting style was significantly different to anything that had come before. There was definitely some influence from emocore bands like Embrace and Rites of Spring but it was very minimal, while the same can be said for it's melodic hardcore influence, however maybe less-so.

In the next few years after this style started coming into it's own, a crop of bands took a more significant influence from the emerging metalcore genre, which was inspired melodic death metal, thrash metal and melodicore's father, metallic hardcore. However, metalcore was still in its early life at this point and had not completely become the style we know it as today, faced by Killswitch Engage, All that Remains and As I Lay Dying. Instead, when the first proper “wave” of melodicore bands appeared in the early-2000s they were more heavily drawing upon the much rawer style of metalcore played by Arkangel, 7 Angels 7 Plagues and early-Poison the Well.

This new wave of melodicore bands was fronted by American Nightmare (also known as “Give up the Ghost”), Have Heart (now known as “Free”), the Hope Conspiracy, Comeback Kid Modern Life is War, Ruiner, Sinking Ships, Verse, Killing the Dream and the Carrier.

This new style proved extremely influential on just future melodicore bands, but a lot of modern hardcore bands in total, to the point that Kurt Ballou of Converge said that American Nightmare completely changed the game, for hardcore”.

It seems as though, as melodicore progresses, it becomes closer and closer to that of metalcore, as the next wave (which is still the current wave) is the closest the genre has come to metalcore. Obviously, there are still bands playing the old style, and not all bands are leaning towards metalcore, because Have Heart are still making music (despite the name change) and newer bands such as Fury and Spirits are taking up the mantle, but some of the biggest names in melodicore today, such as Stick to your Guns, the Ghost Inside, Counterparts and While She Sleeps draw a line a lot closer that of metalcore than the previous wave.

Despite this, there bands who are taking the style in completely different directions, a lot of people refer to Touché Amoré, Defeater, Pianos Become the Teeth and Casey as melodicore with their post-rock and shoegaze-inspired take on post-metalcore, along with Napoleon's progressive style of melodicore, Climates' later-grandiose style and Blood Youth's modern metallic hardcore inspired style.

Yes, way too many people refer to this style as melodic hardcore, and I've never been exactly sure why. I mean, yes, it's a more melodic form of a style of hardcore but it's not by any means, a more melodic form of hardcore itself, which is what melodic hardcore is. Furthermore, almost anybody I've spoken to who refer to melodicore as “melodic hardcore” seem to have never heard the term used to describe Rise Against, Strike Anywhere, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty or H2O, usually saying “I thought that was just punk”.

A complete side note but, has anybody else noticed how much Chris Prtichard has given to this scene, having been a member of Seasons of Wreckage, Blood Youth AND Climates. Just saying.