The Deathcore Thread
For this weekend's top ten list I decided to formulate my Top Ten Deathcore Releases Of All Time. See what you think & feel free to post your own.
01. Impending Doom – “Baptized In Filth” (2012)
02. Slice The Cake – “Odyssey To The West” (2016)
03. The Contortionist – “Exoplanet” (2010)
04. Born Of Osiris – “The Discovery” (2011)
05. As They Burn – “A New Area For Our Plagues” E.P. (2009)
06. The Acacia Strain – “Wormwood” (2010)
07. As They Burn – “Aeon’s War” (2011)
08. Impending Doom – “The Serpent Servant” (2009)
09. Alice Through The Windshield Glass – “Brutalis Australis” (2012)
10. Suicide Silence – “The Black Crown” (2011)
Deathcore used to be as problematic as death metal for me, but I started liking it more as I was programming the Revolution monthly playlists, with a few bands I've recently discovered having a more standard deathcore sound as opposed to the bands with progressive/symphonic elements that would fit in the STYLISTIC category of my Metalcore Pyramid Guide. Anyway, here's my top 10:
1. Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (1998)
2. Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012)
3. The Contortionist - Exoplanet (2010)
4. Born Of Osiris - The Discovery (2011)
5. Iwrestledabearonce - Hail Mary (2015)
6. Attila - Outlawed (2011)
7. Upon a Burning Body - Red. White. Green. (2012)
8. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)
9. Winds of Plague - Decimate the Weak (2008)
10. Veil of Maya - The Common Man's Collapse (2008)
Here's my revised Top Ten Deathcore Releases of All Time list in the wake of this week's feature release review:
01. Impending Doom – “Baptized In Filth” (2012)
02. Slice The Cake – “Odyssey To The West” (2016)
03. The Contortionist – “Exoplanet” (2010)
04. Suicide Silence – “The Black Crown” (2011)
05. Born Of Osiris – “The Discovery” (2011)
06. As They Burn – “A New Area For Our Plagues” E.P. (2009)
07. The Acacia Strain – “Wormwood” (2010)
08. As They Burn – “Aeon’s War” (2011)
09. Impending Doom – “The Serpent Servant” (2009)
10. Alice Through The Windshield Glass – “Brutalis Australis” (2012)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/179
Here's my revised Top Ten Deathcore Releases of All Time list with Alice Through The Windshield Glass' “Brutalis Australis” dropping out to make way for Whitechapel third album which I've added a half-star to upon this week's revisit:
01. Impending Doom – “Baptized In Filth” (2012)
02. Slice The Cake – “Odyssey To The West” (2016)
03. The Contortionist – “Exoplanet” (2010)
04. Whitechapel - "A New Era of Corruption" (2010)
05. Suicide Silence – “The Black Crown” (2011)
06. Born Of Osiris – “The Discovery” (2011)
07. As They Burn – “A New Area For Our Plagues” E.P. (2009)
08. The Acacia Strain – “Wormwood” (2010)
09. As They Burn – “Aeon’s War” (2011)
10. Impending Doom – “The Serpent Servant” (2009)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/179
With a lot of deathcore I've been discovering lately, I think it's time for me to update my top 10:
1. Lorna Shore - Pain Remains (2022)
2. Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom (2012)
3. Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (1998)
4. Whitechapel - A New Era of Corruption (2010)
5. Born Of Osiris - The Discovery (2011)
6. Iwrestledabearonce - Hail Mary (2015)
7. Attila - Outlawed (2011)
8. The Acacia Strain - ...And Life Is Very Long (2002)
9. Upon a Burning Body - Red. White. Green. (2012)
10. Within the Ruins - Elite (2013)
1. Shadow of Intent - Primordial: 100
2. Fit for an Autopsy - The Sea of Tragic Beasts: 97
3. Shadow of Intent - Melancholy: 96
4. Brand of Sacrifice - Lifeblood: 95
5. Fit for an Autopsy - Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell: 95
6. Shadow of Intent - Reclaimer: 92
7. Fit for an Autopsy - The Great Collapse: 91
8. After the Burial - Rareform: 87
9. Mörser - Two Hours to Doom: 86
10. Brand of Sacrifice - The Interstice: 86
Shadow of Intent started out as a Halo-themed band. I'm no Halo junkie or anything, but the space and orchestral sounds really worked for their sense of diversity, until they degraded into a generic deathcore band. Fit For an Autopsy has more heavy and intriguing "progcore" than most punk bands of that type of music. And Brand of Sacrifice are one of the more surprising and atmospeheric bands of the genre.
If you're up for some non-generic deathcore with atmospheric orchestral sounds, here's what I recommend to you, Rex:
Lorna Shore - Pain Remains
Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom
Mental Cruelty - Zwielicht
If you're up for some non-generic deathcore with atmospheric orchestral sounds, here's what I recommend to you, Rex:
Lorna Shore - Pain Remains
Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom
Mental Cruelty - Zwielicht
Thanks a bunch.
I took inventory of the deathcore albums I've heard. I just barely passed 100, but it's not enough for a top 100 considering that quite a few of them made their way to lower ratings.
The bottom one ended up being Fallacy by Attila, but after hearing so much other deathcore, including shitty stuff, I don't know if that's my true opinion anymore.
Carnifex - Necromanteum (2023)
Genres: Deathcore
So I'm seeing people on the reddit Metal for the Masses, as well as a couple suggestions from my reddit page for other metal reddits, claiming that Necromanteum might be the best Carnifex album thus far. I'm not really into Carnifex, as they were one of those bands I just got through the catalogue of to complete a discography and put some more deathcore under my belt, as well as balance out the overly positive ratings on my log with (hopefully) lesser quality albums. But since I completed their studio catalog, I decided to keep it that way.
But damned if I say that I didn't wish Carnifex would try SOMETHING, ANYTHING new. And my wish was ignored. What is with deathcore bands and that same 360-beat tempo (doubling because "speed speed speed") as if it's a religion? These are the kind of deathcore artists who treat variety like a Jewish priest treats bacon grease. While there's an incredible amount of energy that keeps the album tolerable, the symphonic black elements are so undeutilized that they pretty much don't matter. If something's going to be "blackened," I'd like a stronger dose, please. There are only faint moments of prog metal which are only placed there to keep things edgy.
Anyway, this is all I can really say about such a generic album. I can't even give this a 60/100 because I can pick any other Carnifex album and still get all of this. Carnifex is lost in the so-called art of keeping up a one-trick image for street cred from overly edgy dudebros who's idea of a fine red wine is Code Red Dew.
57/100
Drown in Sulphur - Dark Secrets of the Soul (2024)
Deathcore and I are not the most comfortable of bedfellows, I could count the number of the sub-genre's albums I have heard on the fingers of one hand and I have actually enjoyed even less than that. So I went into Dark Secrets of the Soul expecting little and knowing the sum total of fuck all about the band. Turns out they are an italian, corpse-paint wearing, four-piece and Dark Secrets of the Soul is their sophomore full-length, following 2021's Sulphur Cvlt.
Well, I will just kill off any suspense and say it straight out up front - actually this isn't half bad at all. I know, right. What the hell is up with me? Well it appears that I might actually be a secret deathcore fan and I didn't even know it myself! I think where deathcore wins over other core-related subgenres is within the vocal department, which is where I notoriously struggle when faced with conventional metalcore releases. I don't especially dislike metalcore instrumentally, but the vocals often irritate me intensely, so the inherently more grizzled and guttural vocal requirements of a death metal sub-genre tones down the "screechiness" (for want of a better word) I struggle with so much in metalcore and results in something much more palatable to my ears. Another trick the band have up their sleeves is that they have included a perceptible influence from symphonic black metal, with synths imparting a sense of pomp and circumstance and mitigating some of the harsher elements of the metalcore aspect of the band's sound. Eclipse of the Sun of Eden, for example, has a really noticeable black metal influence from bands like Anorexia Nervosa or Dimmu Borgir that complements their deathly metalcore sound so well.
The band aren't afraid to change gear away from metalcore aggressiveness either with the balladic Lotus, which features the album's best guitar solo, sounding like the second part of Slipknot's "Vermilion" in places including the clean vocals. I'm no expert, but I reckon that despite all these variations from standard deathcore, there is still more than enough of that melodic hyper-aggression present to please the regulars whilst the other influences help to differentiate Drown in Sulphur from the pack and may even draw in newer listeners to the genre, like myself. I like the fact that italian metal bands in general are unafraid to take chances with their music and, for me, in this case, it has paid off big time.
4/5
Edit: I have just read Andi's review and learnt that, indeed, blackened deathcore is a thing, so I will have to check this phenomenon out further. Any further recommendations would be greatly appreciated as this album has intrigued me greatly.
Here are some good symphonic/blackened deathcore recommendations for you, Sonny:
Carnifex - Necromanteum
Dragoncorpse - The Drakketh Saga
Lorna Shore - Pain Remains
Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom
Mental Cruelty - Zwielicht
Thanks Andi. I'll put them on my list for checking out.
Even though I don't think it should technically be classed as a deathcore release, I've decided to add Embodyment's "Embrace The Eternal" into my Top Ten Deathcore Releases of All Time list given that it's still listed that way on the Academy database. I may elect to post a Hall of Judgement entry for it though.
01. Impending Doom – “Baptized In Filth” (2012)
02. Slice The Cake – “Odyssey To The West” (2016)
03. The Contortionist – “Exoplanet” (2010)
04. Whitechapel - "A New Era of Corruption" (2010)
05. Embodyment - "Embrace The Eternal" (1998)
06. Suicide Silence – “The Black Crown” (2011)
07. Born Of Osiris – “The Discovery” (2011)
08. As They Burn – “A New Area For Our Plagues” E.P. (2009)
09. The Acacia Strain – “Wormwood” (2010)
10. As They Burn – “Aeon’s War” (2011)
https://metal.academy/lists/single/179