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As much as I love deathcore, I can not deny that the genre kinda sucks. A lot of it is generic, monotonous, and repetitive open-note chugging to create a background for a vocalists who are very talented but all sound the same. That's why you can rely on me to sort through those albums to find the legitimately interesting albums. It's still deathcore, don't get me wrong, so don't be surprised to hear breakdowns and/or BREE BREEs. Unless there was a significant stylistic change, I am only mentioning one album per band. I also am not mentioning Fallujah, The Faceless's Akeldama, or other semi-deathcore bands/albums that are already very well known and loved in the metal community. If you haven't listened to them, please do so, they're fantastic. Albums that are very enjoyable even if you hate deathcore are marked with a (*). It does not mean quality, it means accessibility.
Also check out Uldreth's Deathcore 101 list, it is far more expansive and he is far more knowledgeable about the -core genres than I will ever be. This is nowhere near a complete list, there are a lot more good deathcore albums that I have barely touched. This will be constantly updated as I find more good albums worthy of this list.
I have found out that the list system does NOT support BBCode so I put all of the highlights in the form of a Youtube playlist.. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0WnUWX_ocoML1nHqfcwaTXG7vXA1eIBR
Picture is from the totally not gay "making of" video for Infant Annihilator's "Decapitation Fornication". They are silly.
EDIT: I have gone dormant to worry about personal stuff, but 2017 deathcore is so fire that I'm updating this anyway. Stay tuned.
EDIT 2: Well that didnt happen LMFAO. Not back yet but when I return, I'm remaking this entire list. Now that I have slightly matured, breakdowns have lost a lot of their appeal for me, so I can finally trim the fat.
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1.
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Thy Art Is Murder - Holy War 2015 - My personal favorite deathcore album ever. This is only Thy Art's third album, but it is polished and well-rounded as if they had the experience of eight. Everything is on-point outside of an unusual production, but why is this album so special? Because it's one of the only modern deathcore albums to cut back on the number of breakdowns to build up ambient atmosphere. Seriously, this thing is absolutely dripping with bitter, hopeless, resentful atmosphere. It's no longer a "bro check out this sick breakdown" display and now a spine-chilling 39-minute journey of despair with good lyrics, breakdowns that actually feel natural, and more music than just 0-0-0-0-0-0. Those are three things you don't hear about deathcore very often. I could go on and on about how amazing this album is, but fuck it, it's 39 minutes and has a fantastic intro and outro, you probably have time to listen to it. Highlight: "Fur And Claw" |
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2.
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Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom 2012 - (*) Make Them Suffer are one of those rare deathcore bands that doesn't just take a gimmick and call it a day (looking at you, Winds Of Plague), but instead go all-out with a stylistic difference in the best way possible. The piano and (albeit rare) female vocals lend itself well to the gothic-romantic mood of the entire album. Ridiculously good highs, great lyrics, and legitimate emotion add to the entire mix too. A very unique album, and one that's actually executed well. Their next album is also really good, losing a lot of the deathcore but one-upping the debut in other ways. Highlight: "Neverbloom" |
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3.
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Ovid's Withering - Scryers Of The Ibis 2013 - There are gimmicky deathcore bands, and then there is this fucking album. It is a 72 minute progressive symphonic blackened djent deathcore album. And it's their debut. It even has clean vocals and BREE BREEs in some places. What could possibly go wrong? It's actually pulled off surprisingly well. Seriously, check it out. Avoid everything they put out after this, however, all the original members are gone except for the creepy pedophile. Highlight: "Winter In Tomis" |
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4.
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Black Tongue - The Unconquerable Dark 2015 - (*) This shit sounds like the horseman of Pestilence himself recorded this in the deepest, darkest, filthiest sewer possible, plague rats crawling from decaying piles of corpses to heed his call. Downtempo deathcore, doomcore, whatever you want to call it, it has exploded in popularity last year with the release of this album. However, unlike other albums in the sub-subgenre, this one has little beatdown influence and is more straight-up terrifying metal. Definitely one of the heaviest and most crushing releases of 2015 with a rotted and wretched atmosphere, filthy production, and possibly the best guitar tone the genre has ever seen. Very highly recommended for those who like the ridiculously heavy side of doom metal but want something much more vile, wretched, and monstrous. Also recommended if you like being told by demons to writhe in the gutter where you belong like the vermin you are. Highlight: "Vermintine" (featuring Eddie Hermida from All Shell Perish and Suicide Silence) |
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5.
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Fit For An Autopsy - Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell 2015 - In a similar vein to Thy Art's Holy War, but with a downtempo influence. There isn't really much to be said that hadn't already been said in my recommendation for Holy War, it's really dark and well-written and while not as bitter and spiteful it is one of the albums that deathcore is proud to call its own. In the words of Thy Art's official youtube channel, "You know it's cash when we are bumpin it 24/7." /r/deathcore's third favorite album of 2015. Highlight: "Absolute Hope Absolute Hell" |
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6.
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Thy Art Is Murder - The Adversary 2010 - (*) Does a better job at being a deathcore Cryptopsy than Cryptopsy themselves. That is all you need to know. Oh, and CJ is on point here in everything but his nu-metal reject looks. Highlight: "Soldiers of Immortality" |
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7.
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Born Of Osiris - The Discovery 2011 - (*) Jason-core part 1. Guitarist Jason Richardson, fresh out of All Shall Perish, joined a standard djent deathcore band by the name of Born Of Osiris and turned them into a beastly progressive deathcore band with insane sweeps and real songwriting. Unfortunately he was only there for The Discovery and the band declined into a super generic dj0nt band that just 00-00-00'd their way from start to finish on every song with only an occasional sweep to break up the monotony. This album is legit as fuck. Listen to it. Highlight: "Devastate" |
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8.
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Chelsea Grin - Ashes To Ashes 2014 - Jason-core part 2. Jason then left Born Of Osiris for Chelsea Grin, who seemed confused on where to take their superstar fame from Desolation of Eden. After releasing an even more confused Evolve with the band, suddenly the holy power of Jason shines through and the band releases an album that can actually be considered good for more reasons than just being ridiculously heavy and brutal. Combining old and new, the crushing heaviness of their older stuff combined with their newer emotion and vocal styles, with a plentiful serving of djent and Jason sweeps, makes for one of the best deathcore albums of 2014. And then Jason leaves due to "creative differences" (in other words: CG wanting to become a cheap Traitors/Black Tongue knockoff) and another band loses their way. He restrained Alex Koehler from making lyrics like "AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT YOU CAN PUBLISH THIS DICK" at the very least. Highlight: "Dust to Dust?" |
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9.
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All Shall Perish - The Price Of Existence 2006 - All Shall Perish, Despised Icon, Job For A Cowboy, The Acacia Strain, The Red Chord. Those are the big five deathcore pioneers, and the genre would not be the same without them. The genre actually had riffs and a real edge back then, and the vocalists weren't just Mitch Lucker (Suicide Silence) and Phil Bozeman (Whitechapel) ripoffs. All five bands are very much worth checking out. As to this album in particular, it moves at a very enjoyable pace and Eddie Hermida's vocals are on point here, going to extreme highs to low pig squeals in moments. It's a fantastic album, one that paints the genre in a positive light without being afraid of being straight-up deathcore. I also highly recommend checking out Despised Icon as well while you're at it. They're just as great too. Highlight: "Wage Slaves" |
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10.
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The Acacia Strain - Wormwood 2010 - Now to answer the monthly "Are -core genres even metal?" questions, I'll just say that every deathcore band listed here EXCEPT The Acacia Strain and Attila are undeniably metal. TAS is very beatdown-ey while Attila has a lot of rock influences. A Sputnikmusic review summed up The Acacia Strain well: "If you are new to this band the dynamics are really as follows: anger, chugging, and choke slamming someone through 3 tables." They are to deathcore as Hatebreed is to metalcore. But also throw in super, super downtuned guitars and doom metal influences, making them a pioneer of downtempo deathcore before it even became a thing. It's chugging to nearly Emmure level, but they actually sound super, super pissed. Not in a laughable way like https://youtu.be/zxkjfaV9k8Q, but in a genuinely terrifying way. The vocals, lyrics, entire package is absolutely seething with disgusting hatred. "Time to suck today's dick, I hope you choke on it" would sound cheesy coming from Chelsea Grin (even though it's something that would be right up their alley nowdays) but is fitting in Wormwood's case. It's quite a unique album, as is their entire discography, and it's worth a look. Highlight: "Beast" |
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11.
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Thy Art Is Murder - The Depression Sessions [Split] 2016 - (*) Now that Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy, and The Acacia Strain have been introduced, go listen to this absolutely phenomenal sendoff (at the time) split to CJ. Easily the rawest, darkest, and most pessimistic material all three bands have ever created, these seriously are some of the best deathcore songs in years. There is no clear winner of this split, all three bands playing at their all-time best. Even the covers are excellently done, if you don't mind the hilarious silliness of an Australian covering Du Hast. Highlight: Thy Art Is Murder - "They Will Know Another" |
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12.
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Slice The Cake - Odyssey To The West 2016 - (*) Progressive deathcore that is actually progressive. As in, Dream Theater or Ne Obliviscaris progressive, with super long multi-part songs and spoken word passages and stories and all that goodness. I gave it a first listen and enjoyed it, very stretched out but with tons of emotion and soul. But as with every prog album, it can be a bit inaccessible. It's another one to add to a prog fan's queue, who seem to be the intended audience. Highlights to prog concept albums are pointless. |
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13.
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Betraying The Martyrs - Breathe In Life 2012 - The common criticism of Betraying The Martyrs is that they are on the opposite end of the -core problem: Instead of playing too safe and making a forgettable album like any other, they try too hard to be different and can sometimes sound like a confused mess. But to describe them, they've got a much lighter sound in terms of guitar tone and clean vocals to the point where on Reddit they're posted on /r/metalcore instead of /r/deathcore. They are without a doubt a deathcore band however, with blast beats, proper death growls, and deathcore-styled breakdowns. They're not for everyone, they're one of those weird bands that you either love or hate. I personally really enjoyed both of their albums and they said they are going to make a more stable and mature album next so I'm hyped. Highlight: "Because Of You" |
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14.
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Iwrestledabearonce - Hail Mary 2015 - (*) Quick, what do you know about Iwrestledabearonce? Their style over substance? Their entire songwriting literally being based around jokes? Their randumb XDDDD humor with electronic segments? Their out-of-place mathcore? Throw that all out the window, that IWABO is long gone now. Welcome the new darker, heavier, sexier, and more mature IWABO. This is one that treads the line between metalcore and deathcore, taking the best of both. It's got metalcore's smooth structures and knack for actually doing something different, and deathcore's crushing brutality. Throw in some interesting songwriting twists like clean vocals and you've got an album that's already better than a lot of the stuff that didn't make the list. Yes, your shitty deathcore band is being beaten by a dank meme. How does that feel? Highlight: "Green Eyes" |
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15.
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Carnifex - Slow Death 2016 - Carnifex have been on a nonstop upward trend after a pretty bad past, upping the spookiness and refining their sound to be an enjoyable, but not great, deathcore band with very slight symphonic/blackened touches. Slow Death continues the gradual upward trend, bringing a darker and more varied album that I can finally call blackened deathcore. If the entire album were the quality of "Drown Me In Blood" and "Dark Heart Ceremony" then this would be top 3 in this list. Sadly it is not, but it is still way above the par for such a shitty genre. Play this on Halloween to spook the kids. Highlight: "Drown Me In Blood" |
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16.
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RUNNER-UPS: Albums that just missed the mark by just a little bit. These albums are still solid, but often are filled with deathcore tropes. Your level of enjoyment may vary depending on what you think of said tropes. Expect a lot of chugging and Thy Art Is Murder worship. |
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17.
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Whitechapel - This Is Exile 2008 - An album that unfortunately has not aged well, simply because their style (which wasn't super unique to begin with) was copied to hell and back. It's a lot more tame than a lot of the albums here, a lot more death metal influenced, to the point where I feel as if it can sometimes hit a very dull middle ground. But there is still solid musicianship and Phil Bozeman's insane unproduced vocals. Seriously, he does this shit perfectly live. Highlight: "Possession" |
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AngelMaker - Dissentient 2015 - Deathcore: The Album. Every single deathcore trope you can imagine possible, thrown in here. Seriously, I recommend making a list of all you hate about deathcore, listen to a song, and see how many you can check off. If you are fine with the tropes then this is very enjoyable however. It's seriously heavy, has an insane vocal display that makes oldschool Alex Koehler cry, and very well produced with just enough variety to avoid feeling repetitive. Very good instrumental track too. /r/deathcore's second favorite album of 2015. Highlight: "A Dark Omen" |
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Aversions Crown - Xenocide 2017 - Aversions Crown make some top-notch Thy Art-worshipping ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つADD TO DATABASE༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ-core but Xenocide is such a massive step up for the band. They still nail the alien atmosphere like no other band, but this time with top-notch production, a beastly new vocalist, and a more distinctive sound carved out for themselves. Don't expect a revolutionary deathcore album, just one done extremely well. Highlight: "Erebus" |
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20.
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Job For A Cowboy - Doom 2005 - Once upon a time, there was a site called Myspace. On Myspace were a bunch of 17 year olds with stupid haircuts playing this hot new shit with vocals that went BREE BREE BREE BREE. The band's name was Job For A Cowboy, and Doom was their product. Much to the dismay of the metal community, Doom took off in popularity, turning deathcore into a proper genre that would remain very alive even over a decade later. This actually isn't too bad though. It's some grindy death metal with balls, breakdowns, and BREE BREEs. Turn your brain off and let your ears get assaulted by the nonstop BREE-age. Highlight: "Entombment of a Machine" |
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21.
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Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King 2008 - (*) Yes, I put this here. No, it's not a 1/10 like you probably claim. This is very much a love-it-or-hate-it album, but it's actually really not bad. It's really different from anything else out there, and at best is a fresh, meaty, and ballsy revival for a band losing steam. Tracks like "The Headsmen" and "Silence Your Tyrants" are super fast, energized, and brutal, the Cryptopsy way. At worst it's godawful. Look at "Bemoan The Martyr" and the ridiculously long "Bound Dead" for prime examples of how it can go wrong. Instrumentally the album is mostly great as usual, with Flo being Flo, but the new keyboardist being nearly invisible (probably a good thing). Vocally it's pretty weak, Matt sounds like a weaker Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist, Arch Enemy) and doesn't even have clean vocals to save him. But as a whole the album is worth a listen. It's still distinctly Cryptopsy, just with a few twists. Some for the better, some for the worse. One thing is for sure though: As Jupitreas's review says, this album has balls. Highlight: "The Headsmen" |
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Bring Me The Horizon - Count Your Blessings 2006 - Put away everything you know about what is one of the most hated bands in metal (whether or not it's deserved). This is incredibly different from everything else they had ever released. And this is a very inconsistent album. For every good moment there's an awful one. For everything the album does right, there's something it did wrong. Some really great technical riffs, then some awful breakdowns. Some really catchy moments, then some song-ruining halts. For a bunch of 17 year olds, damn they could play though. It is still a deathcore classic, however, and I still think that the band could have shaped up to be a respectable death metal band (Job For A Cowboy style) if they weren't so afraid of their image. The second half of Braille is my favorite moment in all of deathcore, ever. Highlight: "Braille" |
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23.
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Chelsea Grin - Desolation Of Eden 2010 - Oldschool Chelsea Grin chugged and chugged and chugged and chugged, but god damn it can't be denied that they make it sound brutal as fuck without becoming tedious like a slam band would. They had the PERFECT guitar tone for the type of music, and Alex's vocals were so insanely high that he was an even more polarizing factor than the sheer heaviness of the band. This shit hits hard. Highlight: "Recreant" |
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24.
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As Blood Runs Black - Allegiance 2006 - Take deathcore, and give it very strong influences from melodeath, and add quite a bit of fun, and you've got this album. I'm actually not very much of a fan of this one, the songs are near impossible to tell apart and they managed to to the impossible by fucking up an instrumental intermission. But a lot of people really like it, and it is a classic for a reason. Highlight: "My Fears Have Become Phobias" |
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25.
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Attila - Rage 2010 - Yes, I'm talking about the band that later made musical diarrhea like https://youtu.be/qLYoJgbybes. No, I'm not sorry. But let me explain: Rage is actually pretty good. Back then, they were just a bunch of frat kids who wanted to party and have fun, and their music reflects that. If you're taking this shit seriously then of course you're going to hate it. You're taking them more seriously than they do themselves. It loses part of its appeal if you don't understand American fraternity culture, but even then it's got some genuinely kickass guitar riffs and very solid musicanship (aside from a few awkward breakdowns). Fronz's vocals are at his peak here as well, with a very unique and distinctive style fitting to the music. Most of MS probably won't like this but I still think it's worth mentioning. Outlawed was alright as well, but avoid their other albums for anything than a few laughs. Oh, and suck my fuck. Highlight: "Jumanji" |
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TO BE ADDED: Albums/Bands that I know I will add to the list but still need to write about. If it's just a band with no album, then I have decided they are worth mentioning but haven't chosen an album to focus on yet. |
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After The Burial I'm not the biggest fan of djent deathcore bands but they very much deserve mentions and I've always been meaning to get into them. Please remain patient while I add them. |
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28.
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Enterprise Earth - Patient 0 2015 - A grower for me, at first I didn't care much for it but it's a very solid slab of alien-themed Thy Art worship. |
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29.
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Fit For An Autopsy - The Great Collapse 2017 - One of the darkest and most pessimistic deathcore albums ever. Like holy shit. |
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30.
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Infant Annihilator - The Elysian Grandeval Galèriarch 2016 - Going on the top-tier part of this list. This shit is ridiculously good. Infant Annihilator is a joke band on the opposite end of their (excluding vocalist) main band Black Tongue, so instead of playing really fucking slow they play really fucking fast. The EGG is a significant improvement over their mediocre debut that was lacking in anything other than technicality, adding interesting and more varied songwriting, a better vocalist (not that the previous one was bad), and infinitely more slap bass solos. It even has an 18 minute song. What's not to love? |
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31.
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Ion Dissonance - Cursed 2010 - So, a quick explanation on how I handle this section of the list: I find a new album, I find it very good, I add it here until I give it a few more listens to write more in-depth about it. I have an aversion to mathcore bands because I don't like how most of them are chaotic and mathy just for the sake of being chaotic and mathy. I was told Ion Dissonance is different, and my god they really are. The way they mix the mathcore in with the deathcore is outstanding, making an incredibly heavy yet coherent album. |
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32.
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Shadow Of Intent - Reclaimer 2017 - My album of the year so far. More description to come. |
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33.
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Veil Of Maya Same boat here as After The Burial. |
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34.
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BANDS NOT TO BE ADDED: I'm sorry. |
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35.
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The Black Dahlia Murder (*) I love the band, but if one more person calls them deathcore I'm gonna strangle them. Just stop. They are on the heavier end of melodeath and had some metalcore influences in their first two albums. Death metal + metalcore does not mean always mean deathcore. It can . I'm also going to take this opportunity to say that The Agonist and other heavily DM-influenced metalcore/melodeath do not have a place on this list. No matter how brutal the end of Eulogies may be, one minute of deathcore does not make a band deathcore. |
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36.
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Emmure https://youtu.be/J6u-wt5O0UI |
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37.
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Lorna Shore I should love them and everything they stand for but I just can't. The low vocals just have absolutely no enunciation to them, combined with poorly done production it all sounds like a giant gargle of words for minutes on end. That is what keeps me far away from the band. |
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38.
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Oceano Depths is their only half-decent album, and even then I feel as if it's twice as long as it should be. "District Of Misery" is fantastic, and Adam Warren is a ridiculously good vocalist, but the music is overly chuggy and desperately wants to be "brutal" but comes off as sluggish and awkward. I'll let this video explain it: https://youtu.be/gNSvJc0LgHg |
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39.
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Rings Of Saturn I'm sorry, I don't like Rings Of Saturn at all. Their music feels super hollow and overly wanky, not even in an ironic fun side-project way like Infant Annihilator. A music major friend of mine big into classical music said he can't get into metal because he can't stand the drum patterns, and that's how I feel with Rings Of Saturn. WE FUCKING GET IT YOU CAN PROGRAM DRUMS. The music just feels super fake. So does Infant Annihilator to a degree, but at least they can write proper music and don't program all their instruments. |
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40.
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Suicide Silence I just feel as if they have a few great moments in each album that they just can't sustain for long enough to be worthwhile. If I had to choose an album, No Time To Bleed has a few good songs, namely "Smoke", "Lifted", and "Disengage", but they are the exceptions. The Black Crown, although I overall disliked it, at least had the band try new stuff out. I even liked the overly-chuggy "You Only Live Once" and the universally panned Jonathan Davis (Korn) collab "Witness The Addiction". But while the band isn't good, they aren't horrible either. Really, they don't have any bad albums, they just also don't have any good albums. They are firmly "meh". |
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41.
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Traitors Overly beatdown tough-guy for my tastes. I can handle The Acacia Strain, this is a bit too macho for me. This is how I feel for a lot of downtempo and beatdown for me. |
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42.
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Xibalba (USA) (*) This shit is seriously violent and really good, and technically fits into the definition of deathcore. They're literally death metal + hardcore, what's not to love? But I feel as if their stuff is so radically different from radically everything else in the list that it'll stick out like a sore thumb. Check them out, don't expect your average Whitechapel worship though. |
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43.
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Waking The Cadaver shredded wheat. shredded wheat. shredded wheat. shredded wheat. |
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44.
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Winds Of Plague They suck. They really, really do. Bands like them are the reason why the genre is so looked down upon. They can't even do generic deathcore well, as their breakdowns are piss-poor and the vocals weak outside of some okay pig squeals. That's how low they are. |
Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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