Let's get into some gems from the metalcore scene. Most of these bands had very short runs, often capping off their careers with a killer album.
You'll find a bunch of stuff from the '90s here, along with stuff you may have forgotten from the 2000s. A few of these acts are still around today though, so show them some love while they're here.
A Dozen Furies, A Concept From Fire
Remember these dudes from Battle for Ozzfest? To be honest, A Dozen Furies was just another 2000s metalcore band, albeit one with some big riffs and great live performances, but after they won the MTV reality show, they stepped up massively with their sole full-length album, A Concept From Fire. This thing is packed with big songs — “The Cycle,” “Lost in a Fantasy,” “Awake and Lifeless”… all bangers. A Dozen Furies could fucking shred too, distancing them from the metalcore crowd of the time.
Tallah, Matriphagy
Let me say it loud for those in the back — this album is BRILLIANT! Tallah’s psychotic blend of metalcore and nü-metal is unlike anything from the last decade. The grooves are so strong, Max Portnoy’s drumming is insane and vocalist Justin Bonitz sounds like a lab experiment let loose from Disney Studios. Tallah may be the only band to successfully recreate the “I’m fucking crazy” vibes of ‘90s nü-metal, but in a way that’s actually fresh and genuine. That’s not even getting into the album’s A24-esque concept. Matriphagy is a real achievement.
The End, Elementary
Just stupidly underrated. The End was like Tool and Neurosis meets Isis and Every Time I Die, but sort of radio friendly. The Canadian band cast a wide net on Elementary, breaking from their mathy roots in favor of big riffs, post-grunge and big atmosphere. Still, it’s firmly entrenched in metalcore, as evidenced in its pummeling instrumental work. Can you tell this album is tough to describe in a single paragraph?
Invent, Animate, Stillworld
Oh crap, now we’ve gotta describe this album? Does djenty Protest the Hero make sense? For real though, Invent, Animate’s Stillworld is a magnificent record. This thing twinkles like a clear night sky while striking brutal, off-beat rhythms. It’s as emotionally cathartic as progressive metalcore gets, and about as finely crafted too. It’s just a joy to listen to.
All Out War, For Those Who Were Crucified
Let’s go back to the ‘90s real quick and spotlight a truly slept-on album. Just around the time metalcore was galvanizing into its Opposite of December / We Are the Romans form, a bizarre blend of hardcore and technical death metal took shape in All Out War. For Those Who Were Crucified sounds like Sick of it All and Death got melded together in a chemical explosion. It shouldn’t work in theory, but it fucking rips in practice.
From Autumn to Ashes, Holding a Wolf By the Ears
From Autumn to Ashes went through a rebuilding process before releasing Holding a Wolf by the Ears. They’d just replaced their original singer and shuffled around their mid-2000s lineup. It was a chaotic time for sure, but the metalcore band low-key turned the turmoil into their best album. It didn’t grab the Zeitgeist like The Fiction We Live, but Holding a Wolf by the Ears is an incredibly strong full work, never offering a dull moment during its countless melodic moments.
Coalesce, Give Them Rope
Ahead of their time, in a nutshell. It’s insane that Coalesce’s Give Them Rope was recorded in the mid-‘90s, seeing a release the same year the Spice Girls became a thing. It’s about as violent as metallic hardcore got at the time, comparable to Converge’s Petitioning the Empty Sky or Botch’s forthcoming American Nervoso. Plus, the grooves on Give Them Rope were so deep that it certainly would’ve converted a mass of Pantera fans to the underground scene.
Johnny Booth, Firsthand Accounts
A lot of these “underrated” bands are long gone, but you can still show Johnny Booth some love in person! Released in 2019, Firsthand Accounts has been around just long enough to be considered underrated. It’s an album filled with pit starters and rhythmic destruction with just enough space for those cathartic lucid-dream moments. Tracks like “Thief” and “Left Hand Assurance” are unapologetic beatdowns, while the phenomenal “Asymmetrical” shows off a highly elevated songwriting prowess.
From a Second Story Window, Delenda
This album straddles the mid-2000s metalcore/deathcore line, but it’s the guitar work that steeps Delenda into the former. From a Second Story Window had a weird knack for switching seamlessly between “dumb” and “smart.” They’d linger on the most caveman-esque breakdown section then fly into total mathcore insanity. Delenda is a treat if you’re into all types of “core.”
Spitfire, Cult Fiction
Spitfire went out with a bang in 2008. After a more straight-up, hyper metalcore album in 2006’s Self-Help, Spitfire went into darker and more emotive territory with Cult Fiction. The guitar work became highly atmospheric, while the band stuck itself in mid-tempo, almost post-metal grooves. Imagine if mid-2000s Horse the Band suddenly started to sound like Amenra. That’s the path Spitfire took.
