Cookie Monster Screams:- Deathcore in Chicago
By
Adrian J.
Segura
Chicago has always been a
diverse cesspool for artists of all kinds. From the Bean to the various murals
placed around the city, there is an artist magnetism which pulls people from
all parts of the country to this center city of the Midwest.
But what lies beneath the surface of mainstream society we see everyday is an
uprising of artists, including musicians, who are beginning to shine light on a
very known yet unknown form of music. A more brutal, heart pumping, ear
shredding, fist clenching genre of Heavy Metal has been rising through the
cracks and evolving into an entity unlike any other. Deathcore.
From its humble beginnings in early 2000, deathcore
has become one of the well known and most highly favored subgenres of Metal. Throughout
this article, I will discuss the rich
history the genre both nationally and locally as well as provide an inside look
at the D.I.Y. concepts and promotion of the underground scene in Chicago while providing a unique look into Chicago’s fan base,
community, and artist who have lived the underground phenomenon.
Like many overly titled
subgenres of Heavy Metal, Deathcore directly derives its name from two genres:
Death Metal and Metalcore. If taken even deeper, Metalcore is a subgenre of
both Thrash and Hardcore which can vastly help determine how a bands sound will
be based on. The primary influences seen in Deathcore are the chromatic, palmed
muted riffing accompanied by recurrent key changes. The vocals themselves are
very Death Metal in such that they incorporate what is known as Cookie Monster
vocals, pig squeals, with some harmonic singing at times. Now while these
attributes contribute to the genre, it is necessary to also focus on its
Metalcore influences. Many Deathcore bands can agree that breakdowns, which are
typically slow downs in the music to about half time, allow 
for a more brutal, hardcore sound to emerge from their music.
The breakdowns allow for usually two guitarists to offset one 
another. While one rhythmically chugs out riffs,
another plays at a much high-pitched melodic way. This is usually accompanied
by the drummer who uses a double bass kick to provide an even deeper ambient
sound to the breakdown. Although breakdowns have been very common in the
Hardcore punk scene, Deathcore has brought this crucial element to their music
by using this technique to their advantage and allowing the Metalcore influence
to provide a fast, high paced ingredient to their style of play.
Historically, Deathcore has not
been a long lived genre but demonstrates its root in both Death Metal and
Metalcore. Some bands that have influenced current Deathcore bands include
Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Dying Fetus,
Decapitated, As I Lay Dying, Shadows Fall, and Killswitch Engage. There are,
however, a handful of bands that have brought Deathcore to the center stage and
provided a back bone for the genres itself. Bands such as Job For A Cowboy,
Animosity, The Black Dahlia Murder, and The Acacia Strain are leading the pack
for the genre and have continued to promote their music. Chicago
itself has not had as big of an impact on the scene as other parts of the U.S. have but as I later discuss in the article, Chicago
holds a unique place in many artists who see the city as a Mecca for the underground Deathcore scene.
Like many up and coming bands, promotions are and have always
been a key element to providing music to the masses. With website sites like
Myspace.com, Purevolume.com and more modern technology, D.I.Y has been dying
down rapidly. No longer are bands recording whole albums within weeks due to
money and time limits, but now are taking more time, less money, and less
effort as well to make music more memorable. With more and more bands beginning
to just be carbon copies of one another, it is becoming very difficult for
those few bands that truly deserve the attention to be noticed. This then leads
to less bands being booked by venues to perform in cities. In the City of Chicago, many metalheads
have been forced to travel many hours and miles to suburban clubs who are
willing to promote and provide a location for bands to play. Now although it
seems that Chicago is not the ideal location for
any band to either begin or come to the city to help promote themselves, Chicago has maintained a
strong hold in the underground scene. Returning back to the Deathcore scene
here in Chicago, what provided a strong urgency
for bands to play at Chicago or the Chicagoland
area is the extremely strong fan base which has become very unique to Chicago’s status as an
underground breeding ground. The vast majority of promotion in the city has
been word of mouth which in some sense provides a much more opinionated,
personal take on the scene. This helps to promote smaller bands while
maintaining an alternative to the normality of radio dribble and demonstrates
the impact and importance of the music.
Although it seems that Chicago
isn’t an ideal place to begin a band, many of the local artists I spoke to have
a very strong connection with Chicago.
They spoke about their views on the local Chicago
scene, the influences Chicago has played on
their music, and the major attributes Chicago
has provided to help promote the genre and it’s followers. “Chicago actually has a very nice mixture of
talented metal bands. First getting into the mix of things you may need to
search around a little bit, but once you run into one good band, you'll usually
come across the best of the best” “The metal scene right now, sadly, has always
been full of 
carbon copies and wannabees. Some may say we're
just another carbon copy too and to an extent we agree. Its very hard to be
100% original in anything now a days though. As long as you’re being yourselves
and genuinely writing music and playing what you enjoy from your heart that’s
what counts in the end” (Oceano). “Chicago
has always been a little more innovative then other cities. That's probably
because it doesn't have the glam associated with it that comes with the coastal
cities. I fuck)”(hewhocorrupts). “In the Chicago
scene, it makes it hard to sound different when so many bands come out sounding
just like copies. Whether people think were another carbon copy, we play what
we love and what we like” (Desecrate the Hour).
As stated before, with the advent of the internet, D.I.Y.
promotion has severely dropped and it has relentlessly affected local acts. “Band
and show promotion could use a big improvement in Chicago, but with Myspace and the internet
people are getting lazy. Basically more promo needs to be done physically and
not just by sitting in front of a computer screen and posting bulletins”
(Oceano). “The whole Myspace thing wasn't around which eventually helped spawn
a lot of the fashion and trend you see now. things were more D.I.Y”
(hewhocorrupts). While many of these
bands are continuing to thrive in the 
Chicago Deathcore scene, they hope that more can be
done to help promote them and their scene to a wider audience. One location in Chicago has been doing so
for the past 8 years.
Located in the Northside of
Chicago, Metal Haven has been a main source and outlet for metalheads of all
parts of Chicagoland. I recently spoke with the manager of Metal Haven to have
his input on the current underground Deathcore scene as well as the Metal scene
in general in Chicago.
“In Chicago,
the underground metal scene is emerging as of lately. Chicago
is the 2nd biggest metal scene in the U.S.
other than probably New York, so there’s a lot
more people in the actual scene and a lot more bands have come out of the
underground from Chicago than most other cities
in the U.S. The Chicago
scene seems more fervent and dedicated to the music itself and whether it’s the
number of people which makes the scene bigger, there is sort of a community
aspect to the underground scene here in Chicago.
When you go out to shows, you see a lot of the same people going to see these
bands here in the city which strengthens this growing underground Metal community.
This is probably what makes our scene a lot more unique and diverse than other
cities because there is more interaction between the people who go to support
these bands. “
He then delves into Chicago
promotion and Deathcore in the city. “This store is a meeting point for many of
the bands in Chicago.
I allow them to bring in these little ads to look for other people in bands who
share their same ideals and this again 
brings us back to the whole communal aspect of Chicago underground scene.
Only with a scene this big can records stores like Metal Haven to stay open and
continue to promote Heavy Metal. The deathcore scene was very strong back in
the early 2000’s but lately with companies like Victory Records signing so many
deathcore and metalcore bands, it puts a glut in the market and oversaturated
the market and doesn’t allow for better bands to be seen. A lot of the bands
now are heading towards the Death Metal scene and trying to leave behind those
elements of metalcore to diversify themselves.”
While the Deathcore scene has seen it high times
and low times, Chicago
provides a major contribution to those bands hoping to make a word for
themselves. With its vast fanbase, community style of communication, and people
and places like Metal Haven helping to continue the scene, Chicago can stand proud in saying that it has
a major impact on the Deathcore scene, its fans, and the artists who continue
to play the music they love. This zine is not here to brag about how heavy
Deathcore is or how radically different i t is from mainstream music, but
serves as an creative outlet to demonstrate this underground culture which
continues to thrive every single day of its existence. This phenomenon has
grown beyond anything imaginable in the city of 
Chicago while maintaining its underground status
and has shown how no matter how much society is bombarded with Disney-like,
suburban b.s., there is always a love for the brutal, heavy, and alternative.
So for those of you reading this, all that’s left to say is rock on, rock hard,
and keep it METAL!
Links & Contact
Info
myspace.com/desecratethefuckinghour
myspace.com/hewhocorrupts
myspace.com/xoceano
metalhavenchicago.com
You
can drop me a line at animepunk5@yahoo.com for any info
Check
out my Myspace page at:
www.myspace.com/animepunk5