Hello friendly moderators!

I've tried submitting before a complaint about the genre-tag on DevilDriver (using the "report a mistake" button on their page), but nothing was changed, I'll just assume it was lost on it's way to someones mailbox

In any case, allow me a moment on the soapbox to give backing to the case that DevilDriver was never, ever a "metalcore" band.

The founder and vocalist, Dez Fafara is fairly well known for his previous nu metal band Coal Chamber - a very "dark" nu metal band, when compared to that wigger jumpsuit-wearing shit Limp Bizkit put out. Their style was very experimental, influenced initially by (to my ears) Tool and Korn, with weird, spacey songs. Some rapping was utilized in songs, but the band was in general was very groove-metal based, along with their other nu metal influences. There never was any hardcore/punk rock influence in the band, and even if there was, it was hardly a main stead int heir music.

Eventually, the band suffered a schism - Dez wanted Coal Chamber to progress to a darker sound, drawing more "true" metal influences, whereas the rest of the band wanted a more "poppy" sound. Thus Dez started his new side-project DevilDriver, which was the source of his "true" metal output. The atmosphere in Coal Chamber had gotten to the point of being unbearable, and the band split - which left Dez free to focus on DevilDriver.

In the first two releases (especially the first) it is evident that the band doesn't meet the fairly strict, but usually arbitrary, criteria for acceptance into MA. The sound, whilst drawing heavily upon melodic death metal and groove metal, is still very much that "dark" nu metal sound. Fine.

However, I have no idea why they are listed in the archives under the genre-tag of "metalcore" - what, precisely is hardcore punk rock-related in their collective sound? The vocals are decidedly death metal in style, with none of those shouted punk vocals. I can't think of any breakdowns, but I only own the second album and it's been awhile since I've heard the first. What, then is "metalcore" about their early era? It doesn't even mention their definite melodeath influence, nor an obvious groove metal feel.

So, I propose the following:

Genre(s): Melodic Death/Groove/Nu Metal (early) / Melodic Death/Groove Metal (later/now/current/what have you)

Can we please get their genre tag changed? I'd really appreciate it.

cheers,
--N

Thats funny I hear the metalcore style of vocals in the new album. Though I admit that it is a little bit more on the growling side than others but the shrieks are pure Killswitch Engage like.

Really beyond the vocal style Dez utilizes the first album was Nu/Groove, the Melodic Death Aspect didn't become outwardly significant until the second album. I tend to agree that Metalcore is an odd tag for the band, I never really understood it's presence but didn't really care enough to complain.

Edit: I don't see a significant use of metalcore styled vocals even in the newest output, at least not enough to have the band tagged as such. Especially since their overall sound is relatively distant from metalcore.

There was not a trace of death metal on the first album, it was nu-metal as fuck. First on the second they started to introduce such elements.

But as you wish, they will be tagged now as Mallcore (early).

As for the vocals, they are usually semi - shouted in Sick Of It All style and semi growled/semi -sung in Gothenburg style. They are pretty far from real brutal death vocals. As for modern hardcore/metalcore, they use such aggressive shouting a lot. As for the thread starter, you should be glad that they even got accepted and not try to stir the waters here with your rather fanboyish remarks. As such the reports were deleted by me with extreme prejudice for their content, since your target is clear - to have even their old material listed as metal, be it with nu-metal as accompanying genre.
The answer is - no way, the first album is as metal as a wooden spoon.
As for the second, if you wish, you can think of it as still fitting the current description, but there certainly will not a be a special tag for each of their more trendy albums.

There are many modern hardcore influences in the harder sub-section of nu-metal (Korn, Slipknot, Static-X), so such bands are no exception. Dez originally comes from a hardcore/punk scene too, have you already forgotten that.

The first part is basically what I said, and Mallcore (early) is accurate, it's not like they weren't.

Thank you for your help in clearing up the matter, even if they are tagged with that rather ugly "mallcore" description and nope, I wasn't aware Dez came from the hardcore/punk scene.

Look, my motive is hardly to have Slipknot listed in the archives as "death metal-lite" (as one recent newbie asked), but rather to help the archives maintain their original goal of being an accurate resource of metal bands, and since my plea, as noted by you, was ignored before, I brought the subject up here. Mea culpa, I had no wish to offend you or any other posters, just help out the archives.

And also, as I mentioned, I don't own the older album, and it's been awhile since I've listened to it, so the accuracy of my remarks regarding that one are obviously compromised. Mea culpa again.

cheers (and thank you very much),
--N

You know, DevilDriver is really the only band that I've not understood why the mods were so adamant about keeping them out of here. I'm glad they're in now, but I'm far from a 'fanboy' and still I detect nothing but metal from any of their releases. Granted they're not AS 'metal' as a majority of the bands in here... but like I said, I never really understood their lack of presence on this site.

Maybe you guys are all just elitist pricks and only the metallest metal is worthy of your precious fancy schmancy site!

Quick question... is there a difference between a band with the "Mallcore" tag and a band with just a "Nu Metal" tag?

I notice that the few bands who used to play nu metal or regressed into a nu metal sound that have the "Nu Metal" genre tag didn't seem to go beyond the status of a local band.

While it seems most of the bands with the "Mallcore" tag that are listed here for other reasons (obviously) are signed to a label and undergo extensive promotion or are popular in their country or the world.

Those are basically synonyms, only the mallcore tag expresses more, that the nu-metal stuff has nothing to do with true metal. They could be listed as nu-metal as well.

Ahh, I was about to post an edit here about a tiny epiphany that I had whilst thinking about mallcore vs. nu-metal.

Mallcore is truer to what Nu Metal actually is - NOT METAL, so having "Nu Metal" instead of "Mallcore" seems to hint that the band IS metal... because Nu Metal still has the word 'metal' in the genre name, while Mallcore does not.

Mallcore IS nu-metal. Since nu-metal isn't metal, we use the term mallcore instead. Quite simple, really.

Metalcore nowadays doesn't really have anything to do with hardcore/punk anyway. I don't hear any punk in Unearth, Killswitch Engage, God Forbid etc.

Not that I even care but:

1. DevilDriver isn't metalcore. Since when were a band's genre defined solely on the vocal output (??) as some people are doing so.

2. Nu-metal and mallcore aren't real genres.

3. DevilDriver aren't melodic death metal either.

You obviously do not know, when a thread should be left alone to fade out of its own.

Nu-metal and mallcore are real genres in that, that they describe the modern, crappy not metal stuff, which some corporate media try to sell as metal.

You do not care but still you could not resist to exhibit your ego in this thread, huh??

Lock, please.