Hardcore

Hardcore is a subgenre of punk rock that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States and the United Kingdom, intensifying punk's speed, brevity, and confrontational force. It is defined by very fast tempos, short songs, shouted or screamed vocals, heavily distorted guitars, and a stripped-down, anti-commercial production ethos rooted in do-it-yourself practice: self-released records, independent labels, and all-ages shows. Lyrically it favors direct, slogan-like statements on social and political subjects, personal discipline, and scene loyalty. Regional scenes developed distinct variants, from the metallic weight of New York hardcore to the melodic and beatdown strains of later decades.