170 & Above – Reviewing the vast spectrum of HARDCORE!

When someone says the word ‘Hardcore,’ most may instantly think of Dominator’s mainstage; however, there’s so much more to this broad movement than one particular sound. With so many genres falling under the 170BPM and above category, we thought we’d take a moment to look at the most prominent sub-genres that have grown to take over festival stages and of course, create their own unique communities.

UK Hardcore

Characterised by its energetic atmosphere and ‘donk-like’ kicks, UK Hardcore is a genre that’s been rising to prominence over the past couple of years. UKHC is typically around 170BPM and utilises pop-like vocals, driving melodies and leads. Unlike Happy Hardcore, UK Hardcore is a little less ‘robotic’ and utilises a lot of the same elements as Euphoric Hardstyle.

Artists worth checking out: Gammer, Darren Styles, Alex Prospect, Scott Brown

Gabber/Early Rave

Ranging from 150 to 220BPM, this Hardcore take on Techno was the foundation of Hardcore as we know it today. Displaying a distorted bass-drum sample, synthesised melodies and other samples, Early Hardcore is predominantly distinguished by its over-driving bass drum. Most commonly made and played back in the 90’s, the ‘gabber’ sound is still widely loved today.

Artists worth checking out: Dana, Buzz Fuzz, The Prophet

‘Happy’ Hardcore

Similar to UK Hardcore, Happy Hardcore is the ‘happier’ and less serious of the two. Characterised by a tempo of about 165 to 180BPM, Happy Hardcore is typically accompanied by female, or high-pitched, pop-like vocals. There’s many different variations of Happy Hardcore; for example, S3RL’s music is quite different to Dune.

Artists worth checking out: S3rl, Dune, Scooter, Hixxy

Mainstream Hardcore

Striking up a balance between roughness and melodic elements, Mainstream Hardcore is the most prominent of the Hardcore genres. Typically what you’d hear on a Hardcore mainstage, this particular sound is typically within 170 to 200BPM.

Artists worth checking out: Evil Activities, Mad Dog, Miss K8, Angerfist, Tha Playah

Uptempo Hardcore

Emerging over the past couple of years, the Uptempo sound has inevitably reached its pinnacle. Characterised by being faster and a little more ruthless than mainstream Hardcore, Uptempo is typically around 200 to 220BPM. Gaining quite the reputation, Uptempo is a little bit of a controversial movement in Hardcore, but in my opinion there’s a lot of great productions out there.

Artists worth checking out: Lady Dammage, Partyraiser, Tieum

Frenchcore

And now, we arrive to my all-time favourite genre – Frenchcore! Characterised by a tempo of 200BPM (and sometimes above), Frenchcore is a rather spicy take on Hardcore as it incorporates wacky vocal samples, a bouncier kick that’s even comparable to Hardstyle’s reverse bass! Unlike mainstream Hardcore, Frenchcore utilises a kick and a clap, making it more rhythmic with a groovier flow. VIVE LA FRENCHCORE!

Artists worth checking out: Dr. Peacock, Randy, Radium, Le Bask, Sefa

Hard Tek

Hard Tek is literally the lovechild that occurred after Frenchcore and UK Hardcore got it on backstage at last year’s edition of Defqon. Characterised by a tempo of about 190 to 200BPM, this European-originated genre is predominantly big in France, however it’s recently been making its way onto Dutch line-ups (Fant4stik are performing at this years’ Masters of Hardcore). Fun fact: if you dance to Hard Tek at half-time, it’s literally the perfect music to twerk out to and can be quite sexy.

Artists worth checking out: Fant4stik, Billx, Floxytek, Vandal

Industrial Hardcore

Industrial Hardcore is quite a fascinating genre, mainly because the sound design in good Industrial tracks is totally insane and so complex! It’s a harsh, yet energetic genre that captures a dark, cold sound and an obscure, warehouse feel. During the days when Early Hardcore was transitioning to the Millennium sound, the darker Industrial vibes emerged from the underground and played quite an important role in the development of Hardcore.

Artists worth checking out: Ophidian, The Outside Agency, Miss Hysteria, Catscan

Terrorcore

On the 200BPM and above spectrum lies an angry, yet fun genre called Terrorcore, or for short, Terror. For those who aren’t massive Hardcore fans, it may take a couple of listens to properly grasp this genre, but amongst the many productions out there, there’s always some top-quality Terror that’ll have you violently fist-pumping. We do warn you though, Terror isn’t a ‘happy’ sound.

Artists worth checking out: Angernoizer, Akira, Drokz

Speedcore

Ever been sitting at the campsite trying to sleep, but the Frenchies on speed next door are listening to music that better resembles a helicopter? Yeah, I guess that’s one way to describe Speedcore. Earlier Speedcore was around 250BPM, however nowadays the lines are a little blurry as to what constitutes Speedcore or its brother-genre Splittercore. It’s baffling to think that people can dance to Speedcore on their feet, so some usually opt to sit-dancing as this genre is so insanely quick. All aside, if you ever find yourself on an intense amphetamine bender, at least you’ll always have music to match the mood. In the most extreme cases, the tempo can exceed 1000BPM and it’ll sound like a singular tone – in this case, it’s called Extratone (yes, there’s a genre for this).

Artists worth checking out: Any helicopter or construction around tbh.

We hope that all of our AAN-ers are enjoying Hardcore week so far! We’ve got plenty more content to come this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled on our site!