If you were a metalcore fan in the 2000s, you often had to leave the house with your armor on. Fans of death metal or thrash would be quick to attack your taste in music, hitting you with the dreaded "poser" label.
Like Brian Posehn famously sang, metalcore could be a little "metal by numbers" sometimes, but there were plenty of acts who made incredibly expressive and brutal works of art.
You already know how great Converge's Jane Doe and The Dillinger Escape Plan's Calculating Infinity are, so we left them off this list. Here's another 10 metalcore albums that aged extremely well.
Poison the Well – You Come Before You
You Come Before You is one of the most forward-thinking tapestries of “core” music ever. After releasing the genre-defining Opposite of December and the finely crafted Tear From the Red, Poison the Well went balls deep into experimentation. They starting playing with surf rock and country guitar tones, cinematic interludes and songs so viciously heavy they pushed the boundaries of the genre PTW helped define. No vocalist in metalcore even came close to Jeffrey Moreria’s balance of hauntingly beautiful cleans and brutal gutturals, while Chris Hornbrook’s drumming hit god-tier levels of pure expression. Perfect album.
Between the Buried and Me – Colors
One of the greatest metal albums of the 21st century, and probably the best prog-metalcore hybrid that’ll ever exist. Between the Buried and Me’s Colors was as ambitious as it was brilliant, hitting Pink Floyd levels of imagination and conceptual mastery. BTBAM jammed circus music, polka, Russian weirdness, Star Fox space epics and plenty more into Colors, somehow making it all work for one uninterrupted hour. The musicianship and songwriting here is just outrageous. Another perfect album.
Botch – We Are the Romans
The Dillinger Escape Plan ultimately captured the mathcore/metalcore crown, but Botch’s We Are the Romans stands up as a metalcore pillar alongside Calculating Infinity. What a year 1999 was… while songs like “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and Smash Mouth’s “All Star” were dominating the mainstream, Botch was dwelling underground and predicting the fall of the American Empire. This album is as thought-provoking as it is violent.
Cave In – Until Your Heart Stops
What guitar wizardry is this? A lot of the albums on this list jammed other genres into metalcore, but Cave In really showed how purely artful metalcore could be. Until Your Heart Stops is so raw, but so weirdly sophisticated. It squeezes all the emotion possible out of crunchy breakdowns, dissonant intervals and caveman vocals. It’s got a punk rock ethos too — if you can write great songs that connect with people, you don’t need a bunch of frills or studio magic.
Disembodied – Heretic
Much like Madball’s music, Disembodied’s Heretic can make you feel like a coward by just listening to it. This is pure “don’t fuck with us” music. You can clearly hear the cross section between hardcore and metal on Heretic, along with the energy of a new subgenre that was just beginning to discover itself. It’s grittier than the dirt under your fingernails.
Protest the Hero – Fortress
If Colors didn’t exist, this would be the GOAT progressive metalcore album. First off, metalcore never had such purely talented singers before Rody Walker. Dude really made it okay to be operatic in the genre. As for Fortress as a whole, it’s packed with incredible instrumental work, big proggy riffs and top-notch songwriting. How many bands aped this style in the 2010s and 2020s? Better pay tribute to these brilliant Canadians.
All Out War – For Those Who Were Crucified
Wait, this isn’t a death metal album? The first minute of “Soaked in Torment” would fool just about anyone, but once the vocals hit, you know it’s core. The guitar work on All Out War’s sophomore album is like classic ‘90s hardcore mixed with Chuck Fucking Schuldiner. There really isn’t anything like For Those Who Were Crucified, because this album is so unapologetically metallic while keeping its “core” elements pure.
Every Time I Die – Gutter Phenomenon
We know, we know, you love Hot Damn! But how unabashedly cool was Every Time I Die on Gutter Phenomenon? Those angular riffs were so perfect on “Bored to Death” and “Champing at the Bit.” Keith Buckley’s voice could seemingly do anything… the boys were just firing on all cylinders. Gutter Phenomenon is a perfect example of a band finding their sound and doing it so well that nobody could take their spot.
Burst – Prey on Life
Wanna hear a well-kept secret? Give Burst’s Prey on Life a spin. It’s far from a pure metalcore album — delving deep into atmospheric and post-metal realms. Prey on Life is a little like Every Time I Die meets Isis. It’s a beautifully expressive listen with deep, deep sonicscapes and roots tied to Swedish hardcore. Prey on Life is over 20 years old, but it’s aged extremely well.
Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing
If an alien landed on our planet tomorrow and you wanted to share the artform known as metalcore with it, you’d likely hand over Killswitch Engage’s Alive or Just Breathing. It was the moment metalcore really galvanized into an instantly recognizable form, propelling Killswitch forward with a fresh wave of American metal. Does any metalcore song represent the genre better than “My Last Serenade”?
