Early 1970s to early 1980s Hardcore is rooted in the 1970s and early 1980s
industrial music, specifically the elements of hard
electronic dance music. Groups such as
Throbbing Gristle,
Coil,
Cabaret Voltaire,
SPK,
Foetus and
Einstürzende Neubauten produced music using a wide range of electronic instruments. The message diffused by industrial was then very provocative. Some of the musical sounds and experimentation of industrial have directly influenced hardcore since the beginning of the movement.
1980s In the mid-1980s, under the influence of the Belgian group
Front 242,
electronic body music (EBM), a new genre more accessible and more dancing inspired by industrial and
new wave, appeared. This style is characterized by
minimalism, cold sounds unlike
disco,
funk or
house, with powerful beats, generally combined with aggressive vocals and an aesthetic close to industrial or
punk music. All the elements were present for the arrival of hardcore. The beginnings of the genre are traced at the very end of the 1980s in Belgium, within the
new beat scene with the titles
Rock to the Beat and
Saigon Nightmare by 101 (both 1988),
Warbeat by Bassline Boys (1989),
I Want You! by the Concrete Beat (1989),
I Love You by the Acid Kids (1988),
Doughnut Dollies by (1988),
Action in Paradise by Export (1988),
Acid New-Beat by Tribe 22 (1988),
I Sit on Acid by
Lords of Acid (1988),
Acid Rock by Rhythm Device (1989),
Double B by Dirty Harry (1989),
Also Sprach Zarathustra by Bingo! (1989),
Europe by Christine D (1989), and
Do That Dance by the Project (1990). In 1988, the Belgian new beat arrived in Frankfurt in West Germany. The term
hardcore is not new in the music world. It was first used to designate a more radical movement within
punk rock (
Black Flag,
Minor Threat,
Bad Brains...) which, in addition to hardening the music, also attached importance to their attitude and their way of life as in the street where it was born: violent,
underground, but engaged and sincere. The term has then been reused when
hip hop emerged in the late 1980s, designating the harder part of hip hop, with the same characteristics: a harder sound, engaged lyrics and a whole way of life dedicated to respect of their values. The term "hardcore techno" was first used by EBM groups like ,
Pankow, and
Leæther Strip in the late 1980s, although their music had nothing to do with hardcore. 's "Sucking Energy (Hard Core Mix)", released in 1985, was the first track ever to use the term hardcore, within an
EDM context.
1990s In 1990, German producer
Marc Trauner (also known as Mescalinum United) released the first hardcore techno track with "We Have Arrived". The British group
Together released its track "Hardcore Uproar", also in 1990.
Music journalist Simon Reynolds has written books on hardcore techno, covering bands related to the Belgium hardcore scene like
Second Phase and
T99 or Dutch hardcore bands such as
L.A. Style and
Human Resource. Many of the iconic "stabs" that would become part of hardcore were popularized by these and other
Belgian techno producers during the early 1990s, like the "Mentasm" and the "Anastasia" stabs. In the early 1990s, the terms "hardcore" and "
darkcore" were also used to designate some more aggressive or high tempo forms of techno,
breakbeat and
drum and bass which were very popular in England, and from which have emerged several famous producers like
N-Joi,
The Prodigy,
Altern-8 and
Goldie. One of the earliest uses of the word in the context of English releases/the English
rave scene which gained prominence was 1990's "Hardcore Uproar" by
Together. The track's title was derived from a promoter of acid house parties of the same name that hosted controversial raves in and around the town of
Blackburn, and was agreed on between the members of Together and Hardcore Uproar's organisers in exchange for letting them feature a recording of the crowd at one of their nights in the track. Symbolically, according to Together member Suddi Raval, the night they attended to acquire the recording also turned out to be the final event under the Hardcore Uproar banner before its founders were forced to disband and stop the raves by the police. A slogan associated with these events and the anti-establishment ethos behind them, "High On Hope", was later used on a 1991 release on Blackburn-based label
All Around the World, aptly under the artist name Hardcore Uproar. Later English hardcore introduced sped up
hip-hop breakbeats, piano breaks, dub and low frequency basslines and cartoon-like noises, which has been retrospectively called
'old skool' hardcore (a.k.a.
breakbeat hardcore) and is widely regarded as the progenitor of
happy hardcore (which later lost the breakbeats) and
jungle (which alternatively lost the techno style keyboard stabs and piano breaks). An important event in the popularization of the genre occurred with the Trauner founded the label Planet Core Productions in 1989 and has produced more than 500 tracks, including 300 by himself until 1996. Industrial Strength Records in 1991 and Rob Fabrie popularized a speedier style, with saturated bass-lines, quickly known as "
gabber", and its more commercial and accessible form,
happy hardcore. Paul Elstak founded
Rotterdam Records in 1992, which became the first hardcore label in the Netherlands. In 1992 at
Utrecht, a large
rave called The Final Exam led to the creation of the label
ID&T. Launched in 1993, the concept of
Thunderdome quickly popularized hardcore music in Europe with a catalogue of CD compilations and events, attracting thousands of young people that launched the gabber movement. Just during the single year of 1993, four compilations were released with increasing success. Many artists on the compilations have become well-known figures in the scene, notably
3 Steps Ahead, DJ Buzz Fuzz, The Dreamteam,
Neophyte, Omar Santana, and
Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo in the gabber/happy hardcore registry. The same year, the label
Mokum Records was created Tellurian, the Speedfreak,
Scott Brown, and the Belgian musician Liza N'Eliaz, pioneer of
speedcore. Around 1993, the style became clearly defined and was simply named "hardcore", as it left its influences from
Detroit techno. In England, the members of the sound system
Spiral Tribe, including Stormcore, 69db, Crystal Distortion and Curley hardened their acid-breakbeat sound, becoming the pioneers of the "acidcore" and "hardtechno" genres. In 1994, they founded the label
Network 23 which among others has produced Somatic Responses, Caustic Visions and Unit Moebius, establishing the musical and visual basis of the
free party rave. Hardcore/
Gabber clubs in Belgium, DJ Yves was resident DJ at
Club X in
Wuustwezel and from the Hardcore room of the
Cherry Moon in
Lokeren, DJ Bass (DHT) was resident DJ of the Hardcore room of
Temple Of House La Bush in Esquelmes (
Pecq) and of
La Florida in La Glanerie (
Rumes) which is next to the ''Complexe Cap'tain
. Thunderdome in Belgium was organized at the Antwerps Sportpaleis and in clubs such as the Planet Hardcore
(Club) in Dendermonde 3 April 1994, the Extreme
in Affligem on 16 December 1994, the Club X
in Wuustwezel on 7 June 1996 and 13 September 1996, the Cherry Moon'' in Lokeren on 31 October 1997. In France, the pioneers of hardcore include Laurent Hô and
Liza 'N' Eliaz. In the late 1990s, hardcore progressively changed as
gabber waned in popularity. This left a place for other hardcore-influenced styles like
mákina and
hardstyle.
2000s Under the influence of Hardstyle and
industrial hardcore, a new scene was developing featuring DJ Promo and his label The Third Movement. This scene now known as
mainstream hardcore emerged in the early 2000s with a modern, mature, slower, and sophisticated form. It was successful in Europe, especially in Netherlands and Italy, The middle of the decade saw a shift in popularity, from mainstream hardcore to faster styles such as
frenchcore, uptempo hardcore and terrorcore. Although these styles existed previously already, an increase in artists and events around 2015 helped these styles develop and move to the forefront of the audience's attention. The shift from the older range of 160–180 beats per minute to 200+ changed the hardcore market, creating a demand for more energetic and intense hardcore than before. Artists like
Sefa &
Dr. Peacock saw a quick rise within the scene and influenced the musical direction to a louder, faster, but more melodic and euphoric style. Major artists from other genres such as
Marshmello,
Carnage,
Porter Robinson and
Headhunterz started to occasionally play faster hardcore in their sets. The end of the decade saw rapid growth of the hardcore scene in Europe. Hardcore festivals within the Netherlands saw a significant rise in attendance. 2019's edition of Thunderdome reached an attendance of almost 40,000 people and became the biggest hardcore event to ever take place. Regular large scale events hardcore started happening outside of the Netherlands in countries like Spain, Russia, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic among other European countries. In America hardcore remains a relatively underground genre, but can be found in major cities being pushed by independent promoters and artists. ==Hard dance==