Nintendocore is a style of music that fuses a heavy metal/hardcore punk sound with electronic and video game inspired music. The genre is sometimes considered a direct subgenre of post-hardcore and a fusion genre between metalcore and chiptune.
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History[edit | hide | hide all]
The genre originated in the early 2000s and peaked around the late 2000s with bands like Horse the Band, An Albatross, The NESkimos and Minibosses pioneering the genre.
The term "Nintendocore" is a portmanteau of Nintendo, the popular gaming company from which many of the genre's samples originate and the "core" suffix, which is often used to denote the various subgenres of hardcore punk. The term did not arise until the early 2000s, when the frontman of Horse the Band, Nathan Winneke, originally coined the term "Nintendocore" as a joke.
Characteristics[edit | hide]
Nintendocore frequently features the use of electric guitars, drum kits, and typical rock instrumentation alongside synthesizers, chiptune, 8-bit sounds, and electronically produced beats. It originated primarily from various subgenres of hardcore punk and/or heavy metal, (such as post-hardcore, metalcore, deathcore, cybergrind, and screamo) but artists in the genre have also incorporated elements of electro, noise rock, hardcore techno, ambient, glitch, breakcore, and post-rock, among others.
Nintendocore groups vary stylistically and come from a wide array of influences. Horse the Band combines metalcore, heavy metal, thrash metal, and post-hardcore with post-rock passages. "The Black Hole" from Horse the Band's third album, The Mechanical Hand, is an example of Nintendocore, featuring screamed vocals, heavy "Nintendo riffs," and "sound effects from numerous games." Math the Band includes electro and dance-punk styles. Minibosses use Kyuss-inspired heavy metal riffing, and The Advantage is associated with styles such as noise rock and post-rock. The Depreciation Guild was an indie band that incorporated 8-bit sounds, video game music, and elements of shoegaze.
Some bands feature singing, such as The Depreciation Guild, whose frontman Kurt Feldman provides "ethereal" and "tender vocals," and The Megas, who write lyrics that mirror video game storylines. Others, such as Horse the Band and Math the Band, add screamed vocals into the mix. But yet other groups are strictly instrumental, such as Minibosses, and The Advantage. While otherwise diverse, all Nintendocore groups "use specific instruments to mimic the sounds of Nintendo games."