金屬蕊（Metalcore）是一個金屬樂的子類型，結合了極端金屬與硬蕊龐克。金屬蕊這個詞大約是在1990年代中期出現，由極端金屬的「金屬」與硬蕊的「蕊」組成，而這些類型樂團有Earth Crisis、Deadguy、Integrity。[1]這些早期的樂團，像是Integrity，最早在1988年表演，當時玩這類型的樂團有終極殺戮樂團（Killswitch Engage）、叛客魔咒樂團（Underoath）、All That Remains、 混種魔獸樂團（Trivium）、As I Lay Dying、致命情人樂團（Bullet for My Valentine）與The Devil Wears Prada。[2]
Black Flag[7]與Bad Brains[8]這些硬蕊的先鋒，相當欣賞樂團黑色安息日，進而開始模仿他們。美國街頭龐克樂團，如Discharge、The Exploited都從重金屬樂獲得啟發。[9]樂團Misfits發行的《Earth A.D.》成為影響鞭撻金屬最大的一張專輯。[10]然而，龐克與金屬的音樂文化在1980年代中期以前，仍有區別。
混合鞭撻 (1984–1988)
在金屬與硬蕊的交互影響下，混合鞭撻（Crossover Thrash）就這麼誕生了。1984年，在加州柏克萊的一間叫作Ruthie's的俱樂部。[11]，「金屬蕊」這個詞原先就是來形容這些混合金屬與硬蕊的樂團。[12]硬蕊龐克團體Corrosion of Conformity[13]、Dirty Rotten Imbeciles和Suicidal Tendencies[14]也開始與一些鞭撻金屬樂團如金屬製品（Metallica）、超級殺手合唱團（Slayer）同台演出。這樣的背景影響了紐約硬蕊的光頭黨們，紐約硬蕊始自1984年，這些團體有Cro-Mags、Murphy's Law、Agnostic Front[15]與Warzone[16]。其中受影響最大的樂團The Cro-Mags，被等同於Bad Brains、摩托頭（Motörhead）和黑色安息日。[17]Cro-Mags同樣融合了直刃族（straight edge），令人驚訝的還有奎師那意識（Krishna consciousness）.[18]其他紐約直刃族們，包括Gorilla Biscuits、Crumbsuckers與Youth of Today[19]，也加入了Youth Crew風格。[20]到了1985年，Breakdown開始在硬蕊音樂發展，他是一種Bad Brains的雷鬼與金屬背景的結合[4]，使得觀眾做出「衝撞」的動作。Agnostic Front發行於1986年的專輯《Cause for Alarm》與歌德金屬樂團Type O Negative成員Peter Steele合作，正是一個硬蕊與金屬交融的分水嶺。[21]
1989與1995年之間，一群新潮的硬蕊樂團出現了。[2]這些樂團有Merauder、All Out War、[22] 、Integrity、[23]Biohazard、Earth Crisis、[23][24]Converge、[24]Shai Hulud、[25][26][27]Starkweather、Judge、[24]Strife、[23]Rorschach、[28]Vision of Disorder、[28]與暴種樂團（Hatebreed）。[23][28][28]Integrity受到日本硬蕊團體GISM與金屬樂團超級殺手合唱團（Slayer）影響，樂團Septic Death、Samhain、摩托頭（Motörhead）與歡樂分隊（Joy Division）多少也影響他們。[29]同時，Earth Crisis、Converge與暴種樂團（Hatebreed）[30]從死亡金屬得到啟發。[31]樂團Shai Hulud的作品《Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion》[25][26][27]和Earth Crisis發行於1995年的《Destroy the Machines》尤其能看見這樣的影響。[32]結他手Scott Crouse之言：
Shai Hulud, interview with Punknews.org - 05/28/08. [2008-09-21]. （原始內容存檔於2008-10-16）. As far as coining the term 'metalcore' or coining a sound, I don’t think we did. There were bands before Shai Hulud started that my friends and I were referring to as 'metalcore'. Bands like Burn, Deadguy, Earth Crisis, even Integrity. These bands that were heavier than the average hardcore bands. These bands that were more progressive than the average hardcore band. My friends and I would always refer to them as 'metalcore' because it wasn’t purely hardcore and it wasn’t purely metal. It was like a heavier hardcore band with hardcore ethics and attitude but clearly a metal influence. So we would joke around and say 'Hey, it’s metalcore. Cool!' But it was definitely a tongue-in-cheek term.
"The best part of every metalcore song is the breakdown, the part where the drums drop out and the guitars slow their frantic gallop to a devastating, precise crunch-riff and everyone in the moshpit goes extra nuts." - Tom Breihan. "Status Ain't Hood". "Live: Trivium, the Jackson 5 of Underground Metal"互聯網檔案館的存檔，存檔日期2010-01-17.. The Village Voice. Daily Voice. October 11, 2006. Access date: July 21, 2008.
"Mosh style was slower, very tribal – like a Reggae beat adapted to Hardcore. [...] It was an outbreak of dancing with a mid-tempo beat driven by floor tom and snare." - Howie Abrams, Blush, p. 193
Andersen, Mark and Mark Jenkins (2003). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. "Positive Mental Attitude". p. 27. Akashic Books. ISBN 1-888451-44-0
"Cro-Mags were the first band to attract both Skinheads and metalhead audiences; their music at the point where Hardcore nihilism met Metal power." Blush, p. 189
"here the term (metalcore) is used in its original context, referencing the likes of Strife, Earth Crisis, and Integrity ...", Ian Glasper, Terrorizer no. 171, June 2008, p. 78
Kill Your Stereo - Reviews: Shai Hulud - Misanthropy Pure. [2011-11-01]. （原始內容存檔於2012-03-27）. Shai Hulud, a name that is synonymous (in heavy music circles at least) with intelligent, provocative and most importantly unique metallic hardcore. The band’s earliest release is widely credited with influencing an entire generation of musicians
Shai Hulud - Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Co Review - sputnikmusic. Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion is pretty much the prime in early melodic metalcore. So many bands in both the modern metalcore and hardcore scene have drawn vast influence from them, because of how perfect they blend hardcore and metal.
In At The Deep End Records. [2011-11-01]. （原始內容存檔於2020-09-23）. Regardless of whether or not you liked Shai Hulud, it is undeniable that Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion was an oft-imitated and highly influential release in the mid-to-late nineties.
"It was this simple formula that's single-handedly responsible for every band you hear combining heavy metal and hardcore today." Blood Runs Deep: 23 Bands Who Shaped the Scene. Alternative Press. July 7, 2008: 110.
Karl Buechner of Earth Crisis cites Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, and Obituary as prime influences. Mudrian also discusses Converge and Bloodlet and their relationship to death metal. See Mudrian, Albert (2000). Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. Feral House. ISBN 1-932595-04-X. p. 222-223
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SHAI HULUD GUITARIST MATT FOX. [2008-10-09]. （原始內容存檔於2008-08-17）. When we used to joke with the term, it was just a clever (or not so clever) way of describing a metallic hardcore, metal-influenced hardcore, or hardcore-influenced metal band.
"Taste of Chaos", Revolver, June 2008. p. 110. "This is the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour, a night when heavier melodic-metalcore bands like Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold intend to position themselves as the next generation of bands to actually pack arenas [...]"
