WHO ARE THE 'BIG FOUR' METALCORE BANDS? 

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Finn “I am filming this from the spare bedroom at my mother in law’s house” McKenty

Waking The Fallen is literally one of the best Metalcore albums

Waking The Fallen was metalcore!

The Anthrax aesthetic helped a lot of thrash kids feel comfortable not wearing the “back then” thrash uniform that was comprised of leather and denim. Going from tight ass jeans to board shorts was liberating…………literally, 😂.

Waking the Fallen is definitely Metalcore. It’s a bit more accessible than Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. But the stylistic change didn’t happen until City of Evil. That’s where all the screaming disappeared aside from the wordless intros and transitions, and where the riffs changed.

Finns hatred of Megadeth always makes me sad but he’s entitled to his opinion. Plus he nails these comparisons every time

I love what you said about PD because I was the EXACT same way. I felt like they were just Australia's answer to AILD until a friend sat me down and showed me their DVD. It completely changed how I felt about not only their music, but also the DIY spirit. You'd always hear other bands talking the DIY lifestyle, but have you ever flown to another continent with no shows booked with just your gear and some clothes? Balls, man.

I feel like it's pretty hard to look beyond Avenged, Trivium, Killswitch and As I Lay Dying. Two essentially set the tone for metalcore in the 2000s and became the grandfather's of what the genre would sound like post 2010. The other two morphed into huge bands with legitimate mainstream appeal and grew the genre far beyond its original parameters. It was a huge time for metal so there is obviously going to be a lot of other bands that can claim to have equal influence but that's definitely my take. It felt like those four were so, so big.

The first few albums of All That Remains oohhhhhhh yeah buddy that’s my jam

Fun Fact: Adam D from Killswitch was the guy who first invited Parkway Drive on a world tour, and getting them the exposure that helped bring Parkway Drive up. Also, both bands are absolute gems of human beings. It's hard to be in the same room and not feel good about the world. And both names are contradictions, and that's funny. Parkway cancelled their last tour over the pandemic, but they say they're using the time off to write their next album, and I can't wait for the new stuff, and to see them out here again!

I was the same, I liked Parkway, but after watching their docs, my love for them was instantly amplified.

Im actually shocked ATreyu wasnt mentioned at all they were at the forefront of metalcore when it exploded

I agree that avenged sevenfold ain’t metalcore, but their second album “waking the fallen” is straight up metalcore Hell it was my gateway into metalcore and the first time I heard songs with a lot of unclean vocals

15 years ago, these bands were the ones that got me into the genre.. so I can just fully agree with you on everything! For once 😂. The quality of your videos is always so good, you're literaly writing full thesis on all these topics (even when it's rap or other stuff) that's so interesting. Thanks for that!

I feel personally attacked every time he goofs on the scenecore era bands like Prada and Attack Attack. Lol. Also shoutout to A7X’s Waking the Fallen. It’s probably the gateway record for me getting into scream vocals and heavier stuff. Love these vids, Finn. Keep it up.

BFMV has definitely moved away from Butt Rock with their new singles. This new album is trending to be very heavy.

Killswitch getting the love. So happy. As I Lay Dying made me laugh that they are the Megadeth.

I love the amount of thought, work, analysis, and passion you put into these videos. Your effort is appreciated! Keep it up bro.

Dude I've watched 3 vids on this big four series and you nailed it every time. Every band I was thinking of you listed exactly where I had them. You have some serious knowledge sir.

Horizons by Parkway was one of the albums that really got me hooked into metalcore and, in my opinion, it still holds up as one of the best metalcore albums of all time.

Parkway Drive’s Atlas Album is the extremely underrated. Solid choice on the Anthrax of metalcore!

INCREDIBLE VIDEO FINN !!! I’ve been a METALCORE fan for the past 20 years and I agree 100% with everything you said in this video. I think you perfectly summed up the BIG 4 of Metalcore. All 4 bands that you listed are 4 of my all time favourite bands and all deserve to be in this Top 4. As a fan of “The Big 4” thrash bands I thought your comparisons to the “Big 4 metal core bands made perfect sense. This was my favourite video that you’ve done FINN . Please do a video JUST on Killswitch Engage. Their influence on bands and their music legacy is something that I think deserves a single video. Especially their story of losing their frontman and getting bigger after each record. Plus Adam D their guitarist is one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen live. Thanks FINN 👍🏻

The timing of this video is perfect. I’m actually seeing August Burns Red tonight

Feels wrong to rule out bands because they don’t play Metalcore anymore. Does Metallica’s 90s era rule them out of being in the big 4 of thrash?

Loved the format of this video, plus these are my favourite metalcore bands so that was cool!

Hey Finn! Can’t WAIT to see that parkway drive video you’re going to make in the near future. They’ve been my absolute favorite metalcore band (not that I don’t enjoy everyone else ALMOST as much) for YEARS!! Can’t wait to see an in-depth break down on them!! I’m holdin” u to it brother!😂🤣

Personally Parkway Drive’s “Deep Blue” is one of the few albums that I think has zero skips.

Even though your exclusion of August Burns Red for being “late” to the scene is silly considering you included Architects who started out a year earlier, I still completely agree with your Big Four. Even though they have their controversial front man, As I Lay Dying were definitely more influential than people give them credit for. And though I’m not necessarily a huge Parkway Drive fan, they are definitely an underrated band in the metalcore scene

I am so glad you mentioned Parkway Drive One of my all time faves 🙏🏻 Awesome video Finn

I think you sold me on all four of your picks, Finn. Another well thought out and entertaining video. For whatever reason it made me think, "I wonder if he'll ever do a video about ETID" this video got me thinking about how long they've been around and stayed relevant, and the mention of the Parkway Drive DVD made me think of the ETID DVD 'Shit Happens' that they put out in 2006 and I think played a similar roll in their fan base as the Parkway DVD, shit I know I've watch it probably 30 times and I still have it on my shelf haha.

Parkway Drive was the band that got me into metalcore. Their image was a big factor for me because they seem like super chill dudes that you’d wanna hang out with. Also i feel their early stuff was heavier than a lot of their peers’ given the fact they didnt have any clean singing like most other metalcore bands of that era

It’s true that Anthrax don’t get enough respect. Among The Living is legit an S tier thrash album. It is up there with Reign in Blood, Master of Puppets, Rust in Peace, Peace Sells. It may not be the best of those albums, but it’s definitely in that league.

I was a highschooler when A7X, Atreyu, and 18V were starting out and playing small shows. It was awesome. These bands, including OG Jesse Leach KSE, are the saints of metalcore.

Glad to see my favorite metal band of the modern era : Parkway Drive! Can't wait to see a video on them from you! I realize you're a busy busy dude so I'll try to be patient on it lol

Disappointed you didn’t mention Tom Searle when talking about Architects. He was arguably more important to the sound of the band than Sam was.

Screaming was extremely unpopular in the early 2000s, and KSE was the perfect band for getting these old school metal people into more modern metal. They where on guitar hero and stuff, which was kind of mind blowing.

Hey Finn I’d love to see an Amity Affliction “how did they get so big.” I reckon it’d be quite an interesting episode take considering their background and where they’ve gone with their music and how the band members each are

Your picks are absolutely 100% spot on. I really appreciate you including as I lay dying. They are the band that got me into metalcore. I was obsessed with them as a teenager and were what truly made me a metalcore fan for life. The other band that got me into metalcore was Atreyu. That’s the only other band I may have included in your top 4 but im not sure who I would remove for them. August burns red could have been a solid choice as well.

I'm a Y2K-er, so mine will always be Killswitch, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall and Unearth🤘🤘🗝️🗝️🗝️🗝️🗝️

I know "shorts" seems kinda goofy as a criteria for the Anthrax comparison, but Parkway Drive's straight up "surfer dude bro" vibe is 100% an iconic part of that band. Hell, they even shot a few videos based around that (Karma is a great example). So I totally agree on that.

I'm surprised how accurate some of these guesses are. I remembered when I was a kid and listened to Bullet for My Valentine for the first time on the Need For Speed Most Wanted game! It was absolutely my first step into Metal-core (just as Finn said), but when I listen As I Lay Dying for the first time it blew my mind. They where so good and so heavy! Even if I don't listen them anymore (stopped after all the Tim's shit) I can't deny they where very influential at my first years as a musician. Love this video Finn, nail it as allways!

This was awesome, I called KSE, but you mentioning Architects in this and other videos is why I checked them out! I appreciate dude, I wanted to see them this year...but understandably, gotta wait til the next one! EDIT: Made this comment before the end, and I can not say how much you nailed Parkway Drive! Drove from Phoenix to San Diego cause I knew where they were from and didn't know at the time how big they were going to get. Needless to say, I have seen them 4 times in Phoenix. PWD \m/ \m/

My mates and i have had this discussion and landed on the same 4 bands in the end. I Killed The Prom Queen was another one for us, we're aussie so their name gets thrown around a lot as they basically put parkway on the map with their split ep/tour together, heaps keen to see this Parkway vid you alluded to Finn! Horizons is the consensus best metalcore album of all time down here in Australia, especially on the east coast

Man this is a rough list I’m having a hard time with this one Finn. This was my genre. I’d have As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Trivium and Atreyu as the top 4 most influential during the rise of metalcore. Not mentioning Atreyu is crazy. They’ve done some dad rock stuff but they still release the odd metalcore track

Sometimes I go back to these videos and the spare bedroom chat makes me laugh every single time 😂. I love this channel, I found it and instantly love the geekyness of 'my' genre

Called it when you were talking about what band is the 'Slayer' of metalcore. I said out loud to myself "Parkway Drive as the Anthrax of metalcore?." I was also thinking if Parkway Drive is not brought up in this conversation I will be slightly disappointed. However, in the intro you listed Spiritbox, Crystal Lake, and Erra as the "bands moving the genre forward" today. This is why you're my man, I'm subbed, and love your videos. You have such an extensive knowledge of the heavy music scene, and I agree with like 98% of your thoughts on the subject. I also thought before you brought it up, "maybe Underoath, but they are more post-hardcore." All the love to you Finn. ♥

I liked the side note you made about Avenged Sevenfold by saying they’re comparison is Guns N Roses. The more I think about it, the more truth I find in it haha

This Big 4 sub-genre format is super interesting! Would love to hear your thoughts on the Big 4 of Deathcore, Death Metal, Emo etc. Great vid!

Just found the channel and I'm loving it. Parkway Drive is maybe my favourite band of all time, definitely top 3. Glad to see you talk about them here. Like you said, nothing revolutionary about them necessarily but just solid heavy ass metalcore, great for the pit or pushing a heavy lift at the gym. They're great live too, and come off as really chill dudes.

Your break down on slayer is on point great vid as always.

The "shorts" thing sounds funny but it's a legit thing. I can't hardly describe it but there really used to be a thing about wearing shorts vs long pants. I don't think people care now or really remember but it was a whole thing.

Finn, literally 02:16 into the video: *E A R T H C R I S I S*

I absolutely loved this list and cannot agree more with your choices. The only thing that kinda bothered me is that you didn't mentioned Asking Alexandria. Say what you want about the band or their members, but, at least here in Brazil, they were the hughiest thing. Like... REALLY bigger than the other ones. I'm not saying you should qualify them as one of the Big 4, cause i don't think that is the case, but you had to mention them imo. "The Final Episode" was fucking everywhere when i was 17 years old. They were more influential than any other Metalcore/screamo bands back in the day. Again... maybe i have this impression cause i'm south american and i know they have a huge fan base here (just check out any of their videos and you will see that like, 50% of the comments are in spanish or brazilian portuguese) but anyways... great content as always, Finn!

100% agree with the analysis of PWD, I fell in love with their early stuff and after getting more into the metalcore scene and hearing some of the podcasts that PWD was in they are just super nice dudes. Got to see them live multiple times and even high fived Winston while crowdsurfing, just laid back and incredible nice group of guys who offstage put a lot of effort into conservation and other relief efforts. I started listening to them on their 1st full album back in 2005 in 5th grade and have loved everything since. Cant wait for live shows to go see them again, super energy and killer performance, hands down one of the best bands Ive seen live.

These video's really help show how trends and culture repeat with each generation. It's never exactly the same twice, but this this ties together some common threads. I like the perspective this gives and it teaches me something about what made the older generations of music cool too.

I love how you have real logical reasoning behind your picks. The amount of logic you bring to discussing music is refreshing.

Great list!!! A little surprised bleeding through, atreyu, and soilwork werent on there

This was so well done. 🙏🏻

I agree with almost every point you made in the video, but I have a bone to pick with what you said about Parkway Drive and how they weren’t reinventing the wheel or pushing any boundaries. to boil down their earlier works to just “chug riffs and breakdowns” I think is a gross understatement. the riffs were catchy, challenging, and intricate with a lot of complex rhythms and super fast tempos. the instrumentation was tight and alternated seamlessly from groovy breakdowns, to blast beats, to fast punk beats and thrash shredding. and on top of that, Winston’s insane vocal tone and lyrical ability that was miles ahead of many other lyricists in the genre. I understand their chill surfer dude vibe was a huge part of their personality as a band, but to say they weren’t “pushing the boundaries of art” or that their music was generic in anyway is pretty false in my opinion. other than that, spot on analysis lol

Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Parkway Drive and Killswitch Engage and a 5th one: Architects.

Great vid! Totally agree with your picks.

I loved this video. I graduated in 2003, and in the next few years after there was just a plethora of music that I loved so much. I found Killswitch and Shadows Fall around the same time, then Unearth and as I lay dying, and it started a very long love affair with similar types of metal. Shout out to Trivuim. The Crusade and Shogun are albums I still go back to often and will probably listen to forever.

I love that metalcore hater guy whose clips you always play.

My big four of metalcore would be Trivium, As I Lay Dying, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Killswitch Engage.

As an older hardcore kid, my Metallica of metalcore is Unearth... from early demos to The Oncoming storm topping it off. Followed by Poison the Well and Embrace the End.

I have always really enjoyed from autumn to ashes and bleeding through. Have so many good memories of many their albums and shows.

Parkway drive still and is one of my favorite bands, along with Killswitch… that was my high school and college soundtrack.. those two bands. So thank you for paying respect to them and looking forward to seeing the Parkway Drive Video in the future

I found ABR in 2009 just after Constellations dropped (shout out to the Meddler music video), and they immediately became my favorite band. To your point of them having a surprising ability to just keep growing, I am surprised that every time I see them, the crowd is bigger and more diverse.

Loved this video. Architects and Parkway deserve all the props. Can you do a video on Glassjaw?

I loved this. Earned a subscriber! Totally agree with everything you said.

Hell yes to Killswitch! I don't listen to a ton of metalcore, but KSE are one of my favorite bands, not just in metal but overall. They transcend the genre much like Metallica transcends thrash.

I thought for sure Atreyu would get some love in this one. Maybe I’m just misremembering how they’re popularity.

been waiting 5 yrs for you to even mention Parkway Drive, would be very interested in a full video some day. ( from the dude that sung for them on the first DVD).

I'm with you all the way with this list! Like you said, UNEARTH is a really close contender for me, being that they played with a lot of hardcore bands during their early years (When I toursed with First Blood we did a bunch of shows with them and Hatebreed here in Europe). Awesome work always, Finn. So glad you are making these.

I’ve been on a trivium kick, they cover the bands I was into in the day- Iron Maiden and misfits, and their dual musicianship is second to none. They were guitar Mag darlings in the mid 2000s so I’ve paid attention to them forever. And they have a large music catalog for last 17 yrs or so.

I would have loved to see Atreyu get some love in this video. Their talent and influence in metal-core is always overlooked. They have been releasing top notch albums for 20 years and have almost 2 million spottily followers. I would consider them more influential as Architects but maybe not quite as relevant in 2021.

From your perspective of a "equal" big 4, for me would be: KsE, AILD, CALIBAN and Parkway Drive. KsE, AILD and Parkway Drive were all solid picks, amazing list dude, would be perfect if the pick for most "ripped of"/influencial band was Caliban instead of Architects, you would be surprise with how much every metalcore band ripped of Caliban in any generation (they were one of the pioneers and from KsE/AILD until Architects/The Devil Wears Prada/Breakdown of Sanity they all took something from them). But again amazing list, great video! Ps: KsE is the goat from metalcore

Finn, great video. It made me wanna dip out at five and a half minutes in, and blast KSE on the home system.

This is hands down your best video yet! Clear and accurate reasons and I think you got all four on the dot. Killswitch and as I lay dying definitely the Metallica and Megadeth. Can’t wait for your deep dive in to Parkway Drive!!

Please do the big 4 of Nu-metal next

I'm glad I found your channel... Going back to learning my roots lol

Love you Finn! Awesome video dude

PWD’s old material had some of the most brutal riffs and breakdowns. Them headlining at Wacken 2019 was legendary

"Catchy singing chorus": any Killswitch Engage song. They appeal like anyone since their music is just amazing, especially during the Howard Jones for that era and Jesse’s comeback run.

I argued with you the whole video but every time you made your pick I totally agreed lol. You nailed each one.

i can fully agree with where ya coming from. it is crazy how some metalcore bands just went a whole different direction. One of my favorites between the buried and me went from the metalcore straight into prog. that would be a cool video idea to watch your opinion on bands that went in an entire different dirrection like BTBAM

My big four would be : Metallica- Killswitch Engage Megadeth-As I lay Dying Slayer-Trivium Anthrax-All that Remains

I don't necessarily disagree with your picks, I think they're pretty good if we want to try and fit the exact template of the original Big 4. But I think if we made a Big 4 - as in the 4 biggest, most influential metalcore bands - it would be KsE, Trivium, As I Lay Dying and Bullet for my Valentine, regardless of them not fitting into the same tropes as the original Big 4

Gonna try not to rant and keep this concise: The reason I feel I gravitate toward your videos is because I find your work to be incredibly thorough, authentic, and you speak on topics of which you are clearly passionate about and well versed in. I say that to say this: you're bluntly opinionated and a fair amount of the time I find myself on the polar opposite spectrum of your opinion or whatever stance it is you're taking, but that's not what matters. Your position is always clear, consistent, and well represented so I've got worlds of respect for you and the channel. Then this video happened.. Idk, maybe I'm assimilating some of your ideas in a cultural osmosis hive-mind type of ordeal, or I'm just now familiar enough with your content to see the curveball coming before the break, but I honestly agree with every single assertion you made in this video and even started predicting your choices at the top of the latter segments. Just figured I'd mention the little anecdote and how much I appreciate all the hard work and insight. Killer work man!

I saw Killswitch Engage’s video for “Rose of Sharon” in 2004 on MTV 2. That’s what got me into it back when it was more difficult to discover new music outside of the radio and that 2001-2005 alt rock phase.

KSE has always been one of my top 10 bands, period, across all genres.

A Finn McKenty video about metalcore in which Emmure isn't mentioned? No fucking way

Thanks for letting me know which At the Gates album was THE banger album 🔥🙏🔥

I was watching this whole video waiting to see if you mentioned Shadows Fall. I heard overcast (which had members who went on to form KE and SF) and i got hopeful. Then you showed the "thoughts without words" clip and i was satisfied. Nobody mentions SF and they are one of my favorite bands. I can thank Sharon Osbourne for putting them on Ozzfest 05 lmao

Damn I had KSE, AILD, ABR, and PWD as my guesses beforehand. 3/4 is pretty good though, and although I prefer ABR, Architects is definitely a pick I'm happy with.

Super stoked to see Killswitch get the honor of being on the big four I remember playing this song on guitar hero in like 2008 and being blown away you could sing and scream in the same song, and from there I was hooked My Curse is a god damn banger TO THIS DAY

I have seen all of your choices live. As well as your honorable mentions. HAVE I PEAKED?

Hollow crown is my fav album, i love the chaotic riffs and tempo changes. And sam's yelled kinda screams were crazy! The alternative tuning on some song also are cool af (they tune the 6th string as if it was a 7th )