D-beat
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| Hardcore punk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Punk rock |
| Cultural origins: | Early 1980s North America |
| Typical instruments: | Vocals - Guitar - Bass - Drums |
| Mainstream popularity: | Little to none during the careers of the bands, but has been gaining popularity in recent years. |
| Derivative forms: | Alternative rock - Grunge - Emo - Post-hardcore |
| Subgenres | |
| Christian hardcore - Crust punk - D-beat - Grindcore - Melodic hardcore - Powerviolence - Skate punk - Thrashcore - Youth crew | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Crossover thrash - Funkcore - Metalcore | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Australia - Brazil - Canada - Europe: Italy - South Wales - Scandinavia: Umeå - Japan - USA: Boston - California - Chicago - Detroit - Minneapolis - New Jersey - New York - North Carolina - Phoenix - Seattle - Texas - DC | |
| Other topics | |
| Hardcore dancing - Straight edge - DIY punk ethic - List of bands | |
D-beat punk is a style of hardcore punk that has existed since the early 1980s, pioneered by bands such as Discharge and the Varukers. It also refers to the drum beat that the genre is known for.
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[edit] The 'D-Beat' in musicial notation
D-beat is a drum beat, specifically a fast rock beat unique to Hardcore Punk, especially in its UK and European variants and that inspired metal bands such as Hellhammer and Venom. Its name is derived from the British band Discharge, as they relied so heavily on this specific beat for the first few years of their career. Discharge's first-known use of this style appeared on their 1980 debut single, Realities Of War. The D-beat actually predates this; one earlier example can be heard in the song "You Tear Me Up" from the Buzzcocks' 1978 debut album Another Music in a Different Kitchen and in the song "Helpless" from Diamond Head on their 1980 debut album Lightning to the Nations.
All over the world, D-beat has gained a cult following which has developed most heavily in Scandinavia, Japan, and Brazil. It is a contemporary term most common outside North America. D-beat bands almost exclusively have anti-war, anarchist messages and closely follow the bleak nuclear-war imagery of 1980s Crust punk bands, often to the point that you can tell a D-beat record by its exact imitation of Discharge album covers.
Two conflicting versions of D-Beat drum tabs have been presented:
First alternative of a D-Beat drum tab (listen to sample):
H:|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-:|| S:|--o---o---o---o-:|| K:|o---oo--o---oo--:|| 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & S=snare K=kick H=hihat
Second alternative of a D-Beat drum tab (listen to sample):
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H:|x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-:|| S:|--o---o---o---o-:|| K:|o--o-o--o--o-o--:|| 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & S=snare K=kick H=hihat
[edit] Scandinavian D-beat
Early Scandinavian D-beat bands, such as Anti-cimex, are associated with very noisy and distorted guitar and have a very maxed out sound. This wave of D-beat hardcore punk emerged in the early 1980s, particularly in 1983 with the release of Anticimex's 2nd 7", the genre-defining "Raped Ass" EP, notable for its raw recording and prominent Discharge influence. Even some of the more distinctly American sounding Swedish bands whose range of influence is classified as "thrash" (such as Mob 47) essentially employ a very fast D-beat.
Scandinavian bands remain some of the most well-known D-beat bands, although their sound has become faster, much heavier and more metal-inspired.
[edit] Japanese D-beat
Wherever they fit into the wide range of Discharge influenced punk, Japanese D-beat bands are usually notable for either faithful emulation of the European Discharge-influenced punk aesthetic (something at which bands like Disclose excel), or for their technically advanced playing, employing a D-beat in the context of a more transcendent and original whole. Bands such as Bastard and Deathside are notable for their strong sense of melody and their subtly metallic playing.
[edit] Resurgence of interest
While bands have played in this style since the early 1980s, hardcore punk is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest in Discharge and Scandinavian/Japanese influenced hardcore in the new millennium. Groups from around the world such as Wolfbrigade and Tragedy are largely responsible for the movement towards the fusing of the driving Discharge sound with dark, melodic elements reminiscent of Amebix, while other bands such as Portland's Warcry or Canada's Decontrol exemplify a kind of punk nostalgia, playing pure D-beat hardcore and proudly wearing their influences on their sleeves. In a Maximum RocknRoll column, hardcore-punk critic and former Destroy singer Felix von Havoc predicted that the strongest new trend in hardcore would be a fusion of the energy and vitality of Straight edge Youth crew hardcore with the heaviness and ideals of d-beat punk.
[edit] Examples of D-beat bands
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