The 10 best metalcore songs

Metalcore means different things to different people. To some, metalcore is Killswitch Engage and Earth Crisis, to others it's Asking Alexandria and Parkway Drive. Oklahoma noisemakers The Agony Scene were a part of the early noughties metalcore boom, getting picked up by Roadrunner Records for 2005's The Darkest Red. But what does metalcore mean to them? We caught up with vocalist Michael Williams plus guitarists Chris Emmons and Brian Hodges to talk about the ten best metalcore songs of all time.

Killswitch Engage – Fixation On The Darkness

Chris Emmons: "We recorded our first record with [Killswitch guitarist] Adam D in 2001. While we were in the studio he played us a bit of this before it came out and I remember we were all blown away."

Hatebreed – Proven

Chris: "I remember getting in my car one night and catching the tail-end of this song and just being floored. Perseverance was a game-changer or me. Hatebreed always bring it. Always crushing."

Bleeding Through – Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire

Chris: "I went to see them open for AFI very early in our career. They opened with this song and shit just went off. So much energy!"

Throwdown – Speak The Truth

Chris: "Taken from the Vendetta record; this song slams. We did a couple tours with them on the The Darkest Red tour cycle and they brought it every night."

Darkest Hour – Knife In The Safe Room

Chris: "This comes off their latest release, Godless Prophets And The Migrant Flora. The record has some serious raw power. It's most definitely in my top records of 2017."

Zao – Savannah

Michael Williams: "From the slow burn of the album intro to the sample from Event Horizon, straight into the wall of sound dissonance and tom work, this song just builds into a truly jaw-dropping and frightening sonic punch in the gut. A perfect example of the dread-inducing raw power of a band that set the bar very high for the rest of us."

The Ghost Inside – White Light

Chris: "This band just does it for me; so heavy but all of it is so memorable. I dig their entire catalogue."

Shadows Fall – What Drives The Weak

Brian Hodges: "This song is catchy and has some really tasty guitar riffs. These guys were one of the first bands that got me into the genre, and this song still holds up over a decade later. The War Within was in very heavy rotation for me when the album came out."

Unearth – The Swarm

Brian: "I chose this one because not only is it a great song but has some pretty incredible guitar playing by Ken Susi and Buz McGrath. This album proves that Unearth is still a force to be reckoned with."

Parkway Drive – The Void

Brian: "This band delivers the perfect combination of heavy, melodic riffs and big choruses that hook you right in. They made me a fan from the first listen."

Luke Morton joined Metal Hammer as Online Editor in 2014, having previously worked as News Editor at popular (but now sadly defunct) alternative lifestyle magazine, Front. As well as helming the Metal Hammer website for the four years that followed, Luke also helped relaunch the Metal Hammer podcast in early 2018, producing, scripting and presenting the relaunched show during its early days. He also wrote regular features for the magazine, including a 2018 cover feature for his very favourite band in the world, Slipknot, discussing their turbulent 2008 album, All Hope Is Gone.