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Crabcore

Crabcore is a subgenre of metalcore music defined primarily by its distinctive performance style rather than its sonic elements, featuring guitarists adopting a low, swaying "crabwalk" stance—crouching with knees bent and shifting weight side to side while playing—often accompanied by synchronized headbanging and energetic stage antics.^[1]^[2] Emerging in the late 2000s, it blends heavy metal riffs, screamo vocals, autotuned clean singing, and electronic breakdowns influenced by eurodance and trance, creating a high-energy, theatrical sound that prioritizes visual spectacle.^[1]^[3] The term "crabcore" gained prominence in 2009 through a Guardian article highlighting the Ohio band Attack Attack!'s music video for "Stick Stickly," released in 2008, which showcased the genre's signature moves and became a viral sensation on YouTube.^[1] This performance trope quickly spread to other bands in the metalcore scene, marking a shift toward more dance-oriented and meme-worthy live shows amid the broader "fourth-wave" emo revival.^[3] Key pioneers included Attack Attack!, whose debut album Someday Came Suddenly in 2008 solidified the style, alongside acts like Confide, This Romantic Tragedy, and early iterations of Asking Alexandria, which incorporated similar electronicore elements and physicality.^[2]^[3] By the 2010s, crabcore evolved into a cultural phenomenon, inspiring fan covers, compilations, and parodies that encapsulated the era's deep V-necks, heavy breakdowns, and ironic humor in heavy music. In 2025, Attack Attack! announced their first U.S. tour in over a decade, signaling renewed interest in the style.^[4] Though often mocked for its perceived excess, it influenced subsequent metalcore acts and launched careers of figures like Caleb Shomo of Beartooth and Austin Carlile of Of Mice & Men, leaving a legacy as a self-aware, fun-focused offshoot that blurred the line between sincerity and absurdity in live performances.^[3]

Definition and Characteristics

Core Elements

Crabcore is a term often applied satirically to a style within metalcore and electronicore that gained traction in the late 2000s, featuring exaggerated electronic elements alongside the distinctive "crab walk" performance. Coined around 2009, it highlights bands using excessive synthesizers, auto-tuned clean vocals layered over harsh screams, and high-pitched vocal effects to create a dramatic, overproduced sound.^[1]^[2] Musically, crabcore is characterized by heavy breakdowns driven by 808 bass drums and techno-influenced breakdowns, which integrate pulsating electronic beats with chugging metal riffs and screamo structures. These sections often feature trance-like interludes and synth-heavy electronic flourishes, blending eurodance rhythms with metalcore aggression to produce a high-energy fusion.^[2]^[5] While sharing roots with metalcore's aggression and proficiency in hardcore punk and extreme metal influences, crabcore is frequently noted for its synth-dominated aesthetics tied to late-2000s scene-kid culture, blending campy excess with musical elements in electronicore.^[2]^[1] This style is frequently paired with a low, crab-like squatting stance by performers during breakdowns.^[1]

Performance Style

Crabcore performances are defined by the exaggerated physical contortions of guitarists and bassists, most notably the "crab walk" stance, where performers drop into a deep squat with knees bent low and legs spread wide apart, swaying their bodies side to side in a rhythmic, crustacean-like motion. This pose, often executed during intense musical breakdowns, creates a visually striking and theatrical display that emphasizes the heaviness of the riffs through bodily exaggeration. The stance originated as an instinctive power move by individual musicians but became a hallmark of the style's absurdity and energy. Band members frequently synchronize these movements to enhance the collective spectacle, with guitarists mirroring each other's low crouches and incorporating vigorous headbanging to maintain unity across the stage. This coordinated approach transforms the performance into a choreographed, almost dance-like routine, amplifying the meme's parodic flair within the metalcore scene. Such synchronization underscores the style's roots in youthful, high-energy live shows where imitation fosters a unified, over-the-top aesthetic. The crabcore performance style is intrinsically linked to the broader scene subculture's fashion, featuring tight skinny jeans that hug the legs to facilitate the wide-legged squat without restriction, side-swept bangs that frame the headbanging motions dramatically, and studded belts that add an edgy, accessorized toughness to the low, awkward positioning. These elements not only support the physical demands of the crab walk but also contribute to the overall visual identity of performers, blending punk-inspired rebellion with playful exaggeration.

History and Development

Origins in Metalcore

Crabcore's stylistic roots trace back to the mid-2000s metalcore scene, where bands increasingly blended hardcore punk aggression with electronic elements to create a more theatrical sound and visual spectacle. This period saw the rise of electronicore as a subgenre, characterized by the integration of synthesizers and danceable beats into heavy breakdowns, which encouraged performers to adopt dynamic movements during live sets. Electronicore was pioneered internationally by acts like Enter Shikari in the early 2000s, influencing US bands to integrate electronic elements into metalcore by the mid-2000s. The distinctive crab walk stance originated in metalcore live shows around 2007, notably with Blessthefall, before being amplified by Attack Attack!.^[6] Pioneering acts like Attack Attack! exemplified this shift around 2007, using synth layers to amplify their high-energy tracks and influencing a wave of exaggerated stage antics within the broader metalcore community.^[7] Key influences drew from post-hardcore's emotional intensity and electronicore's sonic experimentation, with bands such as Bring Me the Horizon and early Asking Alexandria pushing boundaries through their use of synthesizers alongside guttural vocals and soaring melodies. Bring Me the Horizon's work from the mid-2000s onward incorporated increasing electronic elements that heightened the dramatic tension in their performances, while Asking Alexandria's formation in 2006 led to synth-driven demos and shows that emphasized theatrical flair.^[7]^[8] These elements not only diversified metalcore's palette but also laid the groundwork for more physically expressive stage presence, as guitarists and vocalists synced movements to the pulsating rhythms. In the pre-meme context of the MySpace era, metalcore's popularity exploded through online platforms that allowed bands to share demos and build fanbases, culminating in high-octane live shows at festivals like Warped Tour. These events, central to the mid-2000s scene, featured intense mosh pits that demanded performers stay close to the crowd's energy, fostering dynamic performance styles within the chaos.^[8]^[7]

Rise to Meme Status

The term "crabcore" was coined in 2009 through discussions on online music forums and blogs, where users began mocking the distinctive low, crab-like stances adopted by guitarists in certain metalcore performances. This nomenclature gained widespread recognition following a June 23, 2009, article in The Guardian by John McDonnell, which described crabcore as characterized by "the lolloping crab-like stance adopted while a guitar player shreds away," specifically referencing the band Attack Attack!'s style in their track "Stick Stickly."^[1] The meme's viral spread accelerated in the late 2000s and peaked around 2010, propelled by YouTube videos compiling and parodying the exaggerated dance moves of bands like Attack Attack!, Confide, and Asking Alexandria. These uploads, including humorous covers and instructional parodies such as "How To Crabcore," amassed significant views and encouraged user-generated content that amplified the ridicule of the trope's association with electronicore elements like autotuned vocals and synth breakdowns.^[3]^[9] Media retrospectives later highlighted crabcore's role as a defining quirk of late-2000s "scene kid" culture, marked by side-swept hair, deep V-neck shirts, and performative flair in the metalcore scene. In a 2018 NME article marking the phenomenon's tenth anniversary, it was dubbed the "shark jumping moment" for metalheads, symbolizing the era's shift toward more theatrical and electronically infused expressions that both captivated and bewildered audiences.^[3]

Notable Examples

Key Bands

Attack Attack!, formed in 2007 in Westerville, Ohio, emerged as a pioneering force in the electronicore subgenre of metalcore, blending heavy breakdowns with prominent synthesizer elements that defined their sound. Their debut album, Someday Came Suddenly (2008), showcased this fusion through tracks featuring aggressive electronic drops and synth-heavy riffs, quickly gaining traction in the underground scene.^[10] The band's live performances, particularly highlighted in their music video for "Stick Stickly" (2010), popularized the synchronized "crab walk"—a low-squatting, sideways movement during breakdowns—that became synonymous with crabcore aesthetics, originating from guitarist Andrew Whiting's onstage stance which the rest of the band emulated for visual impact.^[11] Following lineup changes and further releases like their self-titled second album (2010), Attack Attack! entered a hiatus in 2013 after internal shifts, but reformed in 2020 with new material that nodded to their crabcore roots, including singles released in May 2025 and a U.S. tour in 2025.^[12]^[13]^[14] Other early contributors to crabcore included Confide, formed in 2004 in Anaheim, California, whose 2008 album Screaming Your Lungs Out incorporated electronic elements and high-energy stage antics akin to the crab walk in live shows.^[3] Similarly, This Romantic Tragedy from Birmingham, Alabama, active in the late 2000s, blended metalcore with synths and adopted theatrical movements in performances, influencing the genre's visual style before disbanding in 2013.^[2] Asking Alexandria, established in 2008 in York, North Yorkshire, England, by guitarist Ben Bruce, built on the electronicore foundation laid by contemporaries like Attack Attack!, incorporating similar high-energy performances and synth-infused metalcore into their early work.^[15] Their breakthrough album, Reckless & Relentless (2011), featured dual-vocal dynamics between clean singing and harsh screams, paired with electronic breakdowns that echoed crabcore's theatrical style, though the band often integrated crab-like squats in live sets during this era.^[3] Despite evolving toward a broader rock sound in later years, their initial output, including the earlier Stand Up and Scream (2009), contributed to the meme's spread by adopting synchronized movements that amplified the visual spectacle of breakdowns.^[16] I See Stars, an electronicore band formed in 2006 in Warren, Michigan, by brothers Devin and Andrew Oliver alongside guitarist Brent Allen, distinguished themselves through a chiptune-influenced sound that merged 8-bit video game aesthetics with metalcore aggression.^[17] Their debut album, 3D (2009), exemplified this with tracks like "What This Means to Me" incorporating Nintendo-inspired synths and electronic breakdowns, while early music videos and live shows featured band members performing crab walks to enhance the high-energy, playful vibe.^[18] Drawing from the crabcore trend, these performances added a layer of theatricality to their sets, solidifying their place in the subgenre's visual legacy without fully defining their musical evolution.^[19]

Iconic Music Videos

One of the most emblematic examples of crabcore visuals is the music video for "Stick Stickly" by Attack Attack!, released in 2010. The video captures the band in a confined space with vibrant, neon-colored lighting and effects that amplify the song's high-energy breakdowns, where the guitarists execute synchronized crab walks—crouched, sideways shuffles that became the meme's signature movement. These poses are timed to the auto-tuned vocal hooks and electronic synth elements, creating a polished, over-the-top production that blends metalcore aggression with pop aesthetics, as produced by Joey Sturgis for Rise Records. The clip's low-budget yet intentional absurdity contributed to its viral spread, amassing over 19 million views on YouTube.^[11]^[20] Asking Alexandria's "The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)," from 2009, exemplifies crabcore through its intense performance footage, directed by Robby Starbuck. Guitarists adopt low squats and dynamic, crab-like stances during the breakdowns, set against frenetic staging with splashing beverages and high-contrast lighting that evokes pyrotechnic drama, capturing the band's raw energy in a warehouse-like environment. This visual style underscores the song's thematic chaos, splicing live action with abstract effects to heighten the metalcore intensity. The video has garnered over 38 million views on YouTube, solidifying its role in popularizing the aesthetic.^[21]^[22] A later iteration appears in I See Stars' "New Demons" music video, released in 2014 as a live performance clip directed and edited by Kevin Joel and LookingGlassStudios. It features electronic drops integrated with heavy riffs, where the band strikes group crab poses amid mosh pits and stage energy, transitioning crabcore's physicality into mid-2010s electronicore with synth-heavy transitions and aggressive group formations. Filmed on location, the video highlights the genre's evolution by combining live crowd interaction with polished production, bridging early meme-driven antics to more mature hybrid sounds. It has accumulated over 4.7 million views on YouTube.^[23]

Cultural Impact and Legacy

As an Internet Meme

Crabcore solidified its place in online culture through a proliferation of parodies that exaggerated its signature low-squatting, crab-like guitar stance during breakdowns. In 2023, music content creator Nik Nocturnal released a YouTube short titled "How to Crabcore in 30 Seconds," humorously breaking down the genre's elements like basic chugs, synth breakdowns, and dance moves in a satirical tutorial format that garnered over 630,000 views.^[24] This video exemplified the meme's evolution into instructional content, inviting viewers to mimic the absurd performance style for comedic effect. Similarly, parodies on platforms like TikTok have featured users synchronizing crabcore stances to metal tracks, often blending nostalgia with irony to revive the early 2010s scene aesthetic. Online communities have sustained crabcore's humorous legacy through curated collections and discussions that celebrate its ridiculousness. User-generated Spotify playlists, such as "Best of CRABCORE," compile tracks from bands like Attack Attack! and I Set My Friends on Fire, amassing hundreds of songs to highlight the genre's synth-heavy, breakdown-laden sound for ironic listening.^[25] These playlists, often shared in metal music forums, underscore the meme's enduring appeal as a tongue-in-cheek nod to metalcore's more theatrical era. Additionally, fan recreations and covers, including Confide's 2009 cover of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights", have kept the format alive in viral compilations.^[26] Humorous critiques of crabcore frequently portray it as a low point in metalcore's credibility, with memes depicting the genre's over-the-top elements—like "246 breakdowns" and Eurodance interludes—as the "death" of serious musicianship. A 2018 NME retrospective marked the 10-year anniversary of Attack Attack!'s "Stick Stickly" video, the meme's origin, by lampooning its "bendy-kneed legacy" and physics-defying stage antics that prioritized style over substance.^[3] Such portrayals, echoed in early coverage like The Guardian's 2009 piece describing the baffling fusion of screamo and boyband tropes, have cemented crabcore's status as a symbol of scene excess, inspiring ongoing ironic appreciation rather than outright dismissal.^[1]

Influence on Music and Performance

Crabcore's theatrical performance style, characterized by low-squatting "crab walks" and synchronized band movements, contributed to the evolution of electronicore by encouraging post-2010 bands to blend metalcore breakdowns with electronic elements and exaggerated stage antics for heightened visual impact. Bands like We Butter the Bread with Butter, a German electronicore act, exemplified this shift in their music and live shows, incorporating synth-driven tracks and playful theatrics that echoed crabcore's chaotic energy. Their 2010 song "Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging" from the album Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging features heavy electronic influences alongside aggressive riffs, setting a template for later electronicore acts to fuse rave-like synths with metal aggression in both recordings and performances.^[27]^[28] In stage practices, crabcore's emphasis on coordinated, dance-inspired movements influenced modern metalcore and post-hardcore bands to adopt synchronized choreography, transforming live shows into more dynamic, audience-engaging spectacles. This trend is observable in 2020s festival settings, including the revived 2025 Warped Tour, where acts perform unified motions during breakdowns to amplify energy and foster crowd participation, drawing from crabcore's legacy of theatrical synchronization.^[7] By 2025, crabcore's retrospective legacy includes occasional nods in contemporary music and tours, such as Attack Attack!'s One Hit Wonder Tour, which revives crabcore aesthetics through nostalgic performances of tracks like "Stick Stickly," attracting multigenerational audiences. However, it is predominantly regarded as a cautionary tale for the pitfalls of overly gimmicky, over-the-top aesthetics in metalcore, having transitioned from mainstream influence to a niche reference point that warns against prioritizing spectacle over substance.^[29]^[7]

References

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Scene and heard: Crabcore | Music - The Guardian
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Nov 18, 2009 · Crabcore: Crabcore is defined more by its physical movement than its ironic metal-riff-filled screamo, often punctuated by the occasional techno ...
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Jul 31, 2018 · It's been ten years since the invention of 'crabcore' – the shark jumping moment that, arguably, defined a generation of young metalheads.
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Jun 27, 2010 · ever wanted to learn how to beome and attack! attack! asshat? well now you can!Missing: Dance | Show results with:Dance
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Active. 2000s - 2020s ; Formed. 2008 in North Yorkshire, England ; Genre. Pop/Rock ; Styles. Alternative/Indie Rock, Screamo, Post-Hardcore, Alternative Metal, ...
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Hard-rocking Michigan sextet that mixes emo, thrash metal, and dance-pop, and features dual lead vocalists. Read Full Biography. Active. 2000s - 2020s ...
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