User:Chubbles/Crabcore

Crabcore is a contemporary offshoot from the emocore/screamo sub-genre of hard rock music.

Unlike almost all other genres and sub-genres of music, crabcore is defined not by aural motifs, tones, lyrical content, or specific instrument ensembles; but rather by physical gesticulations and contortions of the arms and legs of individual band members during live performances of their music. Sometimes, the moves are synchronized between two or more band members.

The Origins of Crabcore

The term crabcore was originated on the Andy Sneap sub-forum on Ultimate Metal as a slam post about Attack Attack!, there were many .gif files looping the Crabcore pose of Andrew. Eventually everybody on the forum started using the term and was picked up by Attack Attack!. Crabcore aficionados date it back to the days of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Frank Sinatra and Young Maverick. Its true origins are unknown.

Crabcore moves

Chiefly among the crabcore musician's repertoire of stylistic gestures is the crabwalk itself, from which the genre's title is derived. The crabwalk is identified by the player's extremely low stance, wherein both feet are set apart from one another as far as possible, while still allowing the player to maintain at least a 90 degree bend in his knees. While in the crab stance, the player then purposefully transfers the weight of his upper body between each leg, achieving a swaying motion intended to have a hypnotic, nauseating and baffling effect on audience members.

Other moves available to crabcore players include:

• The "Alaskan King"
• The "Peanut Skinner"
• The "Jørgenslam"
• The "Richardson Richardson"
• "Krinking"
• The "Beaver Bounce"
• The "Krunkle Kick"
• The "Shrimp & White Wine"
• The "Dirty Hamper"
• The "Pestal Press"
• The "Arch Carrier"
• The "Cock Duster"
• The "Squirrel"
• The "OrBenetiko v.II"
• The "Mothafuck'n Crabadab"
• The "scratch n snatch"
• The "CraboCunt"

Another somewhat controversial move has gained a foothold in crabcore circles recently, which sees the player simply standing in one spot and running in place. No one understands this move. No one.

The fact that the running-in-place move appeared at the same time as the crabwalk, and no-one involved in the scene has had time to discuss this move speaks volumes for the influential nature of the crabwalk. The running in place move usually is reserved to the screamer of the band, that is until the surprise techno break down. Upon this interlude all band members may participate in a crabcore run in place marathon.

The most instantly recognizable signifier of a band within the crabcore oeuvre is the presence of an Arch Cancerped (literally translated; "chief crabwalker"). The Arch Cancerped (or ACP) is an individual member of the band whose duty it is to set the speed, intensity, and depth of the crabwalk in a given piece of music. Much like the conductor of a symphony orchestra. Typically the ACP wears a black t-shirt and has a dyed-black sideways haircut.

Possibly one of the most complex crabcore maneuvers, known as the "Talladega Bench Press", consists of all guitar players (including bass) lifting their instruments behind their heads, then bringing them back down in synchronized fashion. You will be lucky to see more than one of these per show.

Crabcore bands

Recently scholars have discovered that Crabcore stretches back thousands of years, as exemplified by this traditional Taiko drummer.

Crabcore draws unlikely influence from a plethora of blues guitarists, including Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. The band Attack Attack! is currently playing crabcore, and is at its official origin. The latest craze in the crabcore trend is the Massachusetts experimental hardcore band Dirty Sexy Knights In Paris and South Jersey band Bullets & Belvedere.

Moscow band Shibo released an EP titled 'Crabcore' in the spring of 2009. They have a Myspace page and a Last.fm page.

Some claim that garage punk band The Blacklips created a crabcore archetype in the early 2000's with their Jimmy Hendrix-esque squat moves. The same band has also cited Bo Didley and Chuck Berry as both musical and physical influences.

While this style of music has just appeared, the underground community is discovering that there have been several instances of famous bands pioneering the traditional Crabcore style years before the term was coined. The most known must be Metallica, very apparent in several live representations, most notably bassist Robert Trujillo. See the references for an example of Metallica's Crabcore. This version of Crabcore is known as "proto-Crabcore". The increasing popularity of the genre is beginning to arise many questions among dedicated fans as to the official "root" of the genre. Credit is most often given to the aforementioned Attack Attack! mainly due to the success in their blatant exposure of the style, whereas groups credited as proto-Crabcore were much more subtle in their performances. Black metal band Immortal displays forms of crabcore in the music videos for The Call of the Wintermoon and Blashyrkh Mighty Ravendark. Suicidal Tendencies have also been cited as one of the more hardcore proto-crabcore bands. Also, the band Maximum the Hormone has their own style of Crabcore in the way they perform.

Attack Attack's breakout success (their sophomore album reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100) inspired several bands, such as Confide, This Romantic Tragedy, and Abandon All Ships to adopt crabcore techniques. Attack Attack!'s members also commented on the success of the crabcore genre as a whole in Alternative Press, but stated that they prefer to call their own melding of genres "dubcore".

External Links

• An example of pioneering crabcore
• Proto-Crabcore in action
• Clear example of Crabcore
• Article in UK broadsheet The Guardian on Attack Attack! and their crabcore
• Eye Weekly article on Attack Attack!'s crabcore, "the musical equivalent of scabies"