New genre alert: #EZCRAB
Some things are just meant to be together, like Uggs and yoga pants, or virgins and Amon Amarth merchandise. Or in this case two of the best genres of the past decade, easycore and crabcore: combined they are my favorite new genre, #EZCRAB. In a nutshell, #EZCRAB is what happens when you combine the melody and upbeat pop-punk vibe of easycore with the crisp production/djent guitar tones/brutal breakdowns of crabcore/risecore. Think “A DAY TO REMEMBER if they played 8-strings” aka pretty much the best thing ever!!
In this post, I’ll give you a brief overview of the genre’s founding fathers as well as some of the up-and-coming new faces that are sure to be dominating the #EZCRAB charts in years to come. Take a listen, I think you will agree that this is probably the best genre of music overall!!
First, the “Big Four of #EZCRAB”– the three bands who put the genre on the map:
The OGs of #EZCRAB are the French quintet CHUNK NO CAPTAIN CHUNK, who you may remember for their 2009 hit “Hey Dudes Are You Ready To” which basically introduced the world to the idea of pop-punk played on baritone guitars.
Although CHUNK were the first, imo THESE HEARTS’ 2nd album “Yours To Take” is the pinnacle of #EZCRAB, taking the downtuned brutality of CHUNK and adding much strong songwriting and vocal melodies to the formula (plus an incredibly good mix courtesy of Andrew Wade). Unfortunately, they broke up earlier this year due to their guitarist’s brain tumor– best wishes to him for a speedy recovery!
And finally we have the newest member of the #EZCRAB inner circle, Sweden’s ABANDONED BY BEARS. Perhaps due in part to their MESHUGGAH-like production, they have a bit more brutal take on the genre that’s a nice counterpoint to THESE HEARTS’ more melodic direction. Great guys too– someone in the US hook these guys up with a decent tour!
THE NEW GENERATION OF #EZCRAB
If you thought #EZCRAB was just some silly, made-up name for a handful of bands, you were wrong!! I am happy to report that there is a vibrant, international #EZCRAB scene with tons of new bands popping up. A few of my favorites:
Really loving how RISE ON EVEREST are bringing back the synth leads ala when FOUR YEAR STRONG were good. Vocal melodies probably need a little work (or tuning) but they are definitely on the right track.
ALIVE IN STANDBY are maybe a little too poppy to be #EZCRAB proper, but I’m including them here because a) they rule and b) if you like breakdowns with synths and poppy choruses, you’ll definitely be into this band.
And last but not least we have CRUNKASAURUS REX, who are much better than their shockingly shitty MySpace-esque name would lead you to believe. Again, I think the vocals need a little work/tuning, but I really like where they’re going.
