Today I am pondering the deeply complex and hotly debate issue of sub-genres. My post today has me swimming through issues closely related to my last post. In further delving into Grindcore, Some questions crop up in my mind: I know that Grindcore mixes Metal and Punk elements, so is is a style of Metal influenced by Punk or a style of Punk influenced by Metal? Depending on who you ask, you might get either answer. In my search, I came across Grindcore.com, a website of forums exclusively discussing it. Surely someone there would have reasoned out this question and come up with a clear answer. While I respect those that took the time to answer my question, most weren't sure either. Is it possible to be neither, but truly Punk and Metal? One frequent writer on the aforementioned site would argue that Grindcore is Punk and will always be Punk, and that any band that mixed metal into it was a dirty poser band. I disagree with this because some of the members of Napalm Death, one of the founding Grindcore bands, said that their sound was a way to mix metal and punk. Consequently, when they first formed they were a hardcore punk band.
This brings me to more issues that complicated the matter: Some from the band Extreme Noise Terror, another band generally credited with pioneering Grindcore, reject the whole idea of it and consider themselves a hardcore punk band. Who is right: is it how the band perceives itself or how the fans perceive them?
Also there is the sub-genres of Crust Punk and Powerviolence. As for Crust, honestly I cannot hear much of a difference between that and hardcore punk. As for Powerviolence, some bands I have listened to I would say the same thing, and others I would say sound to me no different than Grindcore. Although I'm sure if you met a die-hard fan of these genres they would argue strongly, even getting angry, at such generalizations. Also, I listened to the band Tragedy, labeled in multiple place as Crust, and I thought they sounded like Sludge/Doom Metal. (That sub-genre is a discussion in and of itself. But once again, that style has elements of Hardcore Punk.)
Death Metal and Black Metal deserve a brief mention here too because many of these bands claim influence from all the previously mentioned styles, and vice versa. (And as a side note, Black Metal seems to have evolved out of Death Metal, but once again, a discussion of it's own.) It's to the point were many bands labeled Grindcore sound exactly like Death Metal, and have little in common with the originators of the genre.
Leading music websites Allmusic.com, Last.fm, and Spotify have less of a clue than me. They put some bands in both Death Metal and Grindcore, and if you look up there related artists, you will find Crust bands, Powerviolence bands, and Hardcore bands. The same applies to any band of these sub-genres: there labels differ according to whatever sight you're on, and all the artists are related to one another. They don't distinguish related artists by the suggested genre.
The principles in these questions and issues apply to many styles of music. Heavy Metal and Punk, along with Electronic among others have just as many sub-genres with just as muddled lines dividing them. I can only conclude that my best guesses for whether Grindcore falls on the Punk or Metal side is just as valid as anybody else's, and I believe the fan's perception of the genre wins over the bands. As for others sub-genres, my best guess will suffice.
