{{Short description|Genre of electronic dance music}} {{Distinguish|electronicore|hardcore punk|breakbeat hardcore|happy hardcore}} {{redirect-distinguish-text|Doomcore|sludge metal, which fuses doom metal and hardcore punk}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{CS1 config|mode=cs1}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Hardcore | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Techno|acid house|new beat|EBM}} | cultural_origins = Late 1980s – early 1990s,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://music.hyperreal.org/library/machine_soul.html|title=Machine soul – A History Of Techno|author=Jon Savage|access-date=11 May 2012}}</ref> Netherlands (Rotterdam), Belgium, Germany (Frankfurt) | subgenrelist = | subgenres = {{flatlist| * Bouncy techno * raggacore * gabber * happy hardcore * lento violento * mákina * speedcore }} | fusiongenres = {{flatlist| * Breakcore * digital hardcore * dubstyle * hardstyle * jumpstyle * moombahcore * metalstep<ref>{{cite web |title=Bassnectar Calls Emerging Metalstep Genre a 'Natural Progression' |url=http://noisecreep.com/bassnectar-metalstep-dubstep/ |first=Jesse |last=Ship |date=22 August 2012 |publisher=Noisecreep |access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref> * nightcore<ref name="biography">{{cite web|url=http://www2.hemsida.net/steffie/nightcore/biography.html|title=!: Nightcore is Hardcore :!: biography|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070902142730/http://www2.hemsida.net/steffie/nightcore/biography.html|archive-date=2007-09-02|access-date=2016-10-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> }} | local_scenes = {{hlist |Belgium |Frenchcore |J-core }} | other_topics = {{hlist|Hardcore punk|electronicore}} }} '''Hardcore''' (also known as '''hardcore techno''')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hardcore Techno Music Genre Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/ma0000012147 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=11 April 2022 |title=Diving through Hardcore Techno: Subgenres, History, and Artists |url=https://www.6amgroup.com/diving-through-hardcore-techno-subgenres-history-and-artists/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=6AM |language=en-US}}</ref> is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gfl-journal.de/2-2002/robb.pdf|title=Techno in Germany:Its Musical Origins and Cultural Relevance|author=David Robb|pages=134–135|year=2002|access-date=17 May 2013|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122080500/http://www.gfl-journal.de/2-2002/robb.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos (160 to 200 BPM or more<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.a-wave.com/system7/pages/archive/views/psyfree.htm|title=PSYCHEDELIC FREESTYLE {{!}} A-wave.com{{!}}=awave|access-date=12 May 2012}}</ref>) and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass (in some subgenres),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.epos.uos.de/music/books/k/klww003/pdfs/023_Moelants_Proc3.pdf|title=Dance Music, Movement and Tempo Preferences|author=Dirk Moelants|access-date=8 May 2013|page=2|date=13 September 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022181751/http://www.epos.uos.de/music/books/k/klww003/pdfs/023_Moelants_Proc3.pdf|archive-date=22 October 2013}}</ref> the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes (sometimes violent),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/hardcore.swf|title=Ishkur's guide|author=Ishkur|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413154635/http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/hardcore.swf|url-status=dead}}</ref> the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.
== History ==
=== Early 1970s to early 1980s === Hardcore is rooted in the 1970s and early 1980s industrial music, specifically the elements of hard electronic dance music. Groups such as Throbbing Gristle,<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 2021 |title=Industrial Music Guide: A Brief History of Industrial Music |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/industrial-music-guide |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=MasterClass}}</ref> Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Foetus and Einstürzende Neubauten produced music using a wide range of electronic instruments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bit of Dada – 30 Years Einstürzende Neubauten |url=https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/mus/gen/pop/pop/7993829.html |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=Goethe-Institut |language=en}}</ref> The message diffused by industrial was then very provocative. Some of the musical sounds and experimentation of industrial have directly influenced hardcore since the beginning of the movement.
=== 1980s === In the mid-1980s, under the influence of the Belgian group Front 242, electronic body music (EBM), a new genre more accessible and more dancing inspired by industrial and new wave, appeared.<ref name=ebmm>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europopmusic.eu/Newsletters/History_electronic_music_part_6.html|title=EuroPopMusic : Electronic Body Music|website=EuroPopMusic|access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref> This style is characterized by minimalism, cold sounds unlike disco, funk or house, with powerful beats, generally combined with aggressive vocals and an aesthetic close to industrial or punk music.<ref name=ebmm/> Under the influence of new beat, another Belgian genre and acid house, EBM music became harder.<ref name=johannes>{{Cite web|url=http://www.johannesripken.com/2012/05/dance-music-history/|title=Dance Music History – First electronic sounds, via Disco, House, Dance to current developments|date=10 May 2012|author=Johannes Ripken|website=Johannes Ripken|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108082452/http://www.johannesripken.com/2012/05/dance-music-history/|archive-date=8 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> All the elements were present for the arrival of hardcore. The beginnings of the genre are traced at the very end of the 1980s in Belgium, within the new beat scene with the titles ''Rock to the Beat'' and ''Saigon Nightmare'' by 101 (both 1988), ''Warbeat'' by Bassline Boys (1989), ''I Want You!'' by the Concrete Beat (1989), ''I Love You'' by the Acid Kids (1988), ''Doughnut Dollies'' by {{Proper name|HNO3}} (1988), ''Action in Paradise'' by Export (1988), ''Acid New-Beat'' by Tribe 22 (1988), ''I Sit on Acid'' by Lords of Acid (1988), ''Acid Rock'' by Rhythm Device (1989), ''Double B'' by Dirty Harry (1989), ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' by Bingo! (1989), ''Europe'' by Christine D (1989), and ''Do That Dance'' by the Project (1990). In 1988, the Belgian new beat arrived in Frankfurt in West Germany.
200px|thumb|right|The most commonly used wordmark for early hardcore The term hardcore is not new in the music world. It was first used to designate a more radical movement within punk rock (Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains...) which, in addition to hardening the music, also attached importance to their attitude and their way of life as in the street where it was born: violent, underground, but engaged and sincere. The term has then been reused when hip hop emerged in the late 1980s, designating the harder part of hip hop, with the same characteristics: a harder sound, engaged lyrics and a whole way of life dedicated to respect of their values. The term "hardcore techno" was first used by EBM groups like {{Proper name|à;GRUMH...}}, Pankow,<ref>SPEX music magazine: ''Hardcore-Techno-Beat aus Florenz!'', p.49, issue 9/89, September 1989</ref> and Leæther Strip<ref name=energyflash>{{Cite book|title=Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|author=Reynolds Simon|year=1998|publisher=Picador |isbn=978-0330350563}}</ref><ref>''New Life Soundmagazine'' (October–November 1989).</ref> in the late 1980s, although their music had nothing to do with hardcore. {{Proper name|à;GRUMH...}}'s "Sucking Energy (Hard Core Mix)", released in 1985, was the first track ever to use the term hardcore, within an EDM context.
=== 1990s === In 1990, German producer Marc Trauner (also known as Mescalinum United) released the first hardcore techno track with "We Have Arrived".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/345854-Mescalinum-United-Reflections-Of-2017|title=Mescalinum United – Reflections Of 2017 | Releases | Discogs|website=Discogs }}</ref><ref name="mescbio">{{Cite web|url=http://planetlyrics.co/artist/Mescalinum+United/biography|website=Planet Lyrics|access-date=8 May 2013|title=Mescalinum United – Biography|quote=Trauner was co-founder of record label Planet Core Productions and has been credited with creating the first hardcore techno/gabber track in 1990, 'We Have Arrived', under the name of Mescalinum United|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122080500/http://planetlyrics.co/artist/Mescalinum+United/biography|url-status=dead}}</ref> The British group Together released its track "Hardcore Uproar", also in 1990. Music journalist Simon Reynolds has written books on hardcore techno, covering bands related to the Belgium hardcore scene like Second Phase and T99 or Dutch hardcore bands such as L.A. Style and Human Resource. Many of the iconic "stabs" that would become part of hardcore were popularized by these and other Belgian techno producers during the early 1990s, like the "Mentasm"<ref>{{Cite book|last = Reynolds|first = Simon|title = Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|year = 1998|publisher = Picador|quote = The monstrous ‘mentasm’ sound – a swarming killer-bee drone derived from the Roland Juno Alpha synthesizer, a writhing, seething cyclone-hiss that sends ripples of shivery, shuddery rapture over your entire bodysurface – spread through rave culture like a virus, infecting everyone from the Belgian, Dutch and German hardcore crews to British breakbeat artists like 4 Hero, Doc Scott and Rufige Cru. The ‘mentasm stab’ – which took the sound and gave it a convulsive riff-pattern – was hardcore’s great unifier (…).}}</ref> and the "Anastasia" stabs.<ref>{{Cite book|last = Reynolds|first = Simon|title = Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture|year = 1998|publisher = Picador|quote = On T99’s ‘Anasthasia’, the ‘Mentasm’ stab mutated into what some called the ‘Belgian hoover’ effect: bombastic blasts of ungodly dissonance that sounded like Carmina Burana sung by a choir of satan-worshipping cyborgs.}}</ref>
In the early 1990s, the terms "hardcore" and "darkcore" were also used to designate some more aggressive or high tempo forms of techno, breakbeat and drum and bass which were very popular in England, and from which have emerged several famous producers like N-Joi, The Prodigy, Altern-8 and Goldie. One of the earliest uses of the word in the context of English releases/the English rave scene which gained prominence was 1990's "Hardcore Uproar" by Together. The track's title was derived from a promoter of acid house parties of the same name that hosted controversial raves in and around the town of Blackburn, and was agreed on between the members of Together and Hardcore Uproar's organisers in exchange for letting them feature a recording of the crowd at one of their nights in the track. Symbolically, according to Together member Suddi Raval, the night they attended to acquire the recording also turned out to be the final event under the Hardcore Uproar banner before its founders were forced to disband and stop the raves by the police. A slogan associated with these events and the anti-establishment ethos behind them, "High On Hope", was later used on a 1991 release on Blackburn-based label All Around the World, aptly under the artist name Hardcore Uproar.<ref>{{citation|title=Gone To A Rave #47: Suddi Raval & Hardcore Uproar |url=https://www.theransomnote.com/music/playlists/gone-to-a-rave-47-suddi-raval-hardcore-uproar/|website=theransomnote.com|access-date=3 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Pills, mills and bellyaches: how Blackburn out-partied Manchester |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/28/pills-mills-and-bellyaches-how-blackburn-out-partied-manchester?fbclid=IwY2xjawKDUQxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBwSE1DTVNHa29VVUM2RGQ3AR6bCf7YyPxJ8_VCrQG5e8aULDp2oeWkB4dXyeyIcupGAmiu2O75OvzQfcX-YA_aem_-8Ia3VzgK8K9dchIT7y_kA|website=theguardian.com|access-date=3 May 2025}}</ref> Later English hardcore introduced sped up hip-hop breakbeats, piano breaks, dub and low frequency basslines and cartoon-like noises, which has been retrospectively called 'old skool' hardcore (a.k.a. breakbeat hardcore) and is widely regarded as the progenitor of happy hardcore (which later lost the breakbeats) and jungle (which alternatively lost the techno style keyboard stabs and piano breaks).
thumb|300px|Paul Elstak, the founder of Rotterdam Records. An important event in the popularization of the genre occurred with the<ref name="mescbio"/><ref name="fantazia"/> release of the 1990 track "We Have Arrived" by the German producer Mescalinum United, of Frankfurt.<ref name=energyflash/><ref name=drumnbass>{{Cite book|title=Drum 'n' bass: the rough guide : [jungle, big beat, trip hop]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQRXCTo-FtUC&pg=PA138 |author=Peter Shapiro|page=?|year=1999}}</ref> Trauner founded the label Planet Core Productions in 1989 and has produced more than 500 tracks, including 300 by himself until 1996.<ref name=energyflash/> Another important project of Trauner was PCP, popularizing a slow, heavy, minimal and very dark form of hardcore that is now designated as "darkcore" or "doomcore".
In the United States, the New York pioneer of techno Lenny Dee launched the first dedicated hardcore record label<ref>{{citation|title=Lenny Dee – Industrial Strength Records |url=http://www.industrialstrengthrecords.com/}}</ref> Industrial Strength Records in 1991<ref name="drumnbass"/> that has federated a large part of the American scene, making New York one of the biggest centers of early American hardcore. Other American producers on the label included Deadly Buda and the Horrorist, but the label has also produced producers from other nationalities. At the same time in Rotterdam, the DJs and producers Paul Elstak<ref>{{Cite web|language=nl|url=http://www.djguide.nl/djinfo.p?djid=5039|title=DJ Paul Elstak|website=djguide.nl|access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref> and Rob Fabrie popularized a speedier style, with saturated bass-lines, quickly known as "gabber", and its more commercial and accessible form, happy hardcore.<ref name=drumnbass/><ref name=bogdanov>{{Cite book|author=Vladimir Bogdanov|title=All music guide to electronica: the definitive guide to electronica|year=2011}}</ref>
Paul Elstak founded Rotterdam Records in 1992, which became the first hardcore label in the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.website.mid-town.nl/Site/start.asp?MENU=11&SUBMENU=32&VIEW=2&SELITEM=0&OPENMENU=9|title=Mid-town History|website=Rotterdam Records|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202232050/http://www.website.mid-town.nl/Site/start.asp?MENU=11&SUBMENU=32&VIEW=2&SELITEM=0&OPENMENU=9|archive-date=2 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1992 at Utrecht, a large rave called The Final Exam<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thunderdome.com/hardcore/events/the-past/1992/6/20/final-exam/|title=EVENTS.the past|date=20 June 1992|website=Thunderdome|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922030428/http://www.thunderdome.com/hardcore/events/the-past/1992/6/20/final-exam/|archive-date=22 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> led to the creation of the label ID&T. Launched in 1993, the concept of Thunderdome quickly popularized hardcore music in Europe with a catalogue of CD compilations and events, attracting thousands of young people that launched the gabber movement. Just during the single year of 1993, four compilations were released with increasing success.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeI.htm|title=Thunderdome I : Licky Mellow, This Is Hardcore From Hell Review|website=gabber.no.sapo.pt|access-date=27 December 2012|date=31 December 2004|author=5th Raider |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310051718/http://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeI.htm |archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeII.htm|title=Thunderdome II : Back From Hell! Review|website=gabber.no.sapo.pt|access-date=27 December 2012|date=19 July 2001|author=5th Raider |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310053410/http://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeII.htm |archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeIII.htm|title=Thunderdome III : The Nightmare Is Back Review|website=gabber.no.sapo.pt|access-date=27 December 2012|date=30 July 2001|author=5th Raider |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310053728/http://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeIII.htm |archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeIV.htm|title=Thunderdome IV : The Devil's Last Wish Review|website=gabber.no.sapo.pt|access-date=27 December 2012|date=22 August 2007|author=5th Raider |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310052746/http://gabber.no.sapo.pt/Reviews/thunderdomeIV.htm |archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason= The source has no credibility; looks like a comment from a random person. |date=January 2017}} Many artists on the compilations have become well-known figures in the scene, notably 3 Steps Ahead, DJ Buzz Fuzz, The Dreamteam, Neophyte, Omar Santana, and Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo in the gabber/happy hardcore registry. The same year, the label Mokum Records was created<ref name="drumnbass"/> by Freddy B who had success with artists and groups like Technohead<ref>{{Cite book|title=British and American hit singles: 51 years of transatlantic hits|pages=2071}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chartsurfer.de/artist/technohead/banana-na-na-dumb-diddy-dumb-song_hpueg.html|title=Banana-Na-Na|access-date=27 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|language=de|url=http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=&strInterpret=Technohead&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked|title=Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Technohead – I Wanna Be a Hippy)|access-date=17 January 2013|website=Musikindustrie.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mokumrecords.nl/#dj/dano.html|title=Daniel Leeflang Bio|website=Mokum Records|access-date=11 January 2013|quote=''[...] and "I wanna be a hippy" which gave him a gold record for {{formatnum:25000'' copies sold in Germany only.}}}}</ref> Tellurian, the Speedfreak, Scott Brown,<ref name=brown>{{Cite journal|author= Wyburn, Claire|title=Scott Brown: The King of Scottish Hardcore|periodical=M8|issue=85|pages=10–11|date=April 1996}}</ref> and the Belgian musician Liza N'Eliaz,<ref>{{Cite book|language=fr|title=Des pratiques artistiques des jeunes|page=43|year=2003}}</ref> pioneer of speedcore.
Around 1993, the style became clearly defined and was simply named "hardcore", as it left its influences from Detroit techno.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/article/view/25/22|title=Griffith University ePress|website=dj.dancecult.net|access-date=17 March 2018}}</ref>
In England, the members of the sound system Spiral Tribe,<ref>{{Cite book|language=fr|title=Effervescence techno: Ou la communauté trans(e)cendantale|author=Stéphane Hampartzoumian|year=2004|page=153}}</ref> including Stormcore, 69db, Crystal Distortion and Curley hardened their acid-breakbeat sound, becoming the pioneers of the "acidcore" and "hardtechno" genres. In 1994, they founded the label Network 23 which among others has produced Somatic Responses, Caustic Visions and Unit Moebius, establishing the musical and visual basis of the free party rave. Hardcore/Gabber clubs in Belgium, DJ Yves was resident DJ at ''Club X''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/party/232169:Thunderdome-XIV-On-Tour | title=Thunderdome XIV on Tour · Death Becomes You 1996 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=13 September 1996 }}</ref> in Wuustwezel and from the Hardcore room of the ''Cherry Moon''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/234856:DJ-Yves-Birthday-Party | title=DJ Yves Birthday Party 1998 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=19 June 1998 }}</ref> in Lokeren, DJ Bass (DHT) was resident DJ of the Hardcore room of ''Temple Of House La Bush''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/235512:Solid-Nightmare | title=Solid Nightmare 1998 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=5 December 1998 }}</ref> in Esquelmes (Pecq) and of ''La Florida''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/252612:D-H-T | title=D.H.T. · DJ Bass Birthday Party 2002 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=29 June 2002 }}</ref> in La Glanerie (Rumes) which is next to the ''Complexe Cap'tain''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cap-tain.com/|title=Complexe Cap'tain | Complexe Cap'tain|website=www.cap-tain.com}}</ref> Thunderdome in Belgium was organized at the Antwerps Sportpaleis<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/party/1167:Thunderdome-1996 | title=Thunderdome 1996 · Part 2 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=16 November 1996 }}</ref> and in clubs such as the ''Planet Hardcore'' (Club) in Dendermonde 3 April 1994,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/231303:Thunderdome-V-On-Tour | title=Thunderdome V on Tour · the 1st Belgium 1994 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=3 April 1994 }}</ref> the ''Extreme'' in Affligem on 16 December 1994,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/party/234635:Thunderdome-VII-On-Tour | title=Thunderdome VII on Tour · Injected with Poison 1994 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=16 December 1994 }}</ref> the ''Club X'' in Wuustwezel on 7 June 1996<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/232102:Thunderdome-XIII-On-Tour | title=Thunderdome XIII on Tour · the Joke's on You 1996 – Tickets & info | date=7 June 1996 }}</ref> and 13 September 1996,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/fr/party/232169:Thunderdome-XIV-On-Tour | title=Thunderdome XIV on Tour · Death Becomes You 1996 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=13 September 1996 }}</ref> the ''Cherry Moon'' in Lokeren on 31 October 1997.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://partyflock.nl/en/party/83565:Thunderdome | title=Thunderdome · the Reunion 1997 – Tickets, line-up & info | date=31 October 1997 }}</ref>
In France, the pioneers of hardcore include Laurent Hô and Liza 'N' Eliaz.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Trésor caché – Liza'N'Eliaz |url=http://www.brain-magazine.fr/article/news/38362-Tresor-cache-LizaNEliaz |access-date=2024-06-28 |language=fr |archive-date=2017-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017203247/http://www.brain-magazine.fr/article/news/38362-Tresor-cache-LizaNEliaz |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The French hardcore scene later went on to develop into frenchcore.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|language=fr|title=Rap, techno, électro...: Le musicien entre travail artistique et son organisation|pages=137–138|year=2006|author=Morgan Jouvenet|publisher=Les Editions de la MSH |isbn=9782735111374 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74jpQCufIi4C&pg=PA137 }}</ref>
In the late 1990s, hardcore progressively changed as gabber waned in popularity. This left a place for other hardcore-influenced styles like mákina and hardstyle.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
=== 2000s === Under the influence of Hardstyle and industrial hardcore, a new scene was developing featuring DJ Promo and his label The Third Movement. This scene now known as mainstream hardcore emerged in the early 2000s with a modern, mature, slower, and sophisticated form.<ref name=fantazia>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fantazia.org.uk/musicgenres/gabbahardcore.htm|website=fantazia|title=Gabba Hardcore Dance Music|access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref> It was successful in Europe, especially in Netherlands and Italy,<ref name=fantazia/> with producers and groups like Endymion, Kasparov, Art of Fighters, The Stunned Guys and DJ Mad Dog. Happy hardcore continues its movement underground and has evolved bringing out other related genres such as Eurobeat, UK hardcore, Freeform hardcore and Full-on Hardcore.
Labels such as Enzyme Records, Crossbones and Bloc 46 have produced darkcore artists, like Ruffneck, Fifth Era and The Outside Agency.
As the free party movement was successful in all the Europe, freetekno appeared. Numerous producers and labels emerged representing the hard techno and the frenchcore genres: Epileptik, Audiogenic, Les Enfants Sages, Tekita, Breakteam, Mackitek, B2K and Narkotek.
=== 2010s ===
The early 2010s saw the rise of hardcore internationally, with artists such as Angerfist gaining popularity quickly. The hardcore scene thrived during this period with many new producers and labels making their mark on the scene, both in Europe and the rest of the world, appearing even at North America's biggest music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival. In 2011, Angerfist entered the DJ Mag Top 100 at position No. 39.<ref name=Insomniac.com>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insomniac.com/magazine/angerfist-the-masked-marauder-of-hardcore|title=Angerfist: The Masked Marauder of Hardcore |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref>
The middle of the decade saw a shift in popularity, from mainstream hardcore to faster styles such as frenchcore, uptempo hardcore and terrorcore. Although these styles existed previously already, an increase in artists and events around 2015 helped these styles develop and move to the forefront of the audience's attention. The shift from the older range of 160–180 beats per minute to 200+ changed the hardcore market, creating a demand for more energetic and intense hardcore than before. Artists like Sefa & Dr. Peacock saw a quick rise within the scene and influenced the musical direction to a louder, faster, but more melodic and euphoric style.<ref name=EDM.com>{{Cite web|url=https://edm.com/interviews/life-is-suffering-sefa-is-going-to-the-top|title=Life Is Suffering And Sefa Is Going To The Top |date=26 April 2018 |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Major artists from other genres such as Marshmello, Carnage, Porter Robinson<ref name=hardcorenews.nl>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hardcorenews.nl/en/lil-texas-american-hardcore-has-been-added-to-the-snakepit-line-up-and-im-joining-most-wanted-dj-agency/|title=LIL TEXAS' AMERICAN HARDCORE HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE SNAKEPIT LINE-UP|date=15 October 2019|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-date=10 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810114347/http://www.hardcorenews.nl/en/lil-texas-american-hardcore-has-been-added-to-the-snakepit-line-up-and-im-joining-most-wanted-dj-agency/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Headhunterz<ref name=livetracklist.com>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livetracklist.com/headhunterz-slam-mixmarathon-xxl-ade-2018|title=Headhunterz @ SLAM! MixMarathon XXL – ADE 2018|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> started to occasionally play faster hardcore in their sets.
The end of the decade saw rapid growth of the hardcore scene in Europe. Hardcore festivals within the Netherlands saw a significant rise in attendance. 2019's edition of Thunderdome reached an attendance of almost 40,000 people and became the biggest hardcore event to ever take place.<ref name=residentadvisor>{{Cite web|url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3149|title=Thunderdome: 25 years of hardcore|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Regular large scale events hardcore started happening outside of the Netherlands in countries like Spain,<ref name=mastersofhardcore.nl>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mastersofhardcore.com/events/masters-of-hardcore-spain-2019|title=Masters of Hardcore Spain 2019|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Russia,<ref name=partyflock.nl>{{Cite web|url=https://partyflock.nl/en/party/369774:Masters-of-Hardcore-Russia/|title=Masters of Hardcore Russia|date=9 February 2019 |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Austria,<ref name=artofdance.nl>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artofdance.nl/events/masters-hardcore-2018-the-third-invasion/|title=Masters of Hardcore Austria 2018|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> Switzerland<ref name=mastersofhardcore.com>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mastersofhardcore.com/events/masters-of-hardcore-2019-switzerland/|title=Masters of Hardcore Switzerland 2019|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> and the Czech Republic<ref name=festivaly.eu>{{Cite web|url=https://festivaly.eu/en/x-massacre-2018|title=X-massacre 2018|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> among other European countries. In America hardcore remains a relatively underground genre, but can be found in major cities being pushed by independent promoters and artists.
==Hard dance== {{Infobox music genre | name = Hard dance | cultural_origins = Late 1990s | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Eurodance|house|hardbag|hi-NRG|acid house|hardcore|breakbeat hardcore|hard trance}} }}
'''Hard dance''' is an umbrella category of electronic dance music genres characterized by fast tempos and hard kick drums, but less harsh-sounding and often a bit slower than hardcore. The category includes hard house, hard trance, hardstyle, some forms of Eurodance and regional genres, such as mákina, lento violento and others. Sometimes the category has crossovers with hardcore genres such as frenchcore or UK hardcore. Despite this, the category is sometimes referred to as synonymous with hardcore techno music generally.
== Notable related events == *Defqon.1 Festival *Masters of Hardcore *Sensation Black *Thunderdome *{{ill|Dominator Festival|nl|Dominator (festival)}} * Darkside (UK) * So W’Happy Festival (Belgium)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://electro-news.eu/so-whappy-lun-des-plus-gros-festivals-techno-et-hardcore-est-de-retour-a-la-frontiere-belge/ | title=So W'Happy : l'Un des plus gros festivals techno et hardcore est de retour à la frontière belge | date=21 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ra.co/events/1118543 | title=So W'happy Festival 2018 at So W'happy Festival, Belgium (2018) ⟋ RA }}</ref>
==See also==
* Hakken * Hardstyle * List of electronic music genres
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Hardcore dance music-footer}} {{Electronica}} {{Techno}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcore (electronic dance music)}} Category:Hardcore (electronic dance music genre) Category:Electronic dance music genres