| Mall Metal |
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A sub-genre of the highly popular Metalcore scene that developed in the mid to late 1990s, mall metal is typically characterized by taking the signature styles and sounds of trademark metal acts, and marketing them to a broader, more mainstream audience. The Chicago based record company, Victory Records , is perhaps considered the godfather of the mall metal movement, launching such acts as It Dies Today , Bury Your Dead , Dead To Fall , and their most popular workhorse, Atreyu . Taking its material from a variety of genres, mall metal acts typically follow a set of basic guidelines: Hardcore riffs (known to scenesters as "Jhun Jhun's") are played by one guitarist, as the other guitar player mixes the effect with simplistic solo influences, usually borrowed from trademarked death metal acts in Europe. The overnight success of mall metal labels like Victory Records and Trustkill acted as a launch pad to acts in the twenty first century. Countless scores of metalcore acts were embarking on mall metal quests of their own. Bands like As I Lay Dying , Unearth , Atreyu, and Avenged Sevenfold paved the way and within months it seemed the sensation was just beginning to take off. Of course, with the rise of mall metal's popularity, metal and hardcore purists were quick to disregard this sub-genre whose only intent was making money. The same holds true with many fans today. Halfway through the first decade of the new millennium, it seemed that mall metal has finally peaked. The successful U.S. nationwide mall chain, Hot Topic , helped the mall metal scene like no other source, allowing mall metal enthusiasts to have an established "base camp" at their local shopping center. |
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