Headbangers Unite: The Relationship Between EDM and Metal

When you go to an EDM festival and take a glance at your surroundings you might at first miss the similarities between the crowds, but when you look a little closer the relationship between EDM and Metal is hardly a stretch. The connections between the two communities are a lot more common than you’d think, and now it seems that both sides are truly embracing each other more than ever before.

The metal and electronic genres have been intertwined long before some of us even realize, and we’re not just talking about the scene kids who grew up and their musical taste changed. This is something that’s been developing for decades. To keep it relatively recent, look at bands such as Korn, Nine Inch Nails, and Linkin Park, and dig a bit deeper into what catapulted those bands into becoming legendary. These artists pushed the limits to experiment with sounds that most had only been heard within the electronic scene. Among others, these guys struck a chord (or a synth maybe?) that started the big push for the metal/electronic partnership, inspiring bands such as Asking Alexandria, Bring Me the Horizon, I See Stars, and more to combine their signature breakdowns and guitar riffs with the 808s and synths that are so prominent in electronic music. This could be seen as the point in time where the EDM and rock worlds really started to embrace one another.

A lot of today’s artists were in some form of rock band themselves, making the connection even more apparent. Sonny Moore, the mastermind behind Skrillex, joined post-hardcore band From First to Last in 2004, and just last year released a single with them. He has also worked with the likes of Korn, Tom Morello, and Bring Me the Horizon on both remixes and original songs. Even German super-producer Zedd was the drummer in a hardcore band in his adolescence. Steve Aoki‘s metal roots go back even further; he was a die-hard hardcore fan in the 90s, even doing vocals for a raw punk band called This Machine Kills, who you can check out below.

Personally, I think it’s extremely refreshing and nostalgic to see artists like Kayzo connect with Papa Roach, notorious rockers Slander team up with Asking Alexandria, and Tom Morello feature Whethan on a song. In the middle of an EDM festival, it takes me back to the days of being an unreasonably angsty teen and brings my music tastes full circle. I like to think that a lot of the EDM community is like myself and listened to metal or hardcore music to some degree in their younger years. I grew up loving both genres simultaneously, so it’s an indescribable feeling to be a kid in a mosh pit again during Sullivan King, or headbang like my neck won’t hurt for days afterward to a Black Tiger Sex Machine set. Sometimes, you need to be brought back to your youth, and the EDM and metal communities coming together is the perfect way to do just that.

If you’d like a taste of what I’m talking about, both Slander and BTSM will be performing at the tenth anniversary of Crush on February 15^th and 16^th, bringing their gritty, metal-tinged shows to Rawhide.  And honestly, what’s more romantic than moshing with your significant other on Valentine’s Day weekend? Nothing. The answer is nothing. Snag your tickets here and get ready to rock.