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Crabcore
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Crabcore
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"Crabcore" squatting featured in the music video for "Stick Stickly" by metalcore group Attack Attack!
A crab

Crabcore is an internet meme that originated in 2007, mocking metalcore guitarists who squat low with their legs spread in a "crab-like" stance while performing.[1][2][3] It has been mimicked by a variety of musical groups,[4] leading many magazines and agencies, such as Rolling Stone, Houston Press, and NPR to classify it as a jocular musical style, or microgenre.[1][5][6][7][8]

Origin and legacy

[edit]
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo crab walking to the delight of fans
Bassist Robert Trujillo performing a "crab walk" for fans

"Crabcore" originated in late 2007, and was first seen in a live performance by Blessthefall. While performing "Higinia", former lead singer Craig Mabbitt is seen squatting, almost in a “crab-like” way during the breakdown.

However, the term "crabcore" was later popularized in reference to the Ohio metalcore band Attack Attack!, who featured a "crab-like" dance during breakdowns in their music video for the 2009 single "Stick Stickly" from the album Someday Came Suddenly.[1][7][8] Norwegian black metal musician Abbath of the band Immortal is similarly known for crouching and walking in a similar fashion to that of a crab during the band's performances and music videos.[9] Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo is also known for a similar stance during the band's live concerts, long before the popularization of the term "crabcore".[2]

In an interview with former Attack Attack! vocalist Caleb Shomo, Rolling Stone reporter Kory Grow referred to crabcore as a musical genre; Shomo, however, said he found the term "hilarious" and the band was "just being dumb".[7] The Phoenix New Times criticized "Stick Stickly" for its abrupt transitions and auto-tuned vocals, and stated that "crabcore" is "probably not a real genre".[10] According to John McDonnell of The Guardian:[1]

"Unlike all the other genres covered in this column, crabcore isn't defined by sonics or BPMs or lyrical content, or tied to a geographic location. Crabcore is defined by the body contortions of the band's guitarists when they perform. This is the lolloping crab-like stance adopted while a guitar player shreds, and it's not dissimilar to a sumo wrestler having extreme muscle spasms while readying themselves to engage with an opponent."

Music associated with "crabcore" and the use of the term itself has been met with criticism.[1][10] On July 13, 2009, former Attack Attack! vocalist Nick Barham was asked about crabcore in an interview with Hardtimes, and said that the band has embraced the meme as a publicity stunt. In a 2010 interview with Village Voice Media, the band reiterated "people call us crabcore ... we just roll with it, it's funny."[11] Attack Attack!'s second album peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, prompting Metal Insider reporter Zach Shaw to write "Crabcore reached this high on the charts? Indeed a sad day."[12]

In 2011, the animated sitcom South Park episode You're Getting Old aired, parodying "tween wave" music, possibly referring to "crabcore".[13][14] In 2016, Abandon All Ships' bassist Martin Broda tweeted "#defendcrabcore" just prior to the release of their single "Loafting".[4] Members of the extreme metal band Allegaeon often perform dressed in crab costumes and imitate the typical stance.[15][16] Many other bands have been referred to as "crabcore" for featuring a similar stance or musical style, including Asking Alexandria and This Romantic Tragedy.[4][6] Crabcore has sometimes been associated with electronicore characteristics, auto-tuned vocals, and excessive breakdowns "one after the other".[10] Merchandise featuring the meme is sold online, including a shirt released by the Finnish metalcore band One Morning Left which reads "Finnish crabcore bitch!".[17]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Crabcore

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from Grokipedia
Crabcore is a subgenre of music defined primarily by its distinctive performance style rather than its sonic elements, featuring guitarists adopting a low, swaying "" stance—crouching with knees bent and shifting weight side to side while playing—often accompanied by synchronized and energetic stage antics. Emerging in the late 2000s, it blends heavy metal riffs, vocals, autotuned clean singing, and electronic breakdowns influenced by and , creating a high-energy, theatrical sound that prioritizes visual spectacle. The term "crabcore" gained prominence in 2009 through a Guardian article highlighting the band Attack Attack!'s music video for "Stick Stickly," released in 2008, which showcased the genre's signature moves and became a viral sensation on . This performance trope quickly spread to other bands in the scene, marking a shift toward more dance-oriented and meme-worthy live shows amid the broader "fourth-wave" . Key pioneers included Attack Attack!, whose debut album in 2008 solidified the style, alongside acts like Confide, This Romantic Tragedy, and early iterations of , which incorporated similar elements and physicality. By the , crabcore evolved into a cultural phenomenon, inspiring fan covers, compilations, and parodies that encapsulated the era's deep V-necks, heavy breakdowns, and ironic humor in heavy music. In 2025, Attack Attack! announced their first U.S. tour in over a decade, signaling renewed interest in the style. Though often mocked for its perceived excess, it influenced subsequent acts and launched careers of figures like of Beartooth and of Of Mice & Men, leaving a legacy as a self-aware, fun-focused offshoot that blurred the line between sincerity and absurdity in live performances.

Definition and Characteristics

Core Elements

Crabcore is a term often applied satirically to a style within and that gained traction in the late 2000s, featuring exaggerated electronic elements alongside the distinctive "crab walk" . Coined around , it highlights bands using excessive synthesizers, auto-tuned clean vocals layered over harsh screams, and high-pitched vocal effects to create a dramatic, overproduced . Musically, crabcore is characterized by heavy breakdowns driven by 808 bass drums and techno-influenced breakdowns, which integrate pulsating electronic beats with chugging metal riffs and structures. These sections often feature trance-like interludes and synth-heavy electronic flourishes, blending rhythms with aggression to produce a high-energy fusion. While sharing roots with metalcore's aggression and proficiency in and influences, crabcore is frequently noted for its synth-dominated aesthetics tied to late-2000s scene-kid culture, blending campy excess with musical elements in . This style is frequently paired with a low, crab-like stance by performers during breakdowns.

Performance Style

Crabcore performances are defined by the exaggerated physical contortions of guitarists and bassists, most notably the "crab walk" stance, where performers drop into a deep squat with knees bent low and legs spread wide apart, swaying their bodies in a rhythmic, crustacean-like motion. This pose, often executed during intense musical breakdowns, creates a visually striking and theatrical display that emphasizes the heaviness of the riffs through bodily exaggeration. The stance originated as an instinctive by individual musicians but became a hallmark of the style's and . Band members frequently synchronize these movements to enhance the collective spectacle, with guitarists mirroring each other's low crouches and incorporating vigorous to maintain unity across the stage. This coordinated approach transforms the performance into a choreographed, almost dance-like routine, amplifying the meme's parodic flair within the scene. Such synchronization underscores the style's in youthful, high-energy live shows where fosters a unified, over-the-top aesthetic. The crabcore performance style is intrinsically linked to the broader scene subculture's , featuring tight skinny that hug the legs to facilitate the wide-legged squat without restriction, side-swept bangs that frame the motions dramatically, and studded belts that add an edgy, accessorized toughness to the low, awkward positioning. These elements not only support the physical demands of the crab walk but also contribute to the overall visual identity of performers, blending punk-inspired with playful exaggeration.

History and Development

Origins in Metalcore

Crabcore's stylistic roots trace back to the mid-2000s scene, where bands increasingly blended aggression with electronic elements to create a more theatrical sound and visual spectacle. This period saw the rise of as a subgenre, characterized by the integration of synthesizers and danceable beats into heavy breakdowns, which encouraged performers to adopt dynamic movements during live sets. was pioneered internationally by acts like in the early 2000s, influencing bands to integrate electronic elements into by the mid-2000s. The distinctive crab walk stance originated in live shows around 2007, notably with , before being amplified by Attack Attack!. Pioneering acts like Attack Attack! exemplified this shift around 2007, using synth layers to amplify their high-energy tracks and influencing a wave of exaggerated stage antics within the broader community. Key influences drew from post-hardcore's emotional intensity and electronicore's sonic experimentation, with bands such as and early pushing boundaries through their use of synthesizers alongside guttural vocals and soaring melodies. 's work from the mid-2000s onward incorporated increasing electronic elements that heightened the dramatic tension in their performances, while 's formation in 2006 led to synth-driven demos and shows that emphasized theatrical flair. These elements not only diversified metalcore's palette but also laid the groundwork for more physically expressive stage presence, as guitarists and vocalists synced movements to the pulsating rhythms. In the pre-meme context of the era, metalcore's popularity exploded through online platforms that allowed bands to share demos and build fanbases, culminating in high-octane live shows at festivals like . These events, central to the mid-2000s scene, featured intense mosh pits that demanded performers stay close to the crowd's energy, fostering dynamic performance styles within the chaos.

Rise to Meme Status

The term "crabcore" was coined in through discussions on online music forums and blogs, where users began mocking the distinctive low, crab-like stances adopted by guitarists in certain performances. This nomenclature gained widespread recognition following a June 23, , article in by , which described crabcore as characterized by "the lolloping crab-like stance adopted while a guitar player shreds away," specifically referencing the band Attack Attack!'s style in their track "Stick Stickly." The meme's viral spread accelerated in the late 2000s and peaked around 2010, propelled by videos compiling and parodying the exaggerated dance moves of bands like Attack Attack!, Confide, and . These uploads, including humorous covers and instructional parodies such as "How To Crabcore," amassed significant views and encouraged that amplified the ridicule of the trope's association with elements like autotuned vocals and synth breakdowns. Media retrospectives later highlighted crabcore's role as a defining quirk of late-2000s "scene kid" , marked by side-swept hair, deep V-neck shirts, and performative flair in the scene. In a 2018 NME article marking the phenomenon's tenth anniversary, it was dubbed the "shark jumping moment" for metalheads, symbolizing the era's shift toward more theatrical and electronically infused expressions that both captivated and bewildered audiences.

Notable Examples

Key Bands

Attack Attack!, formed in 2007 in Westerville, Ohio, emerged as a pioneering force in the electronicore subgenre of metalcore, blending heavy breakdowns with prominent synthesizer elements that defined their sound. Their debut album, Someday Came Suddenly (2008), showcased this fusion through tracks featuring aggressive electronic drops and synth-heavy riffs, quickly gaining traction in the underground scene. The band's live performances, particularly highlighted in their music video for "Stick Stickly" (2010), popularized the synchronized "crab walk"—a low-squatting, sideways movement during breakdowns—that became synonymous with crabcore aesthetics, originating from guitarist Andrew Whiting's onstage stance which the rest of the band emulated for visual impact. Following lineup changes and further releases like their self-titled second album (2010), Attack Attack! entered a hiatus in 2013 after internal shifts, but reformed in 2020 with new material that nodded to their crabcore roots, including singles released in May 2025 and a U.S. tour in 2025. Other early contributors to crabcore included Confide, formed in 2004 in , whose 2008 album Screaming Your Lungs Out incorporated electronic elements and high-energy stage antics akin to the crab walk in live shows. Similarly, This Romantic Tragedy from , active in the late 2000s, blended with synths and adopted theatrical movements in performances, influencing the genre's visual style before disbanding in 2013. Asking Alexandria, established in 2008 in , , , by guitarist , built on the electronicore foundation laid by contemporaries like Attack Attack!, incorporating similar high-energy performances and synth-infused into their early work. Their breakthrough album, Reckless & Relentless (2011), featured dual-vocal dynamics between clean singing and harsh screams, paired with electronic breakdowns that echoed crabcore's theatrical style, though the band often integrated crab-like squats in live sets during this era. Despite evolving toward a broader in later years, their initial output, including the earlier Stand Up and Scream (2009), contributed to the meme's spread by adopting synchronized movements that amplified the visual spectacle of breakdowns. I See Stars, an electronicore band formed in 2006 in Warren, Michigan, by brothers Devin and Andrew Oliver alongside guitarist Brent Allen, distinguished themselves through a chiptune-influenced sound that merged 8-bit video game aesthetics with metalcore aggression. Their debut album, 3D (2009), exemplified this with tracks like "What This Means to Me" incorporating Nintendo-inspired synths and electronic breakdowns, while early music videos and live shows featured band members performing crab walks to enhance the high-energy, playful vibe. Drawing from the crabcore trend, these performances added a layer of theatricality to their sets, solidifying their place in the subgenre's visual legacy without fully defining their musical evolution.

Iconic Music Videos

One of the most emblematic examples of crabcore visuals is the music video for "Stick Stickly" by Attack Attack!, released in 2010. The video captures the band in a with vibrant, neon-colored lighting and effects that amplify the song's high-energy breakdowns, where the guitarists execute synchronized crab walks—crouched, sideways shuffles that became the meme's signature movement. These poses are timed to the auto-tuned vocal hooks and electronic synth elements, creating a polished, over-the-top production that blends aggression with pop aesthetics, as produced by for . The clip's low-budget yet intentional absurdity contributed to its viral spread, amassing over 19 million views on . Asking Alexandria's "The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)," from 2009, exemplifies crabcore through its intense performance footage, directed by Robby Starbuck. Guitarists adopt low squats and dynamic, crab-like stances during the breakdowns, set against frenetic staging with splashing beverages and high-contrast lighting that evokes pyrotechnic drama, capturing the band's raw energy in a warehouse-like environment. This visual style underscores the song's thematic chaos, splicing live action with abstract effects to heighten the intensity. The video has garnered over 38 million views on , solidifying its role in popularizing the aesthetic. A later iteration appears in ' "New Demons" , released in as a live performance clip directed and edited by Kevin Joel and LookingGlassStudios. It features electronic drops integrated with heavy riffs, where the band strikes group crab poses amid mosh pits and stage energy, transitioning crabcore's physicality into mid-2010s with synth-heavy transitions and aggressive group formations. Filmed on location, the video highlights the genre's evolution by combining live crowd interaction with polished production, bridging early meme-driven antics to more mature hybrid sounds. It has accumulated over 4.7 million views on .

Cultural Impact and Legacy

As an Internet Meme

Crabcore solidified its place in online culture through a proliferation of parodies that exaggerated its signature low-squatting, crab-like guitar stance during breakdowns. In 2023, music content creator Nik Nocturnal released a YouTube short titled "How to Crabcore in 30 Seconds," humorously breaking down the genre's elements like basic chugs, synth breakdowns, and dance moves in a satirical tutorial format that garnered over 630,000 views. This video exemplified the meme's evolution into instructional content, inviting viewers to mimic the absurd performance style for comedic effect. Similarly, parodies on platforms like TikTok have featured users synchronizing crabcore stances to metal tracks, often blending nostalgia with irony to revive the early 2010s scene aesthetic. Online communities have sustained crabcore's humorous legacy through curated collections and discussions that celebrate its ridiculousness. User-generated Spotify playlists, such as "Best of CRABCORE," compile tracks from bands like Attack Attack! and I Set My Friends on Fire, amassing hundreds of songs to highlight the genre's synth-heavy, breakdown-laden sound for ironic listening. These playlists, often shared in metal music forums, underscore the meme's enduring appeal as a nod to metalcore's more theatrical era. Additionally, fan recreations and covers, including Confide's cover of The Postal Service's "", have kept the format alive in viral compilations. Humorous critiques of crabcore frequently portray it as a low point in metalcore's credibility, with memes depicting the genre's over-the-top elements—like "246 breakdowns" and interludes—as the "death" of serious musicianship. A retrospective marked the 10-year anniversary of Attack Attack!'s "Stick Stickly" video, the meme's origin, by lampooning its "bendy-kneed legacy" and physics-defying stage antics that prioritized style over substance. Such portrayals, echoed in early coverage like The Guardian's piece describing the baffling fusion of and boyband tropes, have cemented crabcore's status as a symbol of scene excess, inspiring ongoing ironic appreciation rather than outright dismissal.

Influence on Music and Performance

Crabcore's theatrical style, characterized by low-squatting "crab walks" and synchronized band movements, contributed to the evolution of by encouraging post-2010 bands to blend breakdowns with electronic elements and exaggerated stage antics for heightened visual impact. Bands like We Butter the Bread with Butter, a German act, exemplified this shift in their music and live shows, incorporating synth-driven tracks and playful theatrics that echoed crabcore's chaotic energy. Their 2010 song "Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging" from the album Der Tag an dem die Welt unterging features heavy electronic influences alongside aggressive riffs, setting a template for later acts to fuse rave-like synths with metal aggression in both recordings and performances. In stage practices, crabcore's emphasis on coordinated, dance-inspired movements influenced modern and bands to adopt synchronized , transforming live shows into more dynamic, audience-engaging spectacles. This trend is observable in 2020s festival settings, including the revived 2025 , where acts perform unified motions during breakdowns to amplify energy and foster crowd participation, drawing from crabcore's legacy of theatrical . By 2025, crabcore's retrospective legacy includes occasional nods in contemporary music and tours, such as Attack Attack!'s One Hit Wonder Tour, which revives crabcore aesthetics through nostalgic performances of tracks like "Stick Stickly," attracting multigenerational audiences. However, it is predominantly regarded as a cautionary tale for the pitfalls of overly gimmicky, over-the-top aesthetics in metalcore, having transitioned from mainstream influence to a niche reference point that warns against prioritizing spectacle over substance.

References

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jun/23/scene-and-heard-crabcore
  2. https://www.npr.org/sections/monitormix/2009/11/genre_dictionary_20002009_from.html
  3. https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/10-years-crabcore-metal-meme-2361620
  4. https://www.pennlive.com/life/2025/05/crabcore-group-announces-first-tour-in-over-10-years-elated.html
  5. https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/subgenre/electronicore
  6. https://www.halloftheelders.com/crabcore
  7. https://www.altpress.com/metalcore-bands-electronic-influences/
  8. https://loudwire.com/best-album-metalcore-bands/
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6S1sdWWtFQ
  10. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/attack-attack-mn0001723434
  11. https://www.kerrang.com/the-true-story-behind-the-most-hated-metal-video-of-all-time
  12. https://loudwire.com/attack-attack-brachyura-bombshell-lyrics-video-crabcore/
  13. https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2025/05/popular-metalcore-band-returns-with-tour-first-new-album-in-13-years.html
  14. https://ghostcultmag.com/attack-attack-book-us-tour-with-convictions-downswing-and-uncured/
  15. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/asking-alexandria-mn0001590871
  16. https://www.guitarworld.com/features/biography-asking-alexandria
  17. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/i-see-stars-mn0001052021
  18. https://newnoisemagazine.com/reviews/album-review-i-see-stars-the-wheel/
  19. https://calibertv.net/editorials/a-reflection-on-crabcore-and-its-place-in-metal-metalcore-fans-my-age-are-jaded-andrew-wetzel/
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDzt6yI3Dw8
  21. https://noisecreep.com/asking-alexandria-final-episode-lets-change-the-channel/
  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z71_E_YqWqA
  23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3QRZd6xIxA
  24. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4Tkn1nkDHbw
  25. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2B7M1GkQ8Ew3NXVOFPV8D9
  26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GncK6IuY8OA
  27. https://www.discogs.com/artist/1950451-We-Butter-The-Bread-With-Butter
  28. https://www.angrymetalguy.com/we-butter-the-bread-with-butter-goldkinder-review/
  29. https://www.musicscenemedia.com/attack-attack-and-the-one-hit-wonder-tour-bring-the-crabcore-to-dallas-tx/
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