We talked About the 1st generation of Doomcore here.
Now let's look at the 2nd wave of producers and labels.
With other sub-genres of Hardcore, like Speedcore or Breakcore, there were often instances of coevolution.
Artists who retrospectively said "I thought *I* invented this sound - I was not aware that other producers around the globe were already doing a similar thing".
This ain't the case with Doomcore. We mentioned that PCP was the first generation. And the second direction was directly inspired by PCP and tried to build on their sound. This was openly acknowledged and communicated.
So, the Doomcore bloodline can be traced straight back to PCP, in all cases.
Now let's dive into this "New Wave of Global Doom".
Things To Come Records
TTC was set up by Oliver Chesler, who had made himself a name in the Techno and extreme Hardcore scene already, using monikers such as Disintegrator, Temper Tantrum or DJ Skinhead (Yikes! A scary name).
Rumor says he set up the label because his music became too "slow and doomy" for Industrial Strength Records.
Either way, the first releases saw him teaming up with his brother, later to be followed by Miro from PCP itself. He already did some stuff on PCP at an earlier date, TTC was distributed by PCD in Europe (the PCP distribution service), so the transatlantic bridge had been set up.
The second release spawned 3 (!) world-wide underground hits: "Mission Ecstasy", "Flesh is the Fever" (which turned the Dutch Gabber scene around - in terms of speed) and "One Night in NYC" (which hit #1 in the German Dance charts).
At the turn of the Millenium, the label changed its direction more towards Techno music and Electro-Clash.
Chesler aka The Horrorist is still a successful producer today.
Black Monolith
Apart from Chesler, Robert Skinner was another huge PCP addict located in the East Coast area of the US of A.
He set up his own label, too.
There is a lot of variety here, and you will also find Oldschool, Gabber, even Acidcore releases.
But the Doom is strong with this one. And quite some "early Doomcore" classics were put out by this record label.
Atmosfear
Set up by DJ Pure, who was / is one half of Ilsa Gold.
Also connected to the London Hardcore underground scene around Dead by Dawn and the Praxis label.
DJ Pure's aim was, and I quote: "the idea of combining sounds from 80s underground movies, new wave, and industrial culture with techno and electro" and to establish a "combination of the sobriety, melancholy and darkness of the 80s with the ecstasy of the 90s [...] that operates between dark electronic listening and dance music."
Most Hardcore-Heads might know this label for "The Lockdown", which was used as an intro to the second edition of Manu Le Malin's "Biomechanik" series of mixed compilations.
Now let's look at the 2nd wave of producers and labels.
With other sub-genres of Hardcore, like Speedcore or Breakcore, there were often instances of coevolution.
Artists who retrospectively said "I thought *I* invented this sound - I was not aware that other producers around the globe were already doing a similar thing".
This ain't the case with Doomcore. We mentioned that PCP was the first generation. And the second direction was directly inspired by PCP and tried to build on their sound. This was openly acknowledged and communicated.
So, the Doomcore bloodline can be traced straight back to PCP, in all cases.
Now let's dive into this "New Wave of Global Doom".
Things To Come Records
TTC was set up by Oliver Chesler, who had made himself a name in the Techno and extreme Hardcore scene already, using monikers such as Disintegrator, Temper Tantrum or DJ Skinhead (Yikes! A scary name).
Rumor says he set up the label because his music became too "slow and doomy" for Industrial Strength Records.
Either way, the first releases saw him teaming up with his brother, later to be followed by Miro from PCP itself. He already did some stuff on PCP at an earlier date, TTC was distributed by PCD in Europe (the PCP distribution service), so the transatlantic bridge had been set up.
The second release spawned 3 (!) world-wide underground hits: "Mission Ecstasy", "Flesh is the Fever" (which turned the Dutch Gabber scene around - in terms of speed) and "One Night in NYC" (which hit #1 in the German Dance charts).
At the turn of the Millenium, the label changed its direction more towards Techno music and Electro-Clash.
Chesler aka The Horrorist is still a successful producer today.
Arrivers - The Things To Come
Black Monolith
Apart from Chesler, Robert Skinner was another huge PCP addict located in the East Coast area of the US of A.
He set up his own label, too.
There is a lot of variety here, and you will also find Oldschool, Gabber, even Acidcore releases.
But the Doom is strong with this one. And quite some "early Doomcore" classics were put out by this record label.
The Outside Agency - Metal Slug
Atmosfear
Set up by DJ Pure, who was / is one half of Ilsa Gold.
Also connected to the London Hardcore underground scene around Dead by Dawn and the Praxis label.
DJ Pure's aim was, and I quote: "the idea of combining sounds from 80s underground movies, new wave, and industrial culture with techno and electro" and to establish a "combination of the sobriety, melancholy and darkness of the 80s with the ecstasy of the 90s [...] that operates between dark electronic listening and dance music."
Most Hardcore-Heads might know this label for "The Lockdown", which was used as an intro to the second edition of Manu Le Malin's "Biomechanik" series of mixed compilations.
Current 909 - The Lockdown
Crossbones
Crossbones was part of the free party / teknival scene in the UK. They were keen supporters of the PCP / Doomcore sound, and set up their own labels, and even a distribution service.
The first label was "Last Tomorrow Recordings", which was followed by a string of others.
Definitely one of the biggest projects in this 2nd generation; and the sound system + label family was host to many legendary producers and DJs such as Face Hoover, Kenny Kramp, or Ms. Bones.
Face Hoover - The Beginning Of The End
Fifth Era
Fifth Era values its secrecy and likes to tell its own story, and we respect that, so we won't say too much here.
Neuroviolence / Zero Tolerance
Jason Mendonca gained his share of fame with the satanic Black Metal band Akercocke.
In an earlier life, he was a Techno and Hardcore producer.
And there is some PCP-influenced Doom sound to be found, too, both on his own "Zero Tolerance" label or with his akas, such as Lorenz Attractor and Neuroviolence.
It requires some digging, as there is a lot of "regular" Techno and Core in the same spaces as well.
Actually, the most "doomy" release - the final one on Zero Tolerance - never saw the light of day.
It combined PCP-like sounds with howling wolves and opera singing (yes, really!)
Guess it was doomed from the start.
Lorenz Attractor - Shadow Fax
Dark Invaders / SGC
A Doomcore project out of Frankfurt, the former home of PCP itself!
Various artists and producers were involved here. SGC was the main label, but there were also releases on outside channels, and there was a strong live presence. The Dark Invaders were known for their performances at underground parties, which were more elaborate than most of their peers.
One of the few projects that kept the Doomcore torch burning in Dark Germany itself during these days of the second generation.
Dark Invaders - Troops Of Doom
Black Blood / Frontline of Sound
Definitely the most obscure one in this early Doomcore listing.
Black Blood (whose artist name was taken from an earliest PCP release) did tracks on labels like Brutal Chud or Exitus, and also had his own Frontline of Sound label.
Very visible attribution to the PCP influence (is "Steven Sick" a nod towards Dance Ecstasy's "Steve Shit"?).
He did few pure-bred Doomcore sounds, though, most of it is hybrid tracks with Gabber, Industrial Hardcore, or even Speedcore. Still, I think this concept was worth mentioning.
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Black Blood - Hinter Dem Vorhang Der Dunkelheit
This was our look back into a doomed past.
There were also other 2nd generation projects, and we make no pretense that the above listing would be complete.
But it's all worth checking out!
The Horrorist - Into the Moonbeam (Arena Mix)
Current 909 - Golden Dawn
Lorenz Attractor - Complexity Crisis
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