I would like to add my input of Suffocation - Liege of Inveracity (1991) for literally creating the slam genre... Suffocation - Pierced From Within (1995) for being a dope heavy breakdown,,, Earth Crisis - Firestorm (1993) for helping start 90s metalcore beatdown.. Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face (1993) for brutal death metal breakdown,... System of a Down - Sugar (1999) or Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff (1999) for Nu metal breakdown.. Lamb Of God - Black Label (2000) for most underrated? From First To Last - Ride the Wings of Pestilence (2004) emo breakdown, From Autumn To Ashes - The After Dinner Payback (2004) my metalcore pick, Job For A Cowboy- Entombment of a Machine (2005), Suicide Silence - Unanswered (2007) / Destruction of a Statue (2005) for greatest deathcore band of all time, Carnifex - Lie to My Face (2007) for classic myspace deathcore breakdown, Impending Doom - My Nemesis (2007) Christ slamcore, Waking The Cadaver - Chased Through The Woods (2007) best slam memecore of all time, Slipknot - Psychosocial (2008) mainstream breakdown.. Oceano - District of Misery (2008) another deathcore banger & some of my favs: Carnifex - Hell Chose me (2010), Chelsea Grin - My Damnation (2011), No Zodiac - Population Control (2012) or No Zodiac - Constant Decay (2015), Beyond Deviation - White Noise (2014), Code Orange - Forever (2016), Poppy - Concrete (2019), Poppy - Bite Your Teeth (2020), Ghostemane - Lazaretto (2020) rap metal breakdown. Honorable Mentions - Animosity, Despised Icon, Motionless In White, Emmure, Cryptopsy ... the list goes on and on :) My favorite modern era breakdown - Extermination Dismemberment - Omnivore (2019). & i have to disagree about Knocked Loose because Lorna Shore exists.
@yomuthabyotch both songs would be the obvious choice. Great breakdowns none the less, but the songs chosen in the video are of an obvious taste, and well explained why.
I feel like Crowbar is getting more recognition lately, and I'm glad. It's well-deserved! Kirk churns out some of the nastiest riffs I've ever heard. I've seen them three times and they brought it every time!
Yep, Crowbar is one of my top 5 favorite bands. I saw them live for the first time about 3 years ago, and they crushed it. I own their entire discography so far and cannot wait for March 4 when their first album in 6 years drops. Love those dudes.
I was only saying that other day… I think it’s came from the hardcore scene more an more bands I see in that scene say crowbar was huge influence which is cool to see as deserve it. Now I’d like to see it happen with kingdom of sorrow just a ridiculously over looked band. There two albums we’re unbelievable
Great list. Here it is: Slayer - Raining Blood Metallica - One Pantera - This Love Sepultura - Propaganda Machine Head - Davidian Meshuggah - Future Dream Machine Hatebreed - Not One Truth Dillinger Escape Plan - 43% Burnt Crowbar - To Carry The Load Terror - Out Of My Face Knocked Loose - God Knows
Gotta agree, To Carry The Load is one of the best breakdowns ever. Crowbar riffs in general are just stupidly heavy. Kirk Windstein really is one of the true riff lords.
Would recommend adding these as well: Converge - Last Light & Concubine END - Pariah (Produced by Will Putney) Botch - Transitions from Persona to Object Cult Leader - I Am Healed Hopesfall - Open Hands to the Wind Mastodon - Iron Tusk Frontierer - Bombgnasher
Well thought out list. Even though Im not super into their music, Norma Jean’s Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste is a standout breakdown that should be mentioned
The ones that come to mind for me (and I’m not well versed in breakdown culture): Converge- You Fail Me Meshuggah- New Millennium Cyanide Christ Opeth- Deliverance .. and of course.. Pantera- Domination
Some of my favorite breakdowns: END - Necessary Death Converge - Heartless Glass Cloud - She Is Well And Nothing Can Be Ill Architects - Early Grave Code Orange - I Am King Dillinger Escape Plan - Limerent Death Every Stranger Looks Like You - Smoking Crack At Your Funeral Minors - Bone Pointer Kublai Khan - Self Destruct
Gotta show some love to the ending to Pantera's By Demons Be Driven Double bass: checked Chugging riff: checked Odd time signature: checked Year: 1992 I guess that the whole list could be filled with Pantera's songs
Just off the top of my head, here's mine in no order: 1. Unearth - This Lying World (he literally screams breakdown before the breakdown I mean come on) 2. Botch - To Our Friends in the Great White North 3. Converge - The Saddest Day 4. the mid section of Hammer Smashed Face 5. Pantera - Domination 6. Arsis - Sadistic Motives 7. Meshuggah - New Millennium Cyanide Christ 8. Fit For An Autopsy - Do You See Him? 9. The Red Chord - Dreaming in Dog Years 10. Dillinger - 43% Burnt
Haha yo! Homeboy screaming "Breakdown" is kind of cringe but that is a GREAT breakdown! That Unearth album had a bunch of great breakdowns! I chose "Heartless" for Converge tho Edit: had to change "Dreaming In Dog Years" to "That Certain Special Ugly" off that Red Chord album too! SO heavy
Between The Buried and Me - Decade of Statues (Track 2 off COLOURS album) has an incredibly unique breakdown too. The MOST unique for my money. Instead of chugs it's a bunch of "Flight of the Bumblebee" esque, not-quite-sweep picking! Check it out if you don't know it! Tho, I'm assuming you prob do as a Gojira fan
I would add in some early Unearth (maybe One Step Away or Endless) because they kind of elevated the brutal breakdown landscape around the early 2000s. No problems with the rest of the list. Nicely done!
I'm an old metalhead that loves reminiscing on the glory days while also trying to remain current because there is too much good music in the world to be perpetually stuck in a time lock of your youth. Out of all the bands I've seen live over 30 years the one that has absolutely blown me away every time I've seen them is Parkway Drive. Not only is everything they've released top notch but their live shows are a must see experience for any metal fan. I know they're a bit "new school" for the old heads, even though they've been dominating the scene for 15 years, but I'd put them in my top 5 for all-time not only breakdowns but metal bands. In my opinion they've mastered the perfect mix of heavy, melody, technicality and raw energy. If you haven't seen them before, do yourself a favor and make sure you do.
Pantera - Domination Dir en Grey - Unknown.Despair.Lost Dillinger Escape Plan - 43% Burnt Meshuggah - New Millenium Cyanide Christ Cryptopsy - Benedictine Convulsions A new one: Darko US - Pale Tongue
Good ones..I’ve really been loving some Darko US..just a fun band to listen to! I saw a video of him playing guitar, his guitar is stringed backwards lol..low end on the bottom and high end on the top
I thought despised would get an honourable mention because they do it so damn well especially on that album. Having said that i cant argue w his list, its solid for sure
The chaos of early Meshuggah still hits different. Just absolutely soul crushing, and so happy Future Breed Machine still gets recognition. But also awesome list in general. Crowbar, Dillinger, Meshuggah, and a nod to Knocked Loose…lots of good shit
HELL YES for Crowbar. Their music definitely does hit different. One of the only bands where I can just listen to their whole discog straight through without a song skip.
One of my all time favorite albums has some of the best breakdowns. Carnivore's Retaliation. Inner Conflict, Angry Neurotic Catholics ect....... Peter Steel at his best imo
My introduction to MESHUGGAH was the "NONE" EP which blew me away as a kid man. We were jamming out some DEMOLITION HAMMER then put on the NONE EP which I had just bought that afternoon and it just totally destroyed me and my buddy, we were hooked from that point on and I had to make tape copies for everyone I knew so I could spread it.
“Then ten years pass and everything sounds the same to me because I’m old and jaded.” Yup, same here bro. 😂. Solid list and I agree with 98% of it, I probably would have had Lamb of God in there towards the end somewhere
'In the Rainy Season' -Strapping Young Lad It's almost a happy, atmospheric thing... a huge lift with a slower tempo than 97% of SYL's madness, but still locks you HARD into that simple groove and delayed vocal smeared on top. 'Deliverance' -Opeth I fuckin' love how it JUST. KEEPS. GOING. It's like the last four minutes of that track, such a killer pattern, the slide guitar lead dub is unique when it goes to doubles, and THEN that last turnaround where it cleans out the ambiance and the Axe's overhead fills go nuts is just unmatched, IMHO. 'So Heavy' -Psychostick LOL. Just about every cliché we've come to know. The part where they make the pattern so convoluted that they can't even play it right in the video is gold! "Teabag the stage! Teabag the stage!"
Thank you Revolver & Will Putney. Now every time some metal elitist says breakdowns aren’t metal or they come from punk, we can send them here for a history lesson haha great list
That argument is ridiculous but I hear it all the time. So many 80s/90s hardcore bands were criticized as being metalcore (when the term was derogatory and not its own subgenre) BECAUSE they had breakdowns.
Just from da top of ma head I could think of early breakdowns #1 Bad Brains Right Brigade 1982 #2 Cro Mags Don't Tread On 1982 #3 Agnostic Front Discriminate 1983 And many many more b4 1986, Slayers Jeff Hannemen (RIP 🙏) got all his inspiration of breakdowns from all hardcore bands so!
I've loved watching knocked loose rise to where they are. I always knew that band hit so fucking hard and they never stopped delivering, album after album.
My favourite is actually by Fit For An Autopsy funnily enough. The song ‘Your Pain Is Mine’. The buildup is so emotional and then it hits with a really eerie dissonant breakdown it never fails to give me goosebumps.
Same, saw them at el corazon in Seattle and they were absolutely insane. Sold out on a Wednesday night. I felt like i was 17 going to a hardcore show again. I was 33 lol
I completely agree with every band and song mentioned. I’ll add Converge - The Saddest Day. Kurt Ballou was the riff master when it came to writing crushing breakdowns. Coalesce - Functioning On Impatience also. Great list!!!
The only problem with the Domination breakdown is that it doesn't hit quite the same on the album. CFH just didn't have that super aggressive and crisp production and tone that we associate with them like on the albums after.
Great list, but I would like to add one band that to me refined breakdowns and that band is Earth Crisis when they released the song "Firestorm" back in 1993. I think many bands, even those considered "main stream" picked up on that one too. You also have another Syracuse band - Snapcase and the song Fields of Illusions released in '94.
Earth crisis was the first hardcore band I'd ever heard when I was a kid. They definitely had some bad ass breakdowns and tempo changes that were definitely heavy as fuck. snapcase needs recognition as well on the list. They for sure had one of the most distinct sounds in hardcore. I ❤️ that piccolo snare sound on progression through unlearning
Knocked loose literally saved me. They freshened the genre up! Very tight band! Don't think I'd survive a show... I play guitar and want to be as heavy as them every time I play.
@Leon Kennedy absolutely agree. I told my friend that the live show and his vocals probably cut through so much better than lows. Also imagine getting hit by a train head on that's how I think he feels when he's doing what he's doing. Super stressed out tone that only comes from true terror. I love you 😘
Great list. Leaves a lot on the table when it comes to Metallica and Pantera. Not sure how you cite the bridge to “One” as the best breakdown on AJFA over the breakdown in “Blackened” or “Harvester of Sorrow”. Iconic song and an iconic section, but not the best breakdown on the album and not even really a breakdown imo. As for Pantera, “This Love” is def. innovative with the tempo shift but in a world where “Domination” exists AND pre-dates “This Love”…it just doesn’t stack up. I mean the first four tracks on Far Beyond Driven all have harder breakdowns than “This Love”.
Not to mention all the drum tracks Lars does on AJFA, were studio magic! He’s never, ever remotely pulled any of those songs off live, we plays “around” the hard parts.
Great list and agree with much of this. For breakdowns from these bands, I'd also recommend Meshuggah: Suffer In Truth, Crowbar: Like Broken Glass, Pantera: Shedding Skin, and Hatebreed: Smash Your Enemies
@Brienne Boucher exactly. This wasn't a list of top death core bands. It was a list of killer breakdowns. Is Slayer or MachineHead considered death core? No. Neither is Slipknot but they have some killer fuckin breakdowns
Great choices. Will has written some truly devastating breakdowns in Fit and END that I'll never forget. Also, Josh Travis has written some utterly filthy breakdowns. Knocked Loose is definitely at the top of the breakdown mountain right now too. A Tear In The Fabric Of Life is on another level.
“Please Shit All Over Me, I Love It” by The Sawtooth Grin has some of my favorite breakdown, be it all unconventional compared to this list. Cuddlemonster is a classic.
I’ve seen people attempt this concept countless times and this is the first one I’ve seen that I couldn’t disagree with a single point made. This dude rules.
great content. you and I clearly listened to the same jams cuz you nailed it with this list. there are countless examples you could name. only one I thought you'd mention was anything early converge or integrity
Will putney props to you im 49 years old and completely agree . From slayer to knocked loose watched and heard it all fall into place year by year breakdown after breakdown
Love this vid...For me, Domination is the greatest, and I think that Deftones 7 Words has a "I better be careful so I don't drive off the road as I headbang and scream" moment. From more recent stuff, I have to mention Nero Forte by Slipknot...perfection...
I agree with the Pantera analogy. They have shaped most of modern metal and they have so many killer breakdowns it’s unreal. One song which I think deserves a mention is the GO! Breakdown part on Korn’s Freak on a Leash. I know it’s part of a period of time that isn’t looked back on with great fondness but when I first heard that song back in the day it blew me away. Think it won a Grammy if I remember.
Really can't disagree with the list but I would've added in Suffocation's "Breeding the Spawn" and Pig Destroyer's "Deathtripper". Will Putney is an absolute treasure and is so knowledgeable
I would say albums like Purification Through Violence are almost proto-deathcore...it's got that alternate scream/growl vocals, catchy hooks, brutal breakdowns etc. Every modern deathcore band rips off Dying Fetus in some way 😂
Gonna give some love to Nile. They have some great ones. Sarcophagus is laid back but my favorite. Black Seeds of Vengeance. Cast Down The Heretic. Ithyphallic. No one does it like them.
I was genuinely surprised for his number 11 he didn't say the end of Contorted in the Faille from the same KL record. That breakdown makes me wanna punch my windshield out every time it hits.
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I agree with This Love for Pantera. but the break down in Dominantion is the one where I break my neck everytime
Even though it's not true, I always used to say that Domination was the first ever breakdown.
Yes
@Roy0101 Probably the most brutal Pantera song, love it
This Love was great but Domination was and is still my favorite breakdown from Pantera
and that's a fucking F.A.C.T.
Pantera’s “Domination” has the greatest breakdown in all of music.
Its that lead up with the solo that really sets it up like nothing ive ever heard before
💯
I would like to add my input of Suffocation - Liege of Inveracity (1991) for literally creating the slam genre... Suffocation - Pierced From Within (1995) for being a dope heavy breakdown,,, Earth Crisis - Firestorm (1993) for helping start 90s metalcore beatdown.. Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face (1993) for brutal death metal breakdown,... System of a Down - Sugar (1999) or Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff (1999) for Nu metal breakdown.. Lamb Of God - Black Label (2000) for most underrated? From First To Last - Ride the Wings of Pestilence (2004) emo breakdown, From Autumn To Ashes - The After Dinner Payback (2004) my metalcore pick, Job For A Cowboy- Entombment of a Machine (2005), Suicide Silence - Unanswered (2007) / Destruction of a Statue (2005) for greatest deathcore band of all time, Carnifex - Lie to My Face (2007) for classic myspace deathcore breakdown, Impending Doom - My Nemesis (2007) Christ slamcore, Waking The Cadaver - Chased Through The Woods (2007) best slam memecore of all time, Slipknot - Psychosocial (2008) mainstream breakdown.. Oceano - District of Misery (2008) another deathcore banger & some of my favs: Carnifex - Hell Chose me (2010), Chelsea Grin - My Damnation (2011), No Zodiac - Population Control (2012) or No Zodiac - Constant Decay (2015), Beyond Deviation - White Noise (2014), Code Orange - Forever (2016), Poppy - Concrete (2019), Poppy - Bite Your Teeth (2020), Ghostemane - Lazaretto (2020) rap metal breakdown. Honorable Mentions - Animosity, Despised Icon, Motionless In White, Emmure, Cryptopsy ... the list goes on and on :) My favorite modern era breakdown - Extermination Dismemberment - Omnivore (2019). & i have to disagree about Knocked Loose because Lorna Shore exists.
Fuck yeah
thorough af
Dude. F'ing sick.
Sepultura has so many legendary breakdowns. Roots, Territory, Dead Embryonic Cells, the list goes on
@yomuthabyotch both songs would be the obvious choice. Great breakdowns none the less, but the songs chosen in the video are of an obvious taste, and well explained why.
this guys an amateur. he chooses the propaganda breakdown over dead embryonic cells?? and this love over domination?
٩(╬ʘ益ʘ╬)۶
@Evan Burke already. I just remember watching that roadrunner records united dvd years ago and they spoke on it. But nothing is new under the sun.
The break down in Mass hypnosis is next level
@Bradley Smith repulsion is often cited as pioneering the modern day blast beat.
Great list. Will Putney knows what he's talking about. This would absolutely be my list.
Totally agree! The passion this man feels for this genre is totally inspiring!
I feel like Crowbar is getting more recognition lately, and I'm glad. It's well-deserved! Kirk churns out some of the nastiest riffs I've ever heard. I've seen them three times and they brought it every time!
Yep, Crowbar is one of my top 5 favorite bands. I saw them live for the first time about 3 years ago, and they crushed it. I own their entire discography so far and cannot wait for March 4 when their first album in 6 years drops. Love those dudes.
To build a mountain takes a long long time.
I was only saying that other day… I think it’s came from the hardcore scene more an more bands I see in that scene say crowbar was huge influence which is cool to see as deserve it. Now I’d like to see it happen with kingdom of sorrow just a ridiculously over looked band. There two albums we’re unbelievable
Crowbar and Jesu are currently my two favorite bands at the moment
I LOVE Crowbar. Got to hang with Kirk and Sammy at a show back in the day. Awesome guys!
Great list. Here it is:
Slayer - Raining Blood
Metallica - One
Pantera - This Love
Sepultura - Propaganda
Machine Head - Davidian
Meshuggah - Future Dream Machine
Hatebreed - Not One Truth
Dillinger Escape Plan - 43% Burnt
Crowbar - To Carry The Load
Terror - Out Of My Face
Knocked Loose - God Knows
Future Breed Machine
Dude, that Knocked Loose EP is so insane. Absolutely brilliant from beginning to end.
Gotta agree, To Carry The Load is one of the best breakdowns ever. Crowbar riffs in general are just stupidly heavy. Kirk Windstein really is one of the true riff lords.
That whole album is just relentless. Odd Fellow’s is my favorite Crowbar album.
so happy crowbar got some love. Some of their riffs are ridicilous
They get heavier when you see them live
Domination is the greatest breakdown of all time.
Roots Bloody Roots also has a face melting breakdown that never gets old
Roots bloody roots one of my favorite sepultura songs
Would recommend adding these as well:
Converge - Last Light & Concubine
END - Pariah (Produced by Will Putney)
Botch - Transitions from Persona to Object
Cult Leader - I Am Healed
Hopesfall - Open Hands to the Wind
Mastodon - Iron Tusk
Frontierer - Bombgnasher
Will also plays in end lmao
Hopesfall! Holy shit I haven't heard that band name in awhile. End of an Era used to be my jam!
@Mark Servilio Agreed. I still have the vinyl. Time to break it out and crank up the volume!
@Chris Williams severely underrated. 100% there wouldn't be Norma Jean without Botch 🤙
Botch - We Are The Roman’s is one of my favorite hardcore albums ever. So underrated!
Well thought out list. Even though Im not super into their music, Norma Jean’s Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste is a standout breakdown that should be mentioned
Either this one or I Used To Hate Cell Phones But Now I Hate Car Accidents
Norma Jean is a criminally under appreciated band
That is a great one. Lots of people mentioning breakdowns that I've always loved but feel like they never get their due.
Came here for this. I've never heard that long of silence between notes before that.
👍
The ones that come to mind for me (and I’m not well versed in breakdown culture):
Converge- You Fail Me
Meshuggah- New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Opeth- Deliverance
.. and of course..
Pantera- Domination
Some of my favorite breakdowns:
END - Necessary Death
Converge - Heartless
Glass Cloud - She Is Well And Nothing Can Be Ill
Architects - Early Grave
Code Orange - I Am King
Dillinger Escape Plan - Limerent Death
Every Stranger Looks Like You - Smoking Crack At Your Funeral
Minors - Bone Pointer
Kublai Khan - Self Destruct
Gotta show some love to the ending to Pantera's By Demons Be Driven
Double bass: checked
Chugging riff: checked
Odd time signature: checked
Year: 1992
I guess that the whole list could be filled with Pantera's songs
Not a breakdown because of how "undanceable to" it is.
Great part tho'.
Damn we missed The Saddest Day by Converge. That breakdown is still a mammoth that holds up to me.
Yep also came to say this. Very simple and ive heard other bands do it, but the Concubine breakdown gets me hype too.
What about Death King? Such an underrated cut…
I literally came here to say The Saddest Day.
Oh you couldn't be more right indeed
DUDE, YESSSS!!! Forsaken also.
Just off the top of my head, here's mine in no order:
1. Unearth - This Lying World (he literally screams breakdown before the breakdown I mean come on)
2. Botch - To Our Friends in the Great White North
3. Converge - The Saddest Day
4. the mid section of Hammer Smashed Face
5. Pantera - Domination
6. Arsis - Sadistic Motives
7. Meshuggah - New Millennium Cyanide Christ
8. Fit For An Autopsy - Do You See Him?
9. The Red Chord - Dreaming in Dog Years
10. Dillinger - 43% Burnt
My maaaaaaaaaan!
Haha yo! Homeboy screaming "Breakdown" is kind of cringe but that is a GREAT breakdown! That Unearth album had a bunch of great breakdowns!
I chose "Heartless" for Converge tho
Edit: had to change "Dreaming In Dog Years" to "That Certain Special Ugly" off that Red Chord album too! SO heavy
Cool list, but let’s all remember how sick the breakdown in Opeth’s Deliverance is. Cathartic as all hell, unforgettable.
I was thinking exact the same.... totally missed. Nº 1 to me
Oh fuck yeah. That's one of the most satisfying breakdowns ever.
The breakdown in strength beyond strength is still to this day one of the heaviest ever
The breakdown at the end of Doomsayer by Hatebreed is 🔥
Everybody bleeds is a good one as well
The outro breakdown to Love by Gojira is probably the most interesting and unique one I've ever heard, it's so dark and heavy
I was really hoping someone would mention Love. That song and Clone are some of the craziest breakdowns I’ve ever ever.
Between The Buried and Me - Decade of Statues (Track 2 off COLOURS album) has an incredibly unique breakdown too. The MOST unique for my money.
Instead of chugs it's a bunch of "Flight of the Bumblebee" esque, not-quite-sweep picking! Check it out if you don't know it! Tho, I'm assuming you prob do as a Gojira fan
I'd add "Liege of Inveracity' from Suffocation to this list, but these are all solid picks!
The whole Pierced from Within album is stuffed to the brim with great breakdowns. Not even mentioning suffocation here is criminal.
Jesus wept on Human waste
I came here hoping someone would mention Liege haha
Yeah, that breakdown pretty much invented slam.
That hatebreed album was the first cd I ever bought. My life was changed after that. It’s breakdown central
I love it soooooo fuxkinggggg muccccccchhhhh
Fear Factory- Demanufacture album of the 90's..still sound over the years
I would add in some early Unearth (maybe One Step Away or Endless) because they kind of elevated the brutal breakdown landscape around the early 2000s. No problems with the rest of the list. Nicely done!
I'm an old metalhead that loves reminiscing on the glory days while also trying to remain current because there is too much good music in the world to be perpetually stuck in a time lock of your youth. Out of all the bands I've seen live over 30 years the one that has absolutely blown me away every time I've seen them is Parkway Drive. Not only is everything they've released top notch but their live shows are a must see experience for any metal fan. I know they're a bit "new school" for the old heads, even though they've been dominating the scene for 15 years, but I'd put them in my top 5 for all-time not only breakdowns but metal bands. In my opinion they've mastered the perfect mix of heavy, melody, technicality and raw energy. If you haven't seen them before, do yourself a favor and make sure you do.
Check out Sylosis
Pantera - Domination
Dir en Grey - Unknown.Despair.Lost
Dillinger Escape Plan - 43% Burnt
Meshuggah - New Millenium Cyanide Christ
Cryptopsy - Benedictine Convulsions
A new one: Darko US - Pale Tongue
Good ones..I’ve really been loving some Darko US..just a fun band to listen to! I saw a video of him playing guitar, his guitar is stringed backwards lol..low end on the bottom and high end on the top
Chaos AD record is for sure one of the leaders of the pack, but I would have chosen Dead Embryonic Cells
Yeah I said arise..meant dec.🙃
For me Nomad 🤘
@JULIO GARCIA I pretty much said the same thing under another comment here. It's THEE quintessential breakdown.
Agreed!!!
My favourite is Whitechapel's Ear To Ear by far. The build up is perfect and the breakdown is godly.
The Ills of Modern Man album from Despised Icon has like the whole album full of pretty sick breakdowns
I thought despised would get an honourable mention because they do it so damn well especially on that album. Having said that i cant argue w his list, its solid for sure
Love that album
legendary shit
MVP is the other one
Classic!
The chaos of early Meshuggah still hits different. Just absolutely soul crushing, and so happy Future Breed Machine still gets recognition.
But also awesome list in general. Crowbar, Dillinger, Meshuggah, and a nod to Knocked Loose…lots of good shit
HELL YES for Crowbar. Their music definitely does hit different. One of the only bands where I can just listen to their whole discog straight through without a song skip.
One of my all time favorite albums has some of the best breakdowns. Carnivore's Retaliation. Inner Conflict, Angry Neurotic Catholics ect....... Peter Steel at his best imo
Jesus... knocked loose really are absolute beasts.
One if my absolute faves.
My introduction to MESHUGGAH was the "NONE" EP which blew me away as a kid man. We were jamming out some DEMOLITION HAMMER then put on the NONE EP which I had just bought that afternoon and it just totally destroyed me and my buddy, we were hooked from that point on and I had to make tape copies for everyone I knew so I could spread it.
Hated none but liked everything after.
“Then ten years pass and everything sounds the same to me because I’m old and jaded.” Yup, same here bro. 😂. Solid list and I agree with 98% of it, I probably would have had Lamb of God in there towards the end somewhere
Also agree about Knocked Loose, the last EP was insane!
'In the Rainy Season' -Strapping Young Lad It's almost a happy, atmospheric thing... a huge lift with a slower tempo than 97% of SYL's madness, but still locks you HARD into that simple groove and delayed vocal smeared on top.
'Deliverance' -Opeth I fuckin' love how it JUST. KEEPS. GOING. It's like the last four minutes of that track, such a killer pattern, the slide guitar lead dub is unique when it goes to doubles, and THEN that last turnaround where it cleans out the ambiance and the Axe's overhead fills go nuts is just unmatched, IMHO.
'So Heavy' -Psychostick LOL. Just about every cliché we've come to know. The part where they make the pattern so convoluted that they can't even play it right in the video is gold! "Teabag the stage! Teabag the stage!"
SYL "The Critic" is outta the solar system.
Thank you Revolver & Will Putney. Now every time some metal elitist says breakdowns aren’t metal or they come from punk, we can send them here for a history lesson haha great list
That argument is ridiculous but I hear it all the time. So many 80s/90s hardcore bands were criticized as being metalcore (when the term was derogatory and not its own subgenre) BECAUSE they had breakdowns.
Sepultura changed the game forever, so many incredible breakdowns
"Dead Embryonic Cells"
Say no more.
Just from da top of ma head I could think of early breakdowns
#1 Bad Brains Right Brigade 1982
#2 Cro Mags Don't Tread On 1982
#3 Agnostic Front Discriminate 1983
And many many more b4 1986,
Slayers Jeff Hannemen (RIP 🙏) got all his inspiration of breakdowns from all hardcore bands so!
He nailed it for sure. I always thought anthrax had some good breakdowns as well. Incendiary has some beefy ones too.
Gojira-Flying whales
Pantera- 5 minutes alone
Knocked Loose- Deadringer
Slayer- Raining Blood 🐐
Metallica- One
Lorna Shore- you know what song
Hatebreed- Doomslayer
Haha! “You know what song”
Yeah. That fucking breakdown at the end of Hellfire is otherworldly
@Break A Leg I'm pretty sure they're talking about To The Hellfire but the Death Portrait breakdown is tooth eatingly great too
@HellBach oof
My top 10 are all suffocation songs. The true masters of a breakdown.
Knocked Loose- In the Walls
I've loved watching knocked loose rise to where they are. I always knew that band hit so fucking hard and they never stopped delivering, album after album.
Satisfaction is my favourite Hatebreed album, but Proven is still the undefeated hardcore breakdown IMO.
My favourite is actually by Fit For An Autopsy funnily enough. The song ‘Your Pain Is Mine’. The buildup is so emotional and then it hits with a really eerie dissonant breakdown it never fails to give me goosebumps.
i agree with will, KL literally has the best breakdowns always
Uh oh… the keeper of the gate seems to have arrived
Lol no
@Jake 😂
@Christopher Deftones knocked loose is just worse Disembodied with Mickey Mouse vocals.
Same, saw them at el corazon in Seattle and they were absolutely insane. Sold out on a Wednesday night. I felt like i was 17 going to a hardcore show again. I was 33 lol
Personally the breakdown in use my third arm by pantera was always a favorite of mine. I find myself screaming the lyrics often
One of the 2-3 most underrated pantera songs!
I completely agree with every band and song mentioned. I’ll add Converge - The Saddest Day. Kurt Ballou was the riff master when it came to writing crushing breakdowns. Coalesce - Functioning On Impatience also. Great list!!!
Love as Arson is pinnacle Converge for me
The only problem with the Domination breakdown is that it doesn't hit quite the same on the album. CFH just didn't have that super aggressive and crisp production and tone that we associate with them like on the albums after.
Great list, but I would like to add one band that to me refined breakdowns and that band is Earth Crisis when they released the song "Firestorm" back in 1993. I think many bands, even those considered "main stream" picked up on that one too. You also have another Syracuse band - Snapcase and the song Fields of Illusions released in '94.
was expecting earth crisis in the video... and was left disappointed....
Earth crisis was the first hardcore band I'd ever heard when I was a kid. They definitely had some bad ass breakdowns and tempo changes that were definitely heavy as fuck. snapcase needs recognition as well on the list. They for sure had one of the most distinct sounds in hardcore. I ❤️ that piccolo snare sound on progression through unlearning
@NVH52 lol exactly, when he skipped over these and was like "Hatebreed changed hardcore" I was like oh, he's a metalhead lol.
The true pioneers of this kind of stuff, they should be on the list instead of Hatebreed.
I think the creeping death breakdown is also important
Knocked loose literally saved me. They freshened the genre up! Very tight band! Don't think I'd survive a show... I play guitar and want to be as heavy as them every time I play.
@Leon Kennedy absolutely agree. I told my friend that the live show and his vocals probably cut through so much better than lows. Also imagine getting hit by a train head on that's how I think he feels when he's doing what he's doing. Super stressed out tone that only comes from true terror. I love you 😘
Will Putney is the best producer in heavy music right now. Dude has been making some of my favorite new albums
That crowbar breakdown is one off my all time favorites, so damn heavy!
Great list. Leaves a lot on the table when it comes to Metallica and Pantera. Not sure how you cite the bridge to “One” as the best breakdown on AJFA over the breakdown in “Blackened” or “Harvester of Sorrow”. Iconic song and an iconic section, but not the best breakdown on the album and not even really a breakdown imo.
As for Pantera, “This Love” is def. innovative with the tempo shift but in a world where “Domination” exists AND pre-dates “This Love”…it just doesn’t stack up. I mean the first four tracks on Far Beyond Driven all have harder breakdowns than “This Love”.
Not to mention all the drum tracks Lars does on AJFA, were studio magic! He’s never, ever remotely pulled any of those songs off live, we plays “around” the hard parts.
Great list and agree with much of this.
For breakdowns from these bands, I'd also recommend Meshuggah: Suffer In Truth, Crowbar: Like Broken Glass, Pantera: Shedding Skin, and Hatebreed: Smash Your Enemies
Machine head, Sepultura and Pantera were definitely the best OGs imo!
Pantera's transition from Suicide part I to Suicide part II is mind blowing. Pure genius!!!
I'm so glad you added TERROR to this list and especially that particular song. Seeing them preform live is awesome!
Always loved the breakdown in Declaration that closed Trivium’s Ascendancy album. Good list. Takes me back.
My favorite Crowbar breakdown is the one at the end of The Only Factor, it’s just so disgustingly sludgy and it’s probably my favorite breakdown ever
Slipknot's Disasterpiece has their best breakdown. Also Eyeless. Man, these were filthy ones. They were my gateway to deathcore.
@Chad Weirich fuck yes
@Brienne Boucher exactly. This wasn't a list of top death core bands. It was a list of killer breakdowns. Is Slayer or MachineHead considered death core? No. Neither is Slipknot but they have some killer fuckin breakdowns
Hatebreed and DEP on the list but no Slipknot. Got it.
Yes thank you. I've listened to brutal death, slam, deathcore. Nothing beats Disasterpiece in terms of heaviness IMO
Great choices. Will has written some truly devastating breakdowns in Fit and END that I'll never forget.
Also, Josh Travis has written some utterly filthy breakdowns.
Knocked Loose is definitely at the top of the breakdown mountain right now too. A Tear In The Fabric Of Life is on another level.
I like that this video also doubles as a history of breakdowns lol
Sepultura-Dead Embryonic Cells. Best breakdown ever.
WILL! How can you miss out Pantera - Domination? I AM DISAPPOINT . How many Hardcore bands have either covered that or ripped it off? ;-)
Great picks, but Converge needs a mention in any breakdown list.
The Broken Vow, Eagles Become Vultures and Dark Horse are top notch.
Yeah there are so many awesome breakdowns in their songs.
Ah man, not even touching their best. Locust Reign, Heartless, Conduit, Saddest Day…so many ridiculous ones in their bag
I was waiting that whole video for him to say Knocked Loose and it made me so happy when he mentioned it at the end 😂
“Please Shit All Over Me, I Love It” by The Sawtooth Grin has some of my favorite breakdown, be it all unconventional compared to this list. Cuddlemonster is a classic.
I’ve seen people attempt this concept countless times and this is the first one I’ve seen that I couldn’t disagree with a single point made. This dude rules.
i personally think Benedictine convulsions has one of the most insane breakdowns. VERY underrated breakdown.
Also recreant and serial urbicide
@Nile9876 yep, such an awesome album from start to finish.
@Nicolás Morgan the more i think about it, the graves of the fathers, slit your guts, and orgiastic disembowelment all have INSANE breakdowns
Also Graves of the fathers. Enough metal to build 5 Dyson spheres.
great content. you and I clearly listened to the same jams cuz you nailed it with this list. there are countless examples you could name. only one I thought you'd mention was anything early converge or integrity
So many insane breakdowns out there, and this list is great. But for me its pig destroyer covering "oven" by the Melvin's... So friggin heavy.
Will putney props to you im 49 years old and completely agree . From slayer to knocked loose watched and heard it all fall into place year by year breakdown after breakdown
Cool list. King’s X’s We Were Born To Be Loved has a unique breakdown.
Love this vid...For me, Domination is the greatest, and I think that Deftones 7 Words has a "I better be careful so I don't drive off the road as I headbang and scream" moment. From more recent stuff, I have to mention Nero Forte by Slipknot...perfection...
Agree to both
Can't we count Creeping Death's part where they sing Die! Die! Die! As a breakdown?
Sepultura has the best breakdown (in my opinion) in "Beneath the Remains." It happens at 2:07 of the song.
I agree with the Pantera analogy. They have shaped most of modern metal and they have so many killer breakdowns it’s unreal. One song which I think deserves a mention is the GO! Breakdown part on Korn’s Freak on a Leash. I know it’s part of a period of time that isn’t looked back on with great fondness but when I first heard that song back in the day it blew me away. Think it won a Grammy if I remember.
I was waiting for Knocked Loose and goddamn I’m happy he put them on his list
The breakdown in the song Instinct by Decapitated is one of my all time favorites. That breakdown fucking slaps live, dude.
Actually the first breakdown was in Metallica's "Escape" on the Ride The Lightning released in 1984. 2 years before 1986 Reign in Blood.
Good list. One of my favorites... Blistered Strife. Maybe not ground breaking but the drum roll before/going into it. Sooooo fucking tight.
Domination from Pantera is the heaviest riff ever!
Really can't disagree with the list but I would've added in Suffocation's "Breeding the Spawn" and Pig Destroyer's "Deathtripper". Will Putney is an absolute treasure and is so knowledgeable
I would say Sepultura's breakdown in Dead Embryonic Cells was one of the greats for me.
I'd be curious to see a list of your "Top Crowbar Breakdowns."
Dying fetus has some of the best breakdowns, especially the one in "intentional manslaughter " at about the 1:50 mark.
yes
I would say albums like Purification Through Violence are almost proto-deathcore...it's got that alternate scream/growl vocals, catchy hooks, brutal breakdowns etc. Every modern deathcore band rips off Dying Fetus in some way 😂
Exactly
Would have loved to hear “Down” on here but solid list. I’m happy to hear them mention crowbar!
Gonna give some love to Nile. They have some great ones. Sarcophagus is laid back but my favorite. Black Seeds of Vengeance. Cast Down The Heretic. Ithyphallic. No one does it like them.
Will Putney is legend status imo 🤘 his projects whether on guitar or drums or behind the scenes is always killer 💯
I'm surprised Freak on a Leash wasn't mentioned. I feel like it's breakdown is easily a top 5 of all time.
hell yeah
Fantastic mate! Agree with the whole chronology. It’s uncanny actually. It’s my 10k running playlist.
Indecision. Release the Cure was sick. I love your list.
Wills amp collection is beautiful. So much great tone .
Please do more Best Breakdown videos by metal brains like Will. This was great.
I was genuinely surprised for his number 11 he didn't say the end of Contorted in the Faille from the same KL record. That breakdown makes me wanna punch my windshield out every time it hits.
Great list
My two favorite drum breakdowns of all time
Death- Open Casket
Sepultura- Under Siege
Also, they left out iconic BEATDOWN and hardcore bands breakdowns from the 90s.
Yeah lol definitely a list for 0000 chugga metalheads