Sasscore

What is Sasscore?

Sasscore, also known as White Belt, is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metal that emerged as a response to the prevailing masculinity within the scene. Initially used to describe a post-hardcore style, it draws influences from various genres outside of punk, including new wave, disco, and dance punk. By incorporating elements from other punk genres such as grindcore, noise rock, and screamo, Sass developed its distinct sound and attitude. The term “Sass” refers to the cheeky and audacious vocal expression characteristic of this subgenre.

Lyrically, it can cover large amount of topics, whether it be erotic, sexual imagery or satirical commentary in their songs. It is noted for its over-the-top, spastic edge, dissonant, chaotic guitars, occasional dance rhythms, synths and blast beats.

Influenced by an old article on the now defunct website Stuff You Will Hate, writer Ellie Kovach (You Don’t Need Maps) wrote in 2017:

Inspired by fashion-conscious yet pretentious post-hardcore bands like Nation of Ulysses and the mid-90s Spock Rock scene in San Diego, several bands in the late 90s and early 2000s started writing songs with handclaps and vaguely danceable beats, while maintaining a spastic edge. There were lisping vocals shouting incredibly erotic lyrics over chaotic guitar runs and keyboards. There was flamboyant, homoerotic clothing and behavior, meant to challenge tough-guy hardcore’s oppressive heteronormativity as well as the PC crowd’s stifling lack of ability to have fun. There were bands like the Blood Brothers, the Red Light Sting, Black Cat 13, and An Albatross. Al Burian was in a sass band. Some bands crossed over with spazzy screamo, most particularly the last Orchid record (whose members went on to the resolutely sassy Panthers), Hands Are…, J.R. Ewing, and After School Knife Fight. You would be correct in assuming that the more chaotic contingent of sass bands had a good amount of crossover with mathcore bands and audiences.

History & Evolution of The Genre

The roots of Sass can be traced back to the 1990s with pioneering acts like Le Shok, Brainiac, and The Nation of Ulysses, who greatly influenced the genre’s aesthetic.

The early 2000s saw the rise of the Sass movement, with bands like The Crimson Curse, Orchid (specifically their Gatefold album), The Blood Brothers (especially their Burn Piano Island, Burn album, which became a benchmark for the genre), Black Eyes, and The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower.

Simultaneously, extreme bands such as Destroyer Destroyer, Tower of Rome, Operator Dead:Post Abandoned, Robinson, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, The Sawtooth Grin, and early Daughters incorporated influences from sasscore while excluding post-hardcore. They fused Sass with mathcore and grindcore, giving birth to the “white belt grind” subgenre.

After a brief decline, sasscore experienced a resurgence with the return of bands on hiatus or those that had disbanded, including An Albatross. Newer bands like SeeYouSpaceCowboy emerged, the latter of which was intended to be marketed as such.

Sass (Proto-Sass, White Belt Grind, Sasscore, Sassy Screamo, Dancey Screamo, Sassgrind) Bands

• Proto-sass: The Nation of Ulysses, Braniac, Antioch Arrow, Le Shok, Get Hustle, The Crimson Curse, Milemarker.
• Sasscore: Black Eyes, The Blood Brothers, Sick Lipstick, The Red Light Sting, Hot Hot Heat, A Trillion Barnacle Lapse, Q & Not U, Death From Above 1979, The Wolfnote, Lights for Nero and The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower.
• White Belt: Daughters, The Sawtooth Grin, The Locust, An Albatross, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, 2’0 Clock Girlfriend, 25 Dollar Massacre. Every Time I Die, Holy Molar, Oktober Skyline, as well as the newer ones mixing hardcore, slam, grind and metalcore revival: SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Dianacrawls, Secondgradeknifefight, The Callous Daoboys, THECHEESEBURGERPICNIC, C0mputer, .gif from god.