Skate Punk: The Definitive History

Skate punk (often referred to as melodic hardcore) is a sub-genre of punk rock which was named because of its popularity among skateboarders, and the fact that many members of skate punk bands were themselves skaters. Lyrics themselves will occasionally focus on, or at least reference, skateboarding.
Origins of skate-punk started in the Nardcore scene. Bands like NOFX, The Faction, Agent Orange, JFA and RKL were pioneers of this genre. JFA, and Agent Orange could be credited as the band that created this genre of music branching off from nardcore and hardcore punk. Taking influences from RKL's speed and technical songwriting and Bad Religion's melodic and harmonious vocals, skate punk has its own sound. Skate punk bands pride themselves on their speed. Tempos can even reach speeds of up to 270bpm, mainly focusing on upbeat drums.
Many skate-punk bands are metal influenced, such as Strung Out, Lagwagon, Propagandhi, and Belvedere. The majority of modern skate punk bands have taken a liking to this style. The majority of skate punk bands use two guitar players. This is very useful in creating a whole, complete sound. Skate punk songs are often characterized with guitar leads through out the whole song, ranging from octave progressions, complex muted riffs and guitar solos played in harmony.
Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph are known as the founding labels of skate punk. Due to the fall in popularity, many of the new acts signed to these labels play different styles of music. Many skate punk bands (such as Millencolin and No Use for a Name) have slowed their music down over the years and a few bands (such as Thrice) have completely changed their musical style.
In the 1990s the popularity of Nirvana brought media attention and money, to this underground community. Bands like The Offspring, Pennywise, Millencolin, NOFX, Lagwagon, MxPx, Face to Face and others, saw larger audiences and large scale venues.

See also
Hardcore punk
Grunge
Nardcore

External links
Skatepunk.net
Skatepunk.org
Sk8Core Records