In the Ring - Drum and Bass vs Hardstyle

It's a battle of the High-Energy titans!

Two intense genres of electronic music that agree the focus should be on power and pace will go head to head in this face-off!

In the Red Corner we have Hardstyle; the pumping, noisy genre that loves its soaring, detuned saw leads and bass drums that sound like they have been attacked with a rusty chainsaw.

In the Blue Corner we have Drum & Bass; the fast-paced, intense genre, unsurprisingly with the focus on gut-wrenching basslines and syncopated percussion.

Let the battle commence!

Roots

This battle begins in the mid '90s, where Drum n Bass evolved from Breakbeat, Rave and Dub music deep in the concrete jungle of London town.

Broken beats and sped up loops, Ragga-style vocals and strong, synth basslines defined the earliest permutations of the style, but it wasn't long until new sub-genres evolved as producers realised the intense percussion and deep basses could be used as the groundwork for a plethora of other interpretations of Drum and Bass.

Sub-genres such as Techstep (A dark, clinical take on drum and bass that maintains the heavy bass drops), Neurofunk (a more Jazz-influenced version with an emphasized backbeat and stabs over the music) and Liquid Drum and Bass (A laid back, ambient feel on top of the intense percussion) evolved as the late '90s turned into the early '00s.

The commercialisation of the genre led to producers striving for higher and higher production values and pushing it further until it has become the polished, streamlined genre it is today.

Enter Hardstyle

And it was around the early to mid '00s that Hardstyle crept out of the woodwork, combining Hard Trance, Gabber, UK Hard House and Jumpstyle into a new and intense genre.

The style really caught on in a lot of European countries, especially the Netherlands, where it originated.   The crowd had already been conditioned by the genres that influenced Hardstyle into appreciating the pounding, heavy bass drums and so this was just the next progression of that scene, with massive, adrenaline-inducing melodies accompanying the beats and bass.

What's Next?

Well, while Hardstyle has continued in its relatively mainstream popularity, hosting massive raves such as “Qlimax” and “Black” (Where all attendees must wear black) that pump out the genres with accompaniment by massive laser displays and large amounts of alcohol.

Drum and Bass has gone from strength to strength, especially in the UK, where artists such as Pendulum and Chase and Status regularly hit the mainstream charts.

Many DnB artists play live performances with acoustic drum kits, basses and other instruments accompanying the sampled and synthesized elements.   World tours and festival appearances cement DnB as a massively recognised and critically successful genre that shows no sign of slowing down in the future.


Similarities and Differences

Both genres put the focus on the intensity of the percussion and bass.   The differences begin when we see how they do it.   While Hardstyle has very little variety in the percussion (big, painfully heavy kick, 4 on the floor beat, rinse and repeat.), Drum and Bass thrives off interesting syncopations and as such provides much more variety whilst still retaining the intensity and power.

Perhaps that is why Drum and Bass is more successful than Hardstyle (plus the fact it has been going for longer) - Hardstyle is a very limited genre in terms of variety, whereas Drum and Bass can explore so many different avenues.

As a general rule, Hardstyle brings more of a focus on melody where Drum and Bass does not - most DnB songs you'll hear at your average rave are focused on the low end, not the high end and as such they can be more difficult to remember than the catchy, prominent lead synths found in most Hardstyle.

So who wins?   The pacey, varied Drum and Bass or the crushing, adrenaline-inducing Hardstyle?

Well, which genre do you want to go and listen to now?