Who Is Metalcore’s Best Songwriter?

Songwriting may not always get the love in metalcore that it does in other heavy music genres, but thanks to a thread in the Metalcore Reddit, fans are giving some of the genre’s top songwriters their due.

Who Is Metalcore’s Best Songwriter?

The author of the thread kicked things off, serving up a number of solid suggestions. “For me, there are a lot of fantastic writers in the genre, like Brian Wille (Currents), Marcus Vik (Invent Animate) or Jamie Hails (Polaris), but for me, without doubt, the best is Garrett Russell (Silent Planet),” stated the person introducing the discussion.

While there are merits to back up each of those suggestions, none of those three ended up at the top of the comments list of the thread. So who did?

Tom Searle (Architects)

Tom Searle, the guitarist from Architects who died from cancer at the age of 28 back in 2016j, was the name most frequently discussed throughout the thread.

“Tom lyrics + Sam [Carter’s] delivery will forever be legendary,” noted one commenter. “I know we’re beating the dead horse still, but god what I would do for another album written by Tom. It’s not Architects’ fault but they will never make an album as good as that era,” added another fan of the band. “Makes me very happy to see this as top comment. Wp everyone,” added yet a third person.

Other commenters added:

• “Maybe I’m biased, but I don’t think it’s even a close call here. Tom’s songwriting was miles ahead of anything else I’ve heard in the genre.”
• “To this day I think that the lyrics and song writing of Tom Searle are amongts some of the best, at the level of legends such as Chuck Schuldiner or Devin Townsend. The latest Architects material, even if I respect it and I’m not that upset about the change of sound, the quality is NOWHERE near Tom’s mind. He was just above this league.”
• “The right answer. His riffs, lyrics and vocal melodies are unmatched. He also wrote some of the most iconic breakdowns in the genre.”
• “Tom Searle from Architects had the most intricate, touching yet powerful and technical songwriting abilities in my opinion.”

READ MORE: Architects’ Tom Searle Dead at 28

Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage)

Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz got plenty of mention as well, not only for his work with the band but the impact he’s had on other groups in the genre through either influence or his production work.

“This needs to be top comment, if he didn’t produce your favourite Metalcore album from the mid 2000s, you can sure bet he inspired half the names on here to write their on material you now love,” explained one fan making a pertinent argument.” “He’s the main songwriter in Killswitch Engage and he’s produced a ton of big name metalcore albums over the last two decades,” reiterated another fan. A third person stated “[It’s the] only correct answer.”

Brendan Murphy (Counterparts) and Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada)

Brendan Murphy and Mike Hranica also racked up a sizeable amount of support in the thread. Murphy, the frontman for Counterparts, was championed by just shy of 190 people on the thread at press time. “No contest,” “2000%” and “This is the only right answer, his stuff is consistently superb” were among the top comments.

As for Hranica, The Devil Wears Prada vocalist has led the group to one of the most consistently solid careers in the genre.

“I’m partial to Mike from Prada’s lyrics. I’ve probably heard the most relatable lyrics from Mike’s ponderous, raw songs. Like twenty five and home for grave,” noted one fan. “Mike is an excellent choice. Especially starting with Dead Throne and forward,” added another. A third pointed out, “Mike is unreal, you could read some of his lyrics without any context to what the song is or sounds like and you’d think it was probably for another genre or just a poem. I mean he does actual write and have books for sale so he’s gifted.”

Who Else Received Mention?

Names such as Josh Scogin (’68, ex-Norma Jean), Keith Buckley (ex-Every Time I Die, Many Eyes) and Landon Tewers (The Plot in You) were frequent in the conversation. Check out the full thread and add your own comments through the Metalcore Reddit.