Definition
Attack Attack! was an American metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio, formed in 2007. They became one of the most infamous and memed bands in the genre’s history, not for their music — though they were commercially successful — but for their association with the “crabcore” meme. The term “crabcore” was coined by internet users to describe the band’s performance style in their music video for “Stick Stickly” (2008), in which the band members perform a synchronized crouching stance with their legs spread wide, their guitars held low, and their bodies rocking in unison — a position that resembled a crab. The video went viral for reasons the band never intended: it was mocked, remixed, parodied, and became a symbol of everything that was “wrong” with the metalcore scene — the Auto-Tuned vocals, the synchronized headbanging, the polished production, and the perceived inauthenticity. Despite the mockery, Attack Attack! was genuinely successful: their debut album Someday Came Suddenly (2008) reached No. 9 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, and they toured extensively before disbanding in 2013. They have since reunited in various forms, but their legacy is defined by the meme.
Why It Matters
Attack Attack! is the internet’s favorite band to laugh at. The “Stick Stickly” video is a rite of passage for anyone entering metalcore culture: you watch it, you laugh, you mock the crab stance, and then you discover that the song is actually catchy. The internet’s relationship with Attack Attack! is defined by irony: the band was serious, the fans were serious, and the internet turned them into a joke. But the joke became a permanent part of metalcore history. The term “crabcore” spread beyond Attack Attack! to describe any band that used synchronized crouching, low guitar stances, or choreographed headbanging — it became a genre descriptor, an insult, and a badge of honor, depending on who was using it. Attack Attack! also matters because they represent the internet’s power to define a band’s legacy independently of the band’s intentions. The musicians did not create “crabcore.” The internet did. And the internet’s version was more powerful than the band’s. Every reunion, every new album, every interview references the meme. The band cannot escape it. No band can escape the internet. Attack Attack! is the proof that the internet does not just review music. It rewrites it. One crab stance at a time.
Example
“He watched the ‘Stick Stickly’ video in 2009. He was 16. He laughed. He showed his friends. They laughed. They called it crabcore. They mocked the stance. They mocked the Auto-Tune. They mocked the synchronized headbanging. A month later, he had the song on his iPod. He listened to it. He liked it. He didn’t tell anyone. He was ashamed. The internet was right. The band was ridiculous. But the song was good. The song was catchy. The song was a guilty pleasure. And the guilt was the internet’s gift. The gift of knowing that enjoyment was a crime. And the crime was listening to Attack Attack! Unironically. That was crabcore. Not a genre. A trap. A trap of irony. And he was caught. And he was listening. And he was crabbing. In his bedroom. At 2 AM. Alone.”
Related Terms
- Crabcore — The internet meme and genre descriptor born from Attack Attack!’s performance style
- Metalcore — The genre that Attack Attack! played and that crabcore both mocked and described
- Stick Stickly — The music video that became the viral source of the crabcore meme
- Auto-Tune — The vocal effect that was controversial in metalcore and prominently featured in Attack Attack!’s sound
- Scene Culture — The subculture that Attack Attack! epitomized and that the internet both celebrated and mocked