11 Heaviest Metalcore Breakdowns | Counterparts Singer Brendan Murphy's Picks

Brendan Murphy knows a thing or two about breakdowns. Since 2007, he's fronted the Canadian band Counterparts, who play an emotionally scarred version of metalcore that makes you want to mosh and cry cathartically at the same time. More recently, he's been pulling double-duty as the vocalist of END, the ballistically heavy supergroup who mash metalcore, deathcore and hardcore into one breakdown-y pulp. But what are the breakdowns that inspire him to make all this heavy goodness? We asked Murphy to reveal his personal canon of choice chugga-chugga cuts. Watch his picks above and let us know some of your favorite breakdowns in the comments below!
Poison the Well, It Dies Today, and Eighteen Visions photos courtesy of Trustkill Records www.trustkill.com
Backing music by Anders (AMRPHIS)
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#metalcore #breakdown #counterparts #end #trustkill #ferret #eighteenvisions #poisonthewell #itdiestoday #miserysignals #onbrokenwings #thebanner #thebled #martyrad #ikilledthepromqueen #alloutwar #redwedding #towerofsnakes #twitter

[@Jakereisman11111]

“2000’s song titles were like books” *The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza enters the chat*

[@edwardr8226]

You Gonna Buy The Beers Or The Whole Damn Bar?

[@bark28]

"I didn't hit puberty, I just hit dumb" Incredible sign off.

[@toyotaecw]

“I used download music illegally, well I still do today but when I used to…”

[@ianbisntdead]

the Mitch Hedberg reference "i used to. i still do, but i used to too" explains so much about Brendan's humor i love that i caught that lmao

[@RoTxJAKE]

im not even a metal guy I’m just baked watching random videos, but I am a huge mitch hedberg fan so that reference was such a pleasant surprise! love this dude, I’m gonna go check out his bands 🤘🏼

[@earlyandoften]

HEY EVERYBODY I GOT THE JOKE

[@ianbisntdead]

@@earlyandoften hater energy

[@earlyandoften]

@@ianbisntdead fragile

[@SDREHXC]

@@earlyandoftenthe people lashing out at strangers are usually the fragile ones mate.

[@ludoletono]

Everybody should have a friend like Brendan, what a gem.

[@JohnnyCupcakes]

Honored that On Broken Wings made #3 on your list! I used to DJ in the band for a few years and I did samples on this album! We had a blast putting it together and touring with the likes of Evergreen Terrace, Scarlet, Remembering Never, Calico System -- plus other tours with The Red Chord etc.. For all of us, I think the best thing was being able to leave our small towns and see places we had never been. Sleeping on floors, at truck stops, through blizzards in the Dakotas, sneaking into strangers pools in Florida, discovering the gem that is Jerry's Pizza in Bakersfield, and having Waffle House for our first time on the road. The memories are endless and the D.I.Y. work ethic of figuring things out as they happen is something that made me who I am. Thank you to anyone who let us sleep on your floor, moshed at the shows, or played dice with us in the alley. PS: Fun little trivia for you: Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon named his clothing brand "Drop Dead" after an On Broken Wings song "As You Speak" which is track 9 off of On Broken Wing's "Some of us May Never see the World" album. Both Oli of BMTH and Jeremy of A Day To Remember grew up on On Broken Wings, which is a trip!

[@SDREHXC]

^ buy this mans clothing, it looks good, is comfy and he’s a good dude.

[@lightningmonky7674]

Just discovered your band, fucking awesome shit, hope y'all come back! 🤘🏻

[@dootpooter4740]

based and Scarlet-pilled

[@thehurrytheharm]

I would've assumed Drop Dead was named after the band but that's neat

[@deadlydoodlestx]

Fancy seeing you here Mr. Cupcakes!

[@FLmetalhead]

I was a huge Misery Signals fan when I was younger. Still am but They were my favorite band years back. Counterparts and Brendan is awesome as well.

[@I.AM.TREBOR]

YES That old shit jams

[@halloweenfan158]

Mitch hedberg reference

[@lobster272]

STILL my favorite band. Life changing band for me.

[@FLmetalhead]

@@lobster272 for sure

[@OhTheUniverse]

song list: misery signals - the year summer ended in june poison the well - nerdy on broken wings - listless it dies today - sentiments of you the banner - funerals the bled - red wedding martyr a.d. - american hollow i killed the prom queen - your shirt would look better with a colombian necktie eighteen visions - tower of snakes all out war - redemption for the innocent

[@davidmatheny398]

This literally a shopping list for me. thanks

[@frothyshoes]

Thank you!

[@jacks910]

Why’d you write 11 songs? When he only said 10 songs.

[@andrewwagner8939]

The man is all about the roots of the genre 🤟🏻

[@m_js5709]

I love how this guy is so effortlessly wearing a BlackPink tour shirt while talking about heavy break downs lol. What an icon

[@godlesspeacesign8852]

Your comment made me go look up what it was, i just assumed it was a clothing line. It's awful. Just rip off mid 2000's r&b and then make it korean or whatever they were.

[@phlumt]

@@godlesspeacesign8852 way to make a racisst comment instead of just saying you dont like the music.

[@m_js5709]

@@godlesspeacesign8852 Lol relax bro. Its pop music. Did you expect it to sound like Meshuggah or something? 22million monthly listeners on Spotify must mean theres something about the music people enjoy. Also all pop music and r&b today is influenced by 2000s r&b, irrespective of what country its from. Half the USA metalcore bands just copy Swedish melodeath so...

[@ltarmenia4ever]

@@phlumt 1. Korean isn't a race. 2. Wtf are you talking about?

[@godlesspeacesign8852]

@@m_js5709 i literally said i thought it was a clothing line, dummy. Also dont talk to me like im some metal elitist. i listen to mostly deep house.

[@Morbad007]

It Dies Today so underrated. Great band.

[@probablynotian]

Forever Scorned is such a great record. They recently re-recorded/remastered it and it's lost some of the sparkle, but I have a copy somewhere from before.

[@ConstantGreen]

True OGs in metal core. This whole list was awesome.

[@richburnsred]

Agreed!

[@iHPL666]

10/10

[@blood8134]

Forever Scorned and The Caitiff Choir are the greatest Metalcore records ever for me

[@theax40]

Caitiff Choir rules so hard. One of the best records of all time.

[@Skeetopunk01]

Facts. That is a perfect record. Still listening regularly today.

[@rareformx]

Something about the guitar tones…so unique, so good.

[@Skeetopunk01]

@@rareformx The alternating breakdown guitar riffs on My Promise. Sounds so good on a killer sound system.

[@theax40]

@@rareformx Robots. Sounds like giant angry robots destroying your city. As The Palaces Burn always made me think that too, though the albums don't really sound alike. I think it might be that early 2000s production.

[@WrathfulCat585]

That album was soo good

[@DanteLikesRock]

Poison The Well's Opposite of December is such a brutal record. Especially the song Artist's Rendering of Me.

[@erikholbik1891]

Nothing was the same for me after hearing that album 🤌

[@jesselewis5699]

Clearly never listened to ETID 😂

[@DanteLikesRock]

@@jesselewis5699 I have. They're like a budget Converge meets Glassjaw. No thanks.

[@jamesadamgleason9471]

Here's to Cheap Sex and Codeine.​@@jesselewis5699 That's the only good one. IDT for the win

[@jxcobaniki6709]

PRESENT DAY HEARTFELT MOMENTS KILLED BY A SLAP TO THE HANDDDD

[@uniservicemann3186]

"Bands can yell there own names?" My head: "SPITE!"

[@soysauce9296]

Misery Signals might be the most influential band in the modern techy metalcore space that is virtually unknown to the kids of today. They're such a case of "your favorite band's favorite band." Bands like Counterparts, Erra, and Volumes all have their own sound, all have been mightily influential in their own right, and all cite Misery Signals as being their biggest influence.

[@jbasti227]

August Burns Red is another huge example too. Love the Mis Sigs sound of balancing technical heaviness with melodies that are equally dissonant and beautiful

[@MrPatrickbuit]

Missigs was mostly Alan's biggest inspiration and Alan is not on Erra anymore, so it's a little misleading. But yeah, phenomenal band

[@soysauce9296]

@MrPatrickbuit Jesse has been forward about Misery Signals being his biggest influence too, so you're statement is actually a bit misleading.

[@MrPatrickbuit]

@@soysauce9296 Well you certainly don’t hear it in their music since Alan left

[@Sabin41]

Kids these days don't really know a lot of bands that influenced what they listen to. Killswitch Engage, August Burns Red, Converge, Hatebreed

[@FifthAssassin]

Dude, as a guy who still craves that early millenium Trustkill sound this list is unbelievable. Also I was at the Long Island show where Counterparts played with Emmure at Revolution, you guys crushed it. Always loved how Counterparts improved upon the melodic yet heavy trustkill/ferret era core. Saw End this summer in Brooklyn w Misery Signals...next level shit. keep on🔥❤️

[@iancreighton1]

It was like he encapsulated teenage me with that list. Even just hearing the name Martyr A.D made me start moshing! One of my all time favourite beat downs.

[@amanonfire4451]

I can still remember the first time I saw It Dies Today’s “A Threnody..” video. The first car smash scene where the song immediately went into the first guitar riff and double bass drums. That gave me goosebumps

[@bythesea207]

Shit went so hard!

[@jbuddy0327]

I still blast that song today!!!

[@iHPL666]

@@jbuddy0327 10/10

[@zezuntxiduntxi]

Counterparts is an amazing band.

[@EverestJAJA]

hell yeah

[@MrRcow]

Brendan's music choices are absolutely impeccable.

[@kaylonsinghurst]

Hell yeah, especially BLACKPINK

[@jacks910]

@@kaylonsinghurst No

[@halloweenfan158]

@@jacks910don’t deny it

[@jacks910]

@@halloweenfan158 I do

[@MrShiftUK]

Please more of this, such a blast from the past. Such a great era, it's awesome to see it highlighted

[@VincentAnthonyConti]

I'm very close in age to Brendan but grew up on the opposite side of North America -- wild how we listened to the same exact albums. This was a brilliant nostalgia trip.

[@nefariousyouth6494]

Same in the UK too

[@jacobxbondesson]

In Sweden as well haha

[@littletommy69]

I Killed The Prom Queen - Music for the Recently Deceased is one of the best metalcore albums ever.. thanks to the vocalist Ed Butcher... he sounded like demon.. lows, highs, squeels.. out of this world!

[@joshuapayne668]

Could not agree more! Ed was the man. Wish he was still working

[@charlielocke9]

"the best song I've ever heard that it's not kpop", while wearing a Blackpink tshirt, strong words hahah

[@Skeetopunk01]

All of these are great picks. The trustkill and ferret era bands were so good.

[@michaelhanlon732]

I love that he picked Nerdy by Poison the Well. Classic and wasn't expecting that

[@2000Doriyas]

So much of his vocal style is replicating the dynamics and spoken word / screamed vocals in that song and misery signals of malice album, still super impressed to see that song in particular

[@ethicaltechnical]

One of the best breakdown lists ive seen. The only one i've seen include The Bled. Their breakdowns were so creative and intense. Glad to see them get some love.

[@TomCatTheCatMan]

The bled in general doesn't get the recognition they deserve. Such a good band, I picked up 'Pass the Flask" when it came out just because I thought the name of the band was cool and I do not regret it for one second. That record came out the year I graduated high school and it just resonated with me so much. To this day it's one of my favorite records to put on when I wanna hype up and rock the fuck out. "The smell of turpentine drips from the walls. Forgive and forget, relive and regret. You're not alone I've seen the dead arise. The ice will someday thaw, and she will wait no more" -Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back Such a killer song! Killer record! Killer band! Long live The Bled!

[@standardbrah]

Pass the Flask is unreal, so wild

[@DooMedSean]

I saw It Dies Today and Eighteen Visions in the thumbnail and instantly knew this would be a promising list :) especially since Poison The Well is in there!

[@russelltutt1675]

Well done! Respect for putting in, On Broken Wings. It’s All a Long Goodbye, is my favorite hardcore album of all time.

[@codycrouse7948]

great list! all these are gold! glad to see the banner on this list!

[@EyeAmHell]

So glad Brendan and Counterparts have had such longevity. They really are just great dudes making great music.

[@iamweed42069]

The vocalist to All Out War was my high school Global History teacher, and he's a super good guy. Sick call out!

[@tylert812]

Really love that he put All Out War on his list. Truly incredible band.

[@__M738]

This is basically what my list would look like well done. What and absolute golden era of music. The early truskill ferret eulogy victory etc days were the best

[@netogame7727]

Finally someone that gives love to poison the well and eighteen visions!!! PTW is one of my favorite bands of all time.

[@billg708]

WOW! Some gems listed here! Thank you for the list!

[@goner.9989]

Brendan being a K-Pop fan... yes. Yes. I love metal and hardcore and all this stuff but blackpink, some aespa... shit goes hella hard. There's also a lot of craft in the writing of those songs. Fuck yeah.

[@jtaylor476]

Black pink in ya area!

[@goner.9989]

@Ultra Legendary Master dude, apink is SOOOO GOOD

[@jacks910]

“Hard” shouldn’t be a term that ever correlates with f’n k pop

[@halloweenfan158]

@@jacks910hard means something is good and blackpink are awesome

[@jacks910]

@@halloweenfan158 Nope

[@keithk001]

Can't wait to see Counterparts live next month!

[@Samsonwarrior]

Nice to see so much classic metalcore on this list 🙌🏻

[@djchubbs]

Some absolute heavy hitters on this list! You just cannot beat 2000-2005 metalcore

[@pmaigotthat7211]

You can. 91-99

[@hatersgonnahateyo]

nice to see Poison the Well getting love. my favorite -core band of all time

[@Turok1134]

Disembodied's discography is a collection of the best metalcore breakdowns. To this day, Heretic is one of the angriest, most vicious records ever made. All Out War is also an absolute breakdown machine.

[@xxxtkvxxx]

Disembodied’s the heaviest band of all time. Just pure hate

[@bronsontolliver9027]

Misery Signals' breakdowns did that "Where's the snare? Where's the snare?! Bang! There's your fuckin snare." think so well.

[@TyAndreww]

God I love Brendan so much, would love to see more of this!

[@jacobvan29]

Great list! Love the bands and the idea behind making these lists. Iktpq has a special place in my heart along with misery signals and it dies today. Not sure if it can be classified as metalcore or deathcore but "In Dying Days" by As Blood Runs Black has 1 of the most legendary breakdowns of all time

[@lukemarvin1744]

Pass the flask was a life changing album for sure

[@ConstantGreen]

The Tower of Snakes breakdown is the heaviest thing in existence and you can’t convince me otherwise.

[@jaywellslecuyer8977]

So many amazing choices. I had the same feelings with alllllllll these bands. Aligned.

[@BorisTheGoose92]

Man it's wild how many bands on this list I either didn't know, but also forgot about while literally living through the same times as him.

[@corycourtney8923]

Right off the bat this is already a fantastic list. The Year the Summer Ended in June is a fucking banger.

[@BrensPerspective]

always surprised when i hear a reference to Sudbury haha, good video guys, and thank you Brendan!

[@MiguelSanchez-rz7uc]

I always forget about I Killed a Prom Queen, they had an EP with Parkway drive which I think the first thing Parkway Drive recorded and released.

[@TuneL0wDieSl0w]

Love this man, love his bands.

[@wamsutta]

"Sentiments Of You" is not on The Caitiff Choir, it's off their Forever Scorned EP. Banger song, banger list, Brendan's great!

[@mikegomez8369]

Deluxe version of Caitiff had Sentiments on it. They basically redid the EP on the deluxe version.

[@wamsutta]

@@mikegomez8369 Thanks! I had no idea about this.

[@thousandpound1994]

Sick list! Really happy to see The Banner here. Those guys don't get the love they deserve.

[@MrHarmonizr]

good pull with the PTW Nerdy! Through back! Also just had to edit this because I was thinking you forgot The Bled, but I was a little too soon!

[@mydudechris]

The Banner is still in my weekly rotation, so good

[@__M738]

Agreed They are one of the more underrated bands from their era metalcore.

[@jesselucero4581]

Love the subtle Mitch Hedburg reference at like :48

[@CharlieViking95]

Eulogy a 10/10 masterpiece.

[@ScotCinamon]

Love than Brendan calls out Misery Signals, Poison the Well, Shai Hulud (in passing) and The Bled. All those bands have albums that are still some of my favorite to this day.

[@ATLR9]

First time I seen eighteen visions was with poison the well, Club Q in 2000. Killer show, Throwdown and Dragbody played as well as We All Fall Down who ended up transforming into Remembering Never! Best era of music!

[@gordonvshumway]

Davidian, and Mesuggah Chaosphere

[@kren7016]

Very Good list ! Poison the Well, misery signals, the bled, martyr AD

[@RealAlkey]

Great now I have to listen to 2000's metalcore the rest of the week. All these breakdowns... very nostalgic.

[@kanebatten5343]

Thank you for reminding me about American Hollow, that blew me away when I first heard it, will have to revisit it 👌 and so awesome Prom Queen made the list, them and early Parkway, were always on repeat 🔥🔥

[@Anonymousdethroned]

Man these classics brought me back to the early 2000s. Great picks.

[@WrathfulCat585]

I love nerdy by poison the well....misery signals is amazing as well.

[@jbasti227]

I think Brendan loves dissonant breakdowns. Also didn’t notice the Mitch Hedberg reference at 0:47 until now. Just another reason to love Brendan.

[@StaticSpine]

What a sick list. Huge respect!

[@Anonymous_Coment]

On Broken Wings brings me back. I do my crosswords in pen.

[@russelltutt1675]

It’s All a Long Goodbye is my favorite hardcore album of all time. No questions asked.

[@dootpooter4740]

@@russelltutt1675 ever listened to Scarlet - Cult Classic?

[@russelltutt1675]

@@dootpooter4740 Honestly, I have not. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@dootpooter4740]

@@russelltutt1675 bro you will love that album it's a guarantee

[@russelltutt1675]

@@dootpooter4740 I am looking forward to listening to the album!! Thanks a lot, my brother!

[@thrasher5122]

I Killed The Prom Queen deserved to be bigger. I was into them huge back in the day and then followed the bands that come from their “breakup”

[@AyoJesse]

I think if they had better recordings they would have been bigger.

[@buildfear9507]

I think if they were a better band they’d have been huge. Sadly for them, they were terrible, so… there’s your answer as to why they weren’t bigger.

[@TunnelJumper]

@@buildfear9507 “In my opinion” they were terrible. Try that next time. Why do you think they were terrible? Give reasons. That way people will want to have a real discussion about it with you. When you state it like it’s a fact, you’re shutting down the conversation before it begins.

[@buildfear9507]

@@TunnelJumper I don’t want to have a conversation in a KZbin comments section mate.

[@ajfite1277]

@@buildfear9507 then why the fuck did you respond?

[@bewtv3416]

Great list, based on the era I’m surprised you didn’t include Bury Your Dead, but can understand based on the more metalcore taste

[@626drums]

It was the Mitch Hedberg joke for me. 🤘

[@mercuryian]

Possibly the most accurate “best list” video on KZbin

[@hydrakn]

Best thing I've watched in awhile. Interesting hearing his list. Everyone has their own opinion and your personal history shapes the list for sure. In my case #1 is probably Botch's "Hutton's Great Heat Engine" or maybe "Oma".

[@jacksonislegend]

Hell yeah dude! The misery signals boys are still one of the greatest metalcore bands of all time and easily one of the biggest influences on the modern metalcore and melodic hardcore scene. I actually got into counterparts because I thought they sounded similar to misery signals 🤘🏻

[@DadCore666]

It’s nice to see some 18V love for a change. James Hart is one of the best vocalists IMO.

[@davidlawson-yg5nf]

Seeing him sing misery signals the year summer ended in June at furnace fest 2021 was one of the most epic moments ever

[@slowdecay413]

U are literally listing every single band I constantly listened to when I was in my early early 20's!!!!! Literally every band u named was my shit back in the day. It Dies today, On Broken Wings, MARTYR A.D!!!!!, Dude I Killed the Prom Queen, the FUCK BLED!, Poison The Well( still jamming out!!!) Eighteen Visions TOWER OF SNAKES! Then u finished with ALL OUT WAR!!!!!! YO my whole late teens and early 20's in a nutshell.

[@I.AM.TREBOR]

EXCELLENT list. Evergreen Terrace should be on this list too though.

[@rickyiglesias5384]

BM, you are too much like me. lol. MisSig, PTW, 18V, IDT, Bled. ALL bands I fell in love with as a teenager and still love. PLUS the great Hedberg joke in there.

[@VNKNWNVK]

SOLID. FUCKING. LIST. I think I got to see all these live at some point holy times

[@Pharmakokinetic]

This guy loves exactly all of the same breakdowns I loved back in 2009.

[@nicholastautuhi5031]

This list is absolutely perfect.

[@hariluyeah]

Brendan is such a blink! I would love to see him screaming with that BLACKPINK's Born Pink Tour

[@joaohenrique_23]

Amazing list

[@brett5569]

It does today❤️ one of the first heavy bands I got into

[@jamrhein2]

Dude not only am I jazzed as all fuck to see IDT get some love for once, but Sentiments of You at that. They're an all-time top 3 band for me. Wish Nick would have stuck around and left us more bangers, I always felt they never peaked. Story time though: Sentiments of You was requested by some dude in Pittsburgh at 3 consecutive IDT shows over 2yrs, it was hilarious. First time they joked about it. Second time Nick laughed his story off but they had a touring guitarist who didn't know it. 3rd time was after Jason took over for Nick and he didn't know the lyrics. The band played the breakdown for the guy anyway and Jason moshed with the crowd while some random guy grunted in the mic. Jason got punched in the face. Reunion show a few years later happened to be in Pittsburgh and they actually played Sentiments of You in its entirety with the OG members. Always hoped that guy was there lol.

[@joshinaround9551]

IKTPQ were instrumental for the Aussie metalcore scene. If Crafter doesn't go to that first ever Parkway Drive show, history would be a lot different.

[@Dylan-cu4ty]

Brendan giving some love to eighteen visions makes me happy 🤘

[@galaxydrifter1165]

The Banner meant so much to me growing up. Great to see them get some love

[@trooperformaiden]

Ha! I was in the poison the well photos they posted.

[@ridleysomeliana-lauer5814]

Perfect list.

[@amrituppal1361]

This list is absolutely top tier 🤘🏾🤘🏾

[@danielmiller4279]

Of Malice goated

[@FLmetalhead]

Damn right

[@jbasti227]

Top 10 all timer without question

[@jacks910]

I like Karl better than Jesse, tbh.

[@RickyMackie]

“What do we name this song, I don’t know let’s write a full essay”…so fkn true 😂. I had a band back then and we did the same thing, it was almost a subconscious thought to do that, yet so many people were doing that haha. One of our titles was “All I can picture is dead corpses on a ballroom floor with half eaten faces” 😂☠️

[@halloweenfan158]

What was the name of band?

[@juliantorres8818]

Nice list 👌

[@madpegasus4626]

This is easily the greatest breakdown list ever made. Every pick is god tier

[@floydsemlow8253]

Absolutely!!🔥 Misery signals slaps Hard AF especially Live 🔥

[@stevenw373]

This list is fire!

[@rosiehaircolor2299]

after every track listed i was like, "damn, i wonder if he'll list x..." and it's a spot on list of my early years

[@Justintwoguys123]

Glad he listens to actual good metalcore.

[@corey_kuma]

Great picks