#goreweb

Round 1, Match 177 — Glitchcore vs. Goreweb

Glitchcore is an aesthetic characterized by the maximalistic use of visual glitches and distortion, incorporating heavily saturated colors, rainbows, flashing patterns, pixelation, and eyestrain. It peaked in popularity on TikTok in 2020-21, often associated with the Danganronpa fandom. The aesthetic frequently features characters and artwork from cartoons, anime, and video games. Common visual elements include highly saturated colors, black and white (but not gray), pixels, patterns such as waves, stripes, and checkers, peace signs, hearts, starts, smiley faces, and other symbols, and anime/cartoon characters.

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Goreweb, also known as Chaoscore, is an internet aesthetic and visual subgenre of Opium that originated in the 2020s. It is defined by the recontextualization of "shock site" imagery (specifically the low-resolution, gory visual language of mid-2000s platforms like LiveLeak and Rotten.com) into a high-fashion or "hype" context. Popularized heavily by rapper Ken Carson during the promotional cycle for his 2023 album A Great Chaos, the aesthetic blends the "edgy" nostalgia of early internet horror (Creepypastas, Cursed Images) with the luxury darkness of modern streetwear. Unlike Traumacore, which utilizes similar imagery to express vulnerability, Goreweb utilizes it to project aggression, desensitization, and a chaotic "rockstar" lifestyle. The visual style of Goreweb is designed to mimic "degraded" or "forbidden" digital media. Creative director Nick Spiders, who shaped much of Ken Carson's visual identity, describes the goal as creating images that look "louder, crazier, bloodier" than standard hip-hop imagery. Images are often heavily compressed, sharpened, or "deep-fried" to resemble low-quality video files from 2005. Watermarks from defunct shock sites (LiveLeak, Unregistered Hypercam 2) are frequently overlaid as aesthetic signifiers. The aesthetic borrows heavily from the visual elements of Slam Metal and Grindcore, utilizing illegible, spiky, and symmetrical logos that resemble piles of branches or veins. The imagery frequently references specific internet urban legends or cult films. Notable motifs include the "Jeff the Killer" face, nana825763's infamous "username666" video, and the 2003 film Oldboy (specifically scenes of violence or captivity). A recurring motif involves x-rays, dental horror (e.g., Ken Carson's "Vampire" grills), and digitally added blood splatters. This is often juxtaposed with luxury fashion items, such as the "gimp mask" circles found on Rick Owens puffer jackets.