It’s safe to say that maths really is everywhere, with algorithms involved in pretty much everything it's hard to escape the subject of numbers.
But what about music? Well, the genre of music called ‘mathcore’ is dedicated to the world of mathematics and is all about 'breaking boundaries'.
Described as a ‘subgenre of hardcore punk and metal', bands that fit into the genre usually emphasise complex rhythms.
They do this through things like irregular time signatures, tempo changes, polymeters, angular melodies and peculiar chord possessions.
Mathcore emerged in the 1990s, and is displayed in bands like Converge, Coalesce, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Candiria.
When describing ‘maths rock’ one Reddit user hit the nail on the head by saying: “It uses odd asymmetrical time signatures or constantly changing meters based on various groupings of two and three.
“Critics in the late 1980s would describe this sound as "mathematical" and that's how it got its name.”
Night In At Tiananmens, a mathcore band from Billings, Montana, aren’t shy to the unique genre, it’s their main focus, along with ‘grindcore’.
Although the option to play mathcore music wasn’t a choice at first, drummer JR Anderson explained that they’d grown to 'love the genre.'
He said: “I had been writing songs for what would become NIAT because I loved it. I wanted the intensity of grindcore but with the complexity of someone like The Dillinger Escape Plan.
“In Montana, there isn’t anyone doing what Night In At Tiananmens is doing. NIAT has been around for three or four years now and during that time I’ve really grown to understand what mathcore is."
So, what exactly drew the band to mathcore?
JR continued: “I believe, it’s a community of people who like a challenge.
“In one way or another. I love playing this stuff knowing that I’m just a measure or note away from losing it. I get a rush playing this way.”
The features of mathcore like tempo changes, aren’t just found in mathcore either, they’re also found in free jazz and ‘math rock.’
Mathrock isn’t as heavy as mathcore, and is described as a ‘progressive and indie rock’ displayed in bands like Coheed and Cambria and King Crimson.
One Reddit user, describing the mathematical music genres, said: “Instead of going 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4, it goes 1-2-1-2-1-2-3 1-2-1-2-1-2-3.”
Seems simple enough.
