Terrorcore developed in the early 1990s in the Dutch and German hardcore scenes as an even faster, darker branch of gabber, typically pushing beyond 200 BPM with heavily distorted kicks. The purge element nods to the alarm siren popularised by The Purge films, a sound now shorthand online for lawless chaos about to begin. Short terrorcore clips spread through rave forums, YouTube edits and soundboards, where their extreme intensity made them useful as a joke escalation tool as much as serious dance music.