Did you ever wonder what it would be like to mix the theme song from the original Mario Bros. games with chugging guitars and the vocal stylings of someone who wasn't hugged enough as a child?

You're not alone. In fact, there's an entire genre of music devoted to this sound - it's called nintendocore.

Growing out of metalcore - a fusion of heavy metal and punk - nintendocore derives it's distinctive sound from the use of synths reminiscent of mid-eighties video games. Because of this, the music is more often classed as electronic than standard rock, even though it tends to either fuse or alternate between the typical instrumentations of both.

The first band to earn this moniker counts amongst its members the man who coined it. Nathan Winneke of HORSE the Band used the term jokingly to refer to both the synths and pop-culture references in their earlier releases. However, their last two albums have featured a stylistic departure that sets them apart from the genre.

While most of the music produced by nintendocore bands is original, some bands choose to cover or sample music from video games, or write songs directly inspired by them. Different bands covering cherished bits of nostalgia has it's dark side, though, as rivalries have broken out between such bands as the Minibosses and the NESkimoes over artistic politics.

Nintendocore is still a relatively small subgenre, garnering little commercial attention and hit-or-miss critical praise. While it is growing, there's still time to hop on the bandwagon before it gets too crowded to be considered underground. These are just a few bands that could serve as your jumping off point:

Sky Eats Airplane: Blending screams with more melodic sections and heavily electronic breakdowns, Sky Eats Airplane is relatively new on the scene, having formed less than five years ago. Despite this, they're already considered a major player. Listen to The Artificial off of their 2008 self-titled album.

Dungeon Elite: This Italian three-piece has only released a single album so far, and it may well be their last, since little has been heard from or about them since 2008. That year they released Make Love Not Warcraft, featuring i've to do lvl 23 before server crush down, a track worth hearing.

The Advantage: Taking their inspiration from actual videogames, over the past 10 years The Advantage has released more tour CDs than studio albums. They were originally known as Generic, but changed their name prior to their 2004 release. Check out Metroid: Krald's Lair off of 2008's Self-Titled.

For something with local flavour, pick up the self-titled debut release from London-based A Horse and His Boy at Grooves.