Screamo is a subgenre of
hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from
emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s. The term "screamo" was initially applied to a more aggressive offshoot of emo that developed in San Diego in 1991, which used short songs that grafted "spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics."
[2] The genre experienced a popularity boost in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and by mid-2000s the over-saturation of the scene encouraged bands to incorporate more experimental elements. Due to the popularity and evolution of the style to a point of being unrecognizable, the term "skramz" is sometimes used to describe bands from the first wave of screamo.
[edit]Characteristics
Screamo essentially describes a particularly dissonant style of emo influenced by hardcore punk.
[3] Screamo uses typical rock instrumentation, but is notable for its brief compositions, chaotic execution, and
screaming vocals. The genre is "generally based in the aggressive side of the overarching punk-revival scene."
[3] Primary characteristics of the genre are described by
Allmusic:
[3]
| “ | It came to be that the soft/loud dynamic of having either one or two singers who alternate between passionate singing and distraught shrieking that characterizes most screamo. These vocals are often layered or appear side-by-side amid aggressive, hard-hitting guitar licks used to trigger an exhaustive, emotional catharsis. Though the music is outwardly tough and powerful, the lyrics are usually of the introspective kind found in softer emo bands. | ” |
In addition to melodic transitions from heavy to soft styles, the genre is also characterized "by frequent shifts in tempo and dynamics and by tension-and-release catharses."
[6] Screamed vocals are used "not consistently, but as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics reach a particular emotional pitch."
[6] Some consider the genre to be a bridge between hardcore punk and emo.
[7]
[edit]Conceptual elements
Screamo lyrics often feature topics such as emotional pain, romantic interest, feminism, politics, and human rights.
[8] The New York Times noted that "part of the music's appeal is its un-self-conscious acceptance of differences, respect for otherness." Some screamo bands openly demonstrate acceptance of religious, nonreligious,
straight edge, and
homosexual lifestyles.
[6]
[edit]History
[edit]Origins (early 1990s–early 2000s)
The term screamo is applied to a music genre that began in 1991, in San Diego, at the
Ché Café,
[11] with groups such as
Heroin,
Antioch Arrow,
[12] Angel Hair,
Mohinder,
Swing Kids, and
Portraits of Past.
[13] These groups were influenced by
post-hardcore bands from
Washington D.C., particularly
Fugazi and
Nation of Ulysses,
[2] straight edge, the Chicago group
Articles of Faith, the hardcore punk band
Die Kreuzen,
[14] and
post-punk, such as
Joy Division[15] and
Bauhaus.
[2] Some early screamo bands such as
Farincorporated elements of
alternative rock.
[16]
Gravity Records[14][17] and
Ebullition Records[13] released this more chaotic and expressive style of hardcore. The scene is noted for its distinctive fashion sense, inspired by
mod culture.
[9] Much as the term "emo" is, the term "screamo" has always been controversial in the scene.
[2]
[edit]Contemporary screamo (2000s–present)
By 1995, the genre name "screamo" drifted into the music press, especially in the journalism of
Jim DeRogatis and
Andy Greenwald,
[8] and by the mid-2000s, the over-saturation of the screamo scene had caused many bands to purposefully expand past the genre's trademarks and incorporate more experimental elements.
[3] Some bands that formed in North America during the late 1990s and remained active throughout the 2000s, such as
Thursday,
Alexisonfire,
Poison the Well, and
The Used made screamo much more popular.
[3][24]Thursday cited the post-punk band
Joy Division, and the post-hardcore band
Fugazi as important influences, but also took cues from the alternative rock of
Radiohead,
U2, and
The Cure.
[25][26] Many of these bands took influence from the likes of
Refused,
At the Drive-In,
[3]and
Keepsake. In contrast to the DIY first-wave screamo groups, Thursday and The Used have signed multi-album contracts with labels such as
Island Def Jam and
Reprise Records.
[27]
Hawthorne Heights and
Story of the Year, two bands frequently featured on MTV, have been noted for their popularization of contemporary screamo,
[3] although both have since made stylistic changes.
[28][29] Other active American screamo acts include
Comadre,
[30] Off Minor,
Men As Trees,
[31] Senses Fail,
[32][33] Sleeping with Sirens,
[34] and
Vendetta Red.
[3] The contemporary screamo scene is also particularly active in Europe, with bands such as
Funeral For a Friend,
[35] Amanda Woodward,
[36] Louise Cyphre,
[37] Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort,
[38] La Quiete, and
Raein all being prime examples of their scene.
[edit]Influence on other styles
"Emo violence" is a term used to describe a fusion of screamo, emo and
powerviolence. The name was coined half-jokingly by
In/Humanity.
[39] Recognisable elements of emo violence are its incorporation of amplified feedback and blast beats; the music is highly dissonant and chaotic, generally featuring fast tempos, shouting, and screamed vocals.
[40][41] Emo violence practitioners include
Pg. 99,
Orchid,
[42] Reversal of Man,
[42] Agna Moraine, RentAmerica,
[41] and In/Humanity.
[39][43]
Some screamo groups, such as Orchid, Reversal of Man, and
Circle Takes the Square tend to be much closer to
grindcore than their forebears.
[42][44] Other screamo acts have often incorporated
post-rock into their music. This fusion is characterized by abrupt changes in pace, atmospheric, harmonic instrumentation, and low-volume vocals.
[45][46] Pianos Become the Teeth,
[47] City of Caterpillar,
Envy,
Funeral Diner, and Le Pre Ou Je Suis Mort
[38][45] are examples of post-rock influenced screamo acts.
[edit]Vagueness of the term "screamo"
While the genre was developing in the early 1990s, the term "screamo" was not used.
[13] Chris Taylor, lead vocalist for the band
Pg. 99, said "we never liked that whole screamo thing. Even during our existence, we tried to venture away from the fashion and tell people, "Hey, this is punk."
[54] Jonathan Dee of
The New York Times wrote that the term "tends to bring a scornful laugh from the bands themselves."
[6] Lars Gotrich of
NPR Music made the following comment on the matter:
[54]
| “ | The screamo scene [has] change[d] a lot in the last 10 years. There used to be more creative bands like Circle Takes the Square and City of Caterpillar. And then it took this route where screamo got really streamlined and unrecognizable to the point where someone hilariously invented the term "skramz" to distinguish the first wave of screamo bands. | ” |
Allmusic has noted that the term "screamo" can sometimes be vague, and that even bands that weren’t necessarily screamo would often use the style's characteristic guttural vocal style.
[3] Derek Miller, guitarist for the band
Poison the Well noted the term's constant differing usages and jokingly stated that it "describes a thousand different genres."
[55] According to Jeff Mitchell of
Iowa State Daily, "there is no set definition of what screamo sounds like but screaming over once deafeningly loud rocking noise and suddenly quiet, melodic guitar lines is a theme commonly affiliated with the genre."
[56] Bert McCracken, lead singer of
The Used, stated that "screamo" is merely a term "for record companies to sell records and for record stores to categorize them."
[57] Juan Gabe, vocalist for the band
Comadre, alleged that the term "has been kind of tainted in a way, especially in the States
