the.com/screamo
emotional hardcore where the larynx becomes a confession booth set on fire
means A subgenre of emo and hardcore punk defined by screamed or shrieked vocals over chaotic, emotionally raw instrumentation.
from A 1990s portmanteau of 'scream' and 'emo,' stitched together as the genre's tortured-throat offshoot needed a name. 'Scream' descends from Middle English and is likely related to Old Norse 'skræma,' to scare; 'emo' is itself a clipping of 'emotional' (or 'emotive hardcore') from the 1980s D.C. punk scene. So screamo is a doubly modern label — slang built on slang, born in zines and basement shows before it ever reached a dictionary.
- name origin
- coined in 1990s D.C. punk scene, semi-mockingly
- key bands
- Pg.99, Orchid, City of Caterpillars led the wave
- misused term
- often wrongly slapped on any band that screams
- song length
- early tracks often clocked under two minutes
- emo roots
- branched from 1980s emotional hardcore, or emocore
tears for fears — british band that pioneered emotional, synth-driven new wave in the 1980s, not screamo
fall of efrafa — british screamo band from 2003-2011, known for complex arrangements and animal rights themes
saetia — new york screamo band from 1995-2002 that helped define the genre with emotional intensity