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title: Screamo created: 2026-04-07 updated: 2026-04-07 type: genre tags: [screamo, post-hardcore, hardcore, emo, era-1990s, era-2000s, era-2010s] sources: [raw/articles/screamo-wikipedia.md]

Screamo

A subgenre of emo and post-hardcore characterized by screamed or shouted vocals, chaotic dynamics (quiet passages erupting into noise), and emotionally intense lyrics. Emerged in the early 1990s from the same San Diego/D.C./Midwest scenes that produced second-wave emo.

Origins

The term “screamo” was initially descriptive — emo with screaming. The first-wave screamo bands:

  • Heroin (San Diego, 1989-1993) — gravity-records. Matt Anderson. Pioneered the chaotic, screamy sound.
  • Antioch Arrow (San Diego) — In Love with Jetts (1994). Theatrical, intense.
  • Orchid (Amherst, MA, 1998-2002) — Chaotic, political screamo.
  • Pg. 99 (Virginia, 1998-2003) — Raw, emotional.

Key Bands

  • touche-amore — LA. Stage Four (2016). One of the best screamo bands of the 2010s.
  • La Dispute (Grand Rapids, 2004-) — Spoken-word influenced. Wildlife (2011).
  • Pianos Become the Teeth (Baltimore, 2006-) — Emotional, atmospheric.
  • City of Caterpillar (Richmond, 2000-2003, reunited) — Chaotic screamo.
  • Saosin (Orange County, 2003-) — More polished, commercial screamo.
  • thursday — Not strictly screamo but deeply influential on the genre.

Screamo vs. “Screamo”

The term “screamo” became contested in the 2000s. Mainstream usage applied it to any band with screamed vocals (Underoath, Silverstein, A Day to Remember). The underground screamo community — which used the term for the chaotic, emotionally raw original sound — rejected this dilution. The term “skramz” was coined to distinguish the underground version from the mainstream.