90s alternative soon turned into emo, and emo soon turned into screamo. Bands such as Smashing Pumpkins foreshadowed screamo on tracks such as “Tales Of A Scorched Earth” in 1995. By the early 2000s, emo and screamo gained significant popularity and soon dominated alternative music.
Here are four screamo bands of the 2000s that you’ll find on your old MP3 player.
underoath
In 1999, Underoath released their debut studio album Act Of Depression. They released three studio albums, with vocalist Dallas Taylor handling the screams. Following their third album, Dallas Taylor left to form Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster. Vocalist Spencer Chamberlain joined the group, and drummer Aaron Gillespie began contributing the clean vocals in contrast to Chamberlain’s screams. This created the band’s iconic dynamic, and their fourth album in 2004, They’re Only Chasing Safety, propelled them into alternative stardom. The album was their first to chart, hitting No. 1 on the US Heatseekers Albums chart.
Songs such as “Reinventing Your Exits” and “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” became signature tracks for the group and defining scream songs. Their 2006 follow-up, Define The Great Line, was a massive commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Songs such as “Writing On The Walls” and “You’re Ever So Inviting” are among fan favorites from the release.
hawthorne heights
Hawthorne Heights was the first screamo band I remember listening to. My older cousin had the CD, and while on a family trip, I was huddled in the back of the van listening to “Ohio Is For Lovers”. I had never heard anything like it, and screamo soon became my entire MP3 playlist for years to come. The Silence In Black And White was released on June 8, 2004, and peaked at No. 1 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 3 on the Independent Albums chart.
I SET MY FRIENDS ON FIRE
This is a band that feels long forgotten, but I can’t deny how huge they were among screamo bands. You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter was released in 2008. They perfected screamo at the time, and “Things That Rhyme With Orange” was their magnum opus. If you wanna blow older-emo’s minds, remind them of I Set My Friends On Fire, and I guarantee they’ll remember this album. Gen Z will never fully understand how defining albums like this were for millennials, as once again, we had never heard music quite like this before.
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