Back in the early 2000s, there was this local screamo band where I lived just outside of Nashville. (I’m petty, so I’m not going to name the band because I don’t want them to get the satisfaction of being blatantly acknowledged.)
I didn’t really like them, but because the emo movement was on such a major rise, they were pretty big fish in our small town pond, so I had to be in their orbit more often than I was happy about. One night, at a show, I made a comment about how they were “screamo,” and it DID NOT go over well.
One of the dudes, we’ll call him Renjamin, got especially butthurt about it and replied, “We’re not screamo, we’re hardcore.” Lol, no, they absolutely were not. They had high-pitched, clean singing just as much as screaming, and there were no deep chugging riffs or breakdowns.
They were mostly melodic and clearly copied Thursday, almost note for note. And they all had Screamo Hair, which is so much a real thing that you just pictured it exactly without me even having to elaborate. So, fuck you, Renjamin. You’re screamo.
For Legal Purposes: Renjamin is Screamo
I’ve always felt like that desperate need to draw a line and label themselves something perceived as more valid was weird. There’s nothing wrong with screamo. It’s good, and it’s a fair term to identify the sound of a specific kind of heavy music. And, there are tons of great screamo bands and albums out there that have been transformative for the emo scene.
Which brings us to a list! Below you’ll find a few screamo albums from the Elder Millennial era (like 1999-2008) that I think are fully no-skip records. Starting with…
Define the Great Line – Underoath
I get that Underoath’s They’re Only Chasing Safety is a more obvious choice, and I’m not saying that it has skips, I just think that the songs on Define the Great Line, even the ones some might (but should not) skip, are of better quality than the ones you could skip on They’re Only Chasing Safety. (I think that makes sense?)
The album is just darker and more mature than its predecessor, and the songwriting is amped up several notches.
Standout Tracks: “You’re Ever So Inviting” and “Everyone Looks So Good From Here.”
The Artist in the Ambulance – Thrice
I’ll be honest… I debated on whether or not it was fair to call this a “screamo” album, because there are a lot of dynamics at play on Thrice’s third album that keep it from being strictly screamo (post-hardcore, metal-ish riffs, etc). Ultimately, I decided that the balance of singing and screaming, as well as the melodic songwriting structure of the music, qualifies it, and if you have a problem with that, well… too late, cause you already read this far.
After The Artist in the Ambulance, Thrice set off on a fascinating trajectory, developing their perspective and their sound much more philosophically than any of their peers (go back and listen to their 2018 album Palms and tell me that doesn’t touch your actual soul).
But this album, this moment in time, is such pure youthful indignation, from the lyrics vulnerably sung and screamed by frontman Dustin Kensrue to the brilliantly melodic musicianship on display.
Standout Tracks: “Cold Cash and Colder Hearts” and “Silhouette.”
The Question – Emery
I genuinely believe that there isn’t a better example of “screamo” than Emery. The way they’ve always balanced beautiful singing and harmonies with glass-shattering screams… It’s just the purest version of the genre.
On their 2005 sophomore album, The Question, the band made a major mark on their respective genre, crafting an eclectic screamo record that explored the complexities of life and death, not the least of which can be a crisis of faith.
From the first song, “So Cold I Could See My Breath,” all the way to the last, “In a Win, Win Situation,” not one song on the album is superfluous or unnecessary, and they are all — each and every one — absolute bops. I could listen to this album from front to back on repeat forever.
Standout Tracks: “Studying Politics” and “Listening to Freddie Mercury.”
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