Screemo: Not Just for Pissed Off People

Towards the turn of the Millennium came a new kind of music, and that was Screemo.  Many people don’t even consider this a legitimate form of music but I am here to advocate for it as an avid listener.  To start off many Screemo bands these days aren’t actually as angry as they sound, they usually get their bad reps from the fact that their harsh tones imply that they are generally angry at the world but that is usually not the case, but in reality a good amount of them are christian bands at the core and their lyrics generally reflect that.  The best example of this is the Dayton, Ohio band “The Devil Wears Prada” who on the surface might be deemed as angry but their lyrics are actually somewhat peaceful.

One last thought that I had I would like to bring up is that screaming has been present in rock since the beginning.  From The Who to Led Zeppelin there was always a little rock scream in their songs, even The Beatles had Paul belt out a mesmerizing screech in their 1968 hit single “Hey Jude”.  All these bands do is take the intensity of those short bursts of screaming and try to incorporate it into all their music. Yes, sometimes screaming can be a bit much if it is used all the time, but, in my opinion, if the back up singers have great melodic voices and they have a good back and forth dynamic the band can usually be quite enjoyable.