Screamo: The hardcore punk meets emo hybrid which originated in the 90s has found new life in the past decade, attracting a fresh young audience of zoomers to bring some youthful energy to the aging back-pain-suffering crowd of Orchid and Gospel fans. It’s not just these young bands keeping the scene alive though, as a lot of the older heavyweights have been putting out comeback albums or doing reunion tours with impressive consistency, and a number of bands who started in the late 00s/early ‘10s like State Faults, Gillian Carter and Birds in Row are still going strong and seem to just keep getting better.
One side of the genre that seems to be especially burgeoning however is of the heavier variety, and this is coming in several forms. The most common is often called “emoviolence” for its blend with grind and powerviolence. With a focus on shorter songs, blast beats, and mosh riffs, this more energetic and explosive take at screamo translates well into a live setting and offers a more unrelenting listening experience. The last month alone has delivered two of the strongest releases of that variety this year, from the likes of veterans Lord Snow returning with their first LP in six years, Have You Heard of the High Elves, and newer standouts Nuvolascura, with How This All Ends.
Both these albums are challenging and complex, incorporating the energetic weirdness of math-music. With Have You Heard of the High Elves, Lord Snow takes a more old-school approach with off-kilter math rock dissonance and frequent tempo and time-signature changes. It hits on some of the dynamic elements that really makes the post-rock side of screamo shine, and the limits to where this stretches are far reaching. You can also have a great time just taking in the drumming on this album, as it is consistently pushing beyond expectations in awesome ways. From start to finish it's an anxious, uncomfortable cacophony of distortion and pain and fury, which is often exactly what I want from this genre.
As mentioned the new Nuvolascura is just as technical, but draws more from mathcore than math rock. Relative to a lot of screamo, it’s like playing an arcade racing game with the speed boost function permanently enabled. It takes a high skill level to pull off all the maneuvers, but manages to nail every corner, so to speak. A surprising comparison I can’t help but to make with some of the guitar work especially, is to the instrumental prog metal group Night Verses. An unexpected treat as very few bands out there pull off that brand of frantic, upbeat technical riffery such as the start of “Cordiform Projection”. The unhinged high-pitched screams, double-bass kicks and blast beats add to this unrelenting energy before they do eventually slow things down for some dynamic mysterious tones. With their third LP since 2019, this LA four-piece has really cemented themselves at the forefront of this new wave of heavy screamo.
The other manner in which screamo has embraced heaviness that may be more approachable for some, is its fusion with metalcore. Now, like metalcore itself, this fusion can go in a number of ways. There is something sometimes referred to as “mall screamo” when the sound embraces more clean singing, choruses and cleaner production. The latest For Your Health album The Bitter Garden released in June ventured into this territory. The key to its success was maintaining a balance of quirkiness and manic passion. It manages to be catchy without falling into the traps of being predictable and generic. The squealing mathcore riffs don’t hurt either. It’s nostalgic and fun but feels emotionally earnest, with the musical talent to wrap that into something meaningful.
Of course metalcore can also be dark, visceral and gritty and this found its way into screamo this year again via the Italian outfit Crossed. With Realismo Ausente, they bring this aura of vileness to their sound rivaling portrayal of guilt, contrasted with razor sharp throwback Converge-like metalcore riffs. Grimy blackened crust and noise rock meet unsettling panic chords and the urgency and emotional delivery of screamo that makes you feel like you’re in the room with them. Everything about this is vicious and in your face and packs this specific sort punch as good as anyone else right now. In a tight 26-minute this is pound for pound some of the best pissed off music you can find this year.
Lastly, in a similar but less sinister fashion you can ditch the knives for some sunglasses and burn some rubber in the World’s Fastest Car, the latest from another Cali screamo-metalcore hybrid Othiel. The black metal of Crossed is replaced here with frantic despair and a vocal style blending screamo and melodic hardcore. Dynamic songwriting flows from slowed down post-hardcore bridges to airy chords and Norma Jean breakdowns. The passion and emotional delivery is connecting and effective, and once again this fusion of the nostalgic mosh worthy distorted minor 2nd notes from early metalcore with the heart-bleeding emotions and cathartic punk melodies of screamo come together for some of the most intense and earnest music out there right now. Another banger from Zegema Beach Records.
Screamo is in a special, though potentially fragmenting place. There are some who may find the breakdown-ification of the genre unnecessary and detracting and prefer the artsier, softer midwest emo blends, and that’s fine, there’s plenty of that thriving as well. But regardless of your taste and preference, there is surely something there for you and 2025 is making that exceptionally clear.