Screamo, from the outside in. Each step is a genre and the single record this encyclopedia would put on first. Play them in this order and the last one should sound like a next step rather than a wall.
- 1 The way in
Rock 1954
The whole family: guitar, bass, drums and a beat borrowed from blues and rhythm and blues. Every branch below grows out of this trunk, metal included.
Sung. Melodic singing throughout.
Put on
The Beatles - Revolver, if you want to understand why everything branched so fast.
The Beatles, Revolver (1966) - 2 Then
Post-hardcore 1985
Hardcore that allows itself dynamics, empty space and irregular structures. Emo, screamo and mathcore all branch off from here.
Sung and screamed. Clean singing and harsh vocals trade off, often chorus against verse.
Put on
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come. The title was an arrogant joke that came true.
Refused, The Shape of Punk to Come (1998) - 3 Then
Emo 1985
Hardcore in which the lyrics turn confessional and the voice cracks. The term started as an insult and became an entire decade of fashion.
Sung and screamed. Clean singing and harsh vocals trade off, often chorus against verse.
Put on
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary. The bridge between DC hardcore and everything that followed.
Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary (1994) - 4 What you asked about
Screamo 1991
Emo pushed into hysteria: continuous screaming, cutting guitars and songs that collapse into silence. Also called skramz.
Growled or shrieked. Unintelligible without a lyric sheet. The thing most newcomers bounce off.
Put on
City of Caterpillar - And You're Wondering How a Fool Can Die. Post-rock catching fire.
City of Caterpillar, City of Caterpillar (2002) - 5 Where to go next
Youth crew / straight edge 1986
Hardcore with a code: no alcohol, no drugs, gang vocals and breakdowns. The ethics of the scene became the subject of the songs.
Shouted. Barked or chanted, and you can still make out the words.
Put on
Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today. Optimistic hardcore, which is rarer than it sounds.
Gorilla Biscuits, Start Today (1989)
Assembled from the tree: the root, the two genres directly above Screamo, and Screamo itself. Screamo has no subgenres, so the last step is the genre that rates closest to it by sound.