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emoviolence

Emoviolence

United States · 1990s
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Description

Emoviolence is a ferocious fusion of 1990s screamo and powerviolence/grindcore. It combines the emotional intensity and lyrical vulnerability of early screamo (“skramz”) with the speed, brevity, and abrasion of powerviolence. Songs are often extremely short (20–90 seconds), marked by sudden starts and stops, dissonant chord clusters, blast beats, and high‑pitched, desperate screams.

The style is deeply rooted in DIY punk ethics: raw, lo‑fi recordings; basement shows; hand‑assembled 7"s and tapes; and zine culture. The guitar tone skews thin and treble‑forward, the production favors live immediacy over polish, and lyrics often blend confessional fragments with political urgency.

History
Origins (mid–late 1990s)

The term “emo violence” was popularized tongue‑in‑cheek by South Carolina band In/Humanity in the mid‑1990s, but the sound coalesced across U.S. punk scenes soon after. Early Southern and Floridian bands such as Palatka, Reversal of Man, and Combatwoundedveteran pushed screamo’s volatility toward powerviolence speed and grindcore harshness, setting the template of frantic brevity and emotional catharsis.

Consolidation and notables (c. 1998–2003)

By the turn of the millennium, scenes in the Northeast and Midwest—anchored by labels and distros like Level Plane, Clean Plate, Ebullition, No Idea, and numerous micro‑labels—cemented emoviolence’s identity. Orchid (MA) became a touchstone for the style’s frantic dynamics and lyrical opacity, while bands like Pg. 99 (Pageninetynine), Jeromes Dream, Usurp Synapse, and Neil Perry expanded its palette with feedback breaks, sudden silences, and dizzying start‑stop structures. DIY networks of basements, VFW halls, and living rooms were crucial for touring and the rapid swapping of splits and compilation tracks.

Aesthetics and practice

Releases favored handmade packaging, xeroxed art, and raw‑sounding live or single‑room recordings. Songs often eschewed conventional verse/chorus forms for explosive vignettes; sets were brief and overwhelming; and the community emphasized inclusivity, anti‑authoritarian politics, and catharsis over virtuoso display.

Legacy and aftershocks (mid‑2000s–present)

While activity ebbed after the early 2000s, emoviolence’s approach informed later waves of chaotic screamo and the theatrical, spasmodic edge of sasscore. Bandcamp‑era projects revived its lo‑fi immediacy, ultra‑short forms, and confessional writing, keeping the style’s DIY spirit central even as production tools evolved.

How to make a track in this genre
Instrumentation and tone
•   Use one or two bright, treble‑biased guitars, bass, and a tight‑tuned drum kit. Favor raw, immediate tones (solid‑state or gritty tube breakup) with minimal effects beyond light overdrive, feedback, and occasional delay/noise. •   Tunings can be standard or dropped (D/C) for extra weight; keep the guitar EQ mid‑ and high‑forward for needle‑like clarity in fast passages.
Rhythm and structure
•   Target extreme tempos (often 220–300 BPM). Employ blast beats (traditional and hammer), skank beats, D‑beats, and abrupt tempo pivots. •   Write ultra‑short forms (20–90 seconds). Use sudden cuts, hard stops, and feedback tails instead of conventional transitions. Allow micro‑dynamics (silences, ring‑outs) to create contrast.
Harmony and riff writing
•   Build riffs from dissonant intervals (minor seconds, tritones, clustered dyads), tremolo‑picked lines, and angular slides. Layer scraping harmonics and chromatic “falls.” •   Avoid predictable repetition; mutate motifs quickly. Let drums cue sectional whiplash (half‑time drop, blast return, stop‑on‑a‑dime).
Vocals and lyrics
•   Use strained high screams, talk‑shouts, and occasional gang yells. Keep takes raw—one or two passes max, minimal comping. •   Write confessional, fragmentary lyrics that read like journal entries, cut‑ups, or political asides. Place text tightly against rhythmic hits; let breathlessness be part of the delivery.
Recording and production
•   Track mostly live in a room; minimal overdubs. Embrace spill, clipping edges, and room mics for immediacy. Light compression on drums/vocals; avoid heavy editing or quantization. •   Leave count‑ins, incidental noise, and feedback intact to preserve the documentary feel.
Performance and aesthetics
•   Prioritize DIY presentation: xeroxed art, hand‑assembled packaging, all‑ages spaces. Keep sets short, intense, participatory (mic‑sharing, floor‑level staging). End abruptly rather than with extended codas.
Main artists
Influenced by
Screamo
Screamo is an emotionally charged offshoot of emo and hardcore punk characterized by cathartic, screamed vocals, dynamic extremes, and a blend of melody with discordance. Songs often move rapidly between fragile, clean passages and explosive, chaotic climaxes, emphasizing tension-and-release. Guitars favor octave runs, tremolo-picked melodies, and dissonant chord voicings, while drums switch from driving d-beats to blast beats and spacious half-time drops. Lyrics are typically confessional, poetic, and socially aware, delivered with a visceral intensity that foregrounds vulnerability and urgency. Early recordings embraced raw, DIY production and intimate, basement-show energy; later waves incorporated post-rock atmospherics and more expansive songwriting.
Powerviolence
Powerviolence is an ultrafast, confrontational offshoot of hardcore punk that emphasizes whiplash dynamics between blastbeat-speed eruptions and lurching, sludgy slowdowns. Its songs are typically very short—often under a minute—and rely on raw, abrasive guitar and bass tones, barked or screamed vocals, and sudden stop/start structures. Rooted more in punk than in metal, powerviolence differs from grindcore through its stripped-down riffing, anti-virtuosic ethos, and frequent use of hardcore and d-beat rhythms alongside shocking tempo drops into sludge-influenced breakdowns. Lyrics tend to be anti-authoritarian, socially critical, or nihilistic, and the style is strongly tied to DIY culture, lo-fi aesthetics, and an intentionally uncompromising sound.
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme fusion of hardcore punk and metal characterized by blisteringly fast tempos, blast-beat drumming, heavily distorted guitars, and harsh, screamed or growled vocals. Songs are often extremely short—sometimes mere seconds—favoring intensity over conventional structure. The style ranges from politically charged and socially conscious lyrics to grotesque, gore-soaked imagery (especially in substyles like goregrind). Production can be raw and abrasive or tightly modern, but the aesthetic consistently emphasizes sonic extremity, density, and cathartic impact.
Hardcore Punk
Hardcore punk is a faster, louder, and more abrasive offshoot of late-1970s punk rock. Songs are typically short (often under two minutes), propelled by rapid tempos, aggressive down‑stroked guitar riffs, and shouted or barked vocals. The style prioritizes raw energy over technical ornamentation: power‑chord harmony, minimal guitar solos, and tightly locked rhythm sections dominate. Lyrically, hardcore punk is intensely direct—often political, anti‑authoritarian, and socially critical—reflecting a DIY ethic that values independent labels, self‑organized shows, and community‑run spaces. The genre coalesced in U.S. scenes such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Boston, and soon spread internationally. Its velocity, attitude, and grassroots infrastructure profoundly shaped underground music and paved the way for numerous metal, punk, and alternative subgenres.
Emo
Emo is a rock subgenre that emerged from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene as “emotional hardcore” (often shortened to emocore). It retains punk’s urgency but foregrounds confessional, vulnerable lyrics and dramatic dynamic shifts. Across its eras, emo has encompassed several distinct sounds: the intense, cathartic D.C. style; the melodic, guitar‑intricate “Midwest emo” of the 1990s; and the 2000s mainstream wave that blended emo’s lyrical candor with pop‑punk hooks (often called “emo pop”). Common musical traits include intertwining clean and overdriven guitars, intricate arpeggios and counter‑melodies, elastic song structures, and vocals that range from intimate murmurs to raw, impassioned shouts.
Post-Hardcore
Post-hardcore is a branch of hardcore punk that retains the style’s urgency and DIY ethos while expanding its musical vocabulary. Bands push beyond breakneck tempos and simple power-chord progressions into more dynamic song structures, varied rhythms, and a wider emotional range. Guitars often alternate between caustic distortion and clean, chiming textures; vocals can shift from shouted slogans to melodic singing; and arrangements emphasize tension-and-release, odd meters, and dramatic builds. Lyrically, post-hardcore tends to be more introspective and socially conscious than its hardcore roots, touching on personal, political, and philosophical themes.
Thrashcore
Thrashcore is an extreme, hyper‑speed strain of hardcore punk characterized by very short songs, relentless tempos, and shouted, gang‑style vocals. Sometimes used interchangeably with "fastcore," it emphasizes acceleration and impact rather than heaviness or technicality. Guitars are typically dry and mid‑forward, sticking to tightly picked power‑chord riffs and rapid downstrokes. Drums race through skank beats and D‑beats at 200–260+ BPM, with proto‑blast moments appearing in some bands. Lyrics retain hardcore’s social, political, and anti‑authoritarian focus, delivered with breathless urgency and minimal ornamentation.
Has influenced
Sasscore
Sasscore is a flamboyant, chaotic strain of post-hardcore that fuses mathcore angularity and screamo vocal intensity with the swagger and danceability of dance‑punk. Its “sass” refers as much to attitude as to sound: snide, fashion‑forward, often queer‑coded theatrics delivered through yelped shrieks, nasal sneers, and talk‑sung tirades over skittering, stop‑start rhythms. Guitars are wiry and dissonant, drums whip between blasty bursts and hip‑shaking punk‑funk grooves, and synths or sax occasionally add skronky color. The result is nervy, high‑energy music that’s equal parts confrontational and camp.
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