Scream (band)

Scream
Scream at the Emma, Amsterdam, 1986
Background information
Origin	Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Hardcore punk, post-hardcore
Years active	1981 (1981)–1990, 2009–present
Labels	Dischord, Jungle Hop, Konkurrel, RAS, DSI, Your Choice, Torque
Associated acts	Earthlings?, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Wool, Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Goatsnake
Website	www.screamdc.com
Members	Peter Stahl Franz Stahl Skeeter Thompson Kent Stax
Past members	Robert Lee Davidson Dave Grohl

Scream is an American hardcore punk band from Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia originally active from 1981 to 1990. In 2009 the band reunited, and as of January 2012^[update] were on tour in Europe.

Scream was formed in Northern Virginia in 1981 by singer Peter Stahl, his brother Franz Stahl on guitar, bassist Skeeter Thompson and drummer Kent Stax. They are considered one of the benchmark bands in the history of the Washington, D.C. hardcore music movement. Along with bands such as Minor Threat and Government Issue, Scream ultimately merged the attributes of the movement, which were blinding speed, heavy political and social connotations in the lyrics, unpretentiousness of attitude, and shunning of commercialism. Their music is faithful to the roots of rock, but spun itself into other genres by employing sounds that predate the raunchiness of grunge, while saluting reggae and speed metal. Scream hated the classification of bands into certain types and considered what they played as simply 'music.' Recording their music in the basement of the now legendary Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, Scream became the first band on the Dischord label to release a whole album, Still Screaming, as opposed to singles or 12 inch EPs. Like the hardcore band Bad Brains, they could play clearly at breakneck speed, but also played mid-tempo, reggae songs like "American Justice."

For their second album Scream added another guitarist to their line-up, Robert Lee "Harley" Davidson, to thicken up the sound in the studio and in their live performances. In turn this eventually led to a powerful dual-lead guitar style, with complex guitar tracking, a more powerful live sound and an over-all crunchier sound for their third album. For selected compilation efforts and often live shows Scream added DC keyboard player Bobby Madden.