The difference, by ear
Both are very short and very fast. Power violence is comic and confrontational; screamo is sincere and despairing.
Both are growled or screamed, but powerviolence swings further either way: 60 to 320 bpm against 150 to 220. Songs run longer in screamo: usually 1½ to 4 minutes, against under a minute to 1½ minutes in powerviolence. To hear the difference, play Orchid next to Infest. They share a root in hardcore punk, and powerviolence came first, by four years.
In figures
Screamo
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Post-hardcore › Emo › Screamo
In short
Emo pushed into hysteria: continuous screaming, cutting guitars and songs that collapse into silence. Also called skramz.
How it sounds
- Almost continuously screamed vocals, often at the edge of physical exhaustion.
- Sharp guitars with dissonant chords and no thick distortion.
- Very short songs that collapse suddenly into quiet passages.
Key acts
- Orchid
- Pg. 99
- City of Caterpillar
- Envy
Start here
The pickCity of Caterpillar - And You're Wondering How a Fool Can Die. Post-rock catching fire.
Full page →Powerviolence
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Powerviolence
In short
Hardcore taken to the limit: abrupt tempo shifts, twenty-second songs, blast beats cut with parts as slow as tar.
How it sounds
- Abrupt switches between blast beats and slow passages, with no transition.
- Songs of ten to forty seconds, albums with twenty-five tracks.
- Deliberately ugly sound, with distorted vocals and clipping bass.
Key acts
- Infest
- Man Is the Bastard
- Spazz
Start here
The pickInfest - Slave. Twenty minutes that feel longer than a doom album.
Full page →