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Scream (band)

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This article refers to the punk rock band from Washington, D.C.. For the Los Angeles-based hard rock band see The Scream (band).
Scream

Scream was a hardcore punk rock band from Washington, D.C. active from 1981 to 1990.

Biography

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, VA, 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 world-renowned hardcore band Bad Brains, they could play clearly at breakneck speed, but also played mid-tempo songs like "American Justice" and "Hygiene," which were metal-tinged reggae.

For their second album, Scream added a second guitarist to their line-up, Robert Lee "Harley" Davidson (a veteran of the local heavy metal band Tyrant), to thicken the overtracks and dubs from Franz in their live performances. In turn this led to more complex guitar tracking, a more powerful live sound, and a crunchier recording sound for their third album. For a few compilation efforts and some live shows they added a keyboard player, the local keyboard wizard Bobby Madden, who for years was a colleague of Davidson's from the same metal scene.

Scream - at the Emma, Amsterdam, 1986

After the 3rd album Banging the Drum, Kent Stax left the band for personal reasons and he was replaced by local drummer Dave Grohl, who then played on Scream's 4th album No More Censorship. Scream recorded their 5th and final studio album Fumble (which was released a few years later on Dischord Records) and then called it quits in late 1990. Pete and Franz gave rock a major-label shot with the band Wool, while Grohl joined Nirvana and helped make catchy punk the sound of the '90s. In 1997, Franz Stahl briefly joined Dave Grohl's newly formed group, the commercially successful Foo Fighters. Thompson continued working in bands, as did Stax with such skinhead-tinged bands the Suspects, United 121, and the Spitfires United. Stax also committed himself to a family life. Davidson continued in other bands such as Angelstorm (in Huntsville Alabama) from 1993-1995 and creating new bands, including Orangahead, Festival of Fools with Madden in 1998 and two different versions of God Is Dead (1 in D.C. and 1 in Huntsville Al) from 2002 - 2005 .

Discography

Albums and EPs

Compilation albums

Fountain of Youth Records "Ultra Violence/Screaming"

Gasatanka/Enigma Records "Fight"

Positive Force Records "Green Eyed Lady"

Fetal Records "Solidarity"

Mordam/Konkurrel Records "Feel Like That"

16 song benefit sampler recorded 1985 - 1989 Remastered for CD, April 2002

16 song benefit sampler containing songs that where left off the first wave (YCLS 1-12) of Your Choice Records' live releases.

73 song boxed set (3 CDs & 134 page book) 1 song from every Dischord Artist 1980-2000 & 23 unreleased and rare songs compiled 2000-2002

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