10 significant bands in the Ukrainian screamo

01.11.2018

Screamo probably is the only genre in the country that has units of long-lived teams and dozens of those that caught fire for a couple of years and disappeared as suddenly as they appeared, leaving, at best, an inheritance in the form of poorly recorded demos, mini-albums and cozy in the atmosphere of live shows.

Originating in the United States in the early 1990s, screamo spread throughout the world but was especially warmly received in France, Germany, and Japan. Without a desire to be heard by a wide audience, the genre has remained underground. As a heritage, we received several "schools'' and subtypes with prominent representatives and hours of material that breaks hearts. Screamo speaks of secrets and personal stuff, but in a language that is not accessible to the masses, probably because there is something charming and constantly beckoning in it, something that makes us come back to it again and again.

For the first time, Ukraine heard about screamo in the second half of the 00s, almost 15 years later, when the genre was born and gained its signature features. The bands that played/play it in the classical sense can be counted on the fingers of two hands, several will even remain free. But despite their stylistic uniformity, there were still examples that even within the genre were fundamentally different from each other.

This is not the top in the understanding of "worse-better'', this is a selection of artists who, without knowing it, made a real story. A story of a narrowly targeted genre for twenty people who tear off ligaments in the basement. A story that never gets into musicology textbooks. A story that is changing right now at this moment.

I will break everything into three periods: beginning, heyday, and nowadays.

Beginning (2005-2009)

Immediately hit below the belt — the beginning will not be with Swallow! Swallow! Splinter !, as expected, about them a little later. It is impossible to say exactly who started to play screamo first, since the bands of this period appeared almost at the same time, with a difference of months, if not days. Their merit is that they brought this genre to the country, adopted the style and methods of the game, and tried to create something similar. This is the foundation, the roots.

This category includes:

At the same time, it would be wrong to say that they all sounded the same. False Effect, for example, emphasized what is commonly called emo-2007, but without losing the sound of roots.

Scream Into Nowhere constantly ranged between emotional hardcore and classic screamo in their works. The main feature that distinguished them from other bands was the presence of keyboards to give the atmosphere in separate compositions. The overall melody of the work very strongly resembled in sound what is now called the Japanese school.

Swallow! Swallow! Splinter! were and will remain the most iconic band in the genre of both Ukraine and the CIS. Their 2007 demo is a classic and is often classified as emoviolence/real screamo. The band gave several shows, which were extremely energetic and chaotic. They were so extravagant that, according to rumors, they quarreled during the concert to such an extent that they decided to dissolve the band.

Gumilinski, although they appeared at the end of the first period, their work had no less impact on the genre than S!S!S!. They were natives of the zebra?contract! Band, who played screamo mixed with emoviolence, but added medium-tempo and even slow losses. And used keyboards like Scream Into Nowhere.

Merit Oh, Deer! in front of the stage in three things: lyrics, vocals, music. They were the first to use text in their native Ukrainian language, which until the end of the band’s existence remained extremely literary, full of images and symbolism.

The manner of performance of the band's vocalist, Yuri Bondarchuk, is an example for all those who decide to play screamo in 2018. These are furious cries that carry the whole depth and pain of recited verses. Music is a shift towards extreme melody, which abruptly breaks off and falls out onto the listener in a second with a wall of dense sound. The way screamo and post-rock should sound at the same time.

Elephant Opinions, first, is the oldest of the existing bands with (recently) not very active concert and studio activities. They are one of those bands on the whole domestic punk scene who, with a certain frequency, go on long European tours. A distinctive feature of creativity — to the last, at the moment, album of 2014 release "Awakening Will Be A Journey", developed its own style, which is called dark screamo — a mixture of classic screamo with dark hardcore.

The most influential bands of the period: Oh, Deer!, Swallow! Swallow! Splinter!, Scream into Nowhere и Elephant Opinions.

Heyday (2009-2014)

Many bands appeared during this period, thanks to which the underground, in its broad sense, became aware of the genre. The bands gathered as quickly as they split up, leaving behind several releases. Most of the bands were inspired by Russian poetry of the Silver Age, often laying their own music on top of the most famous poems of that time.

Musically, this period was characterized by an effort to move slightly away from what was in the previous period and a desire to focus on the melody, instead of aggression. Emo was preferred over hardcore. The lyrics were as close as possible to personal experiences and anxieties.

Representatives:

If S!S!S! considered unrivaled classics screamo so-called "first wave"', then Date Rape deservedly is the brightest and most popular in the second. Having survived more than one change of band members and passing through about 15 people, they were able to firmly gain a foothold on the punk scene and in the minds of listeners, thanks to the increased melody intertwined with lightened screamo sound, more reminiscent of emo punk, and the lyrics, which are worth talking about separately.

Filled with metaphors, comparisons, and references to the classics of Russian literature, together with the musical features described above, the band’s songs, as a result, became a product of which there was not equal. Subsequently, some musicians became part of/created projects: Light Matters, Салют! (Salute!), Alinda. 

The general punk scene, in turn, is also divided into several scenes, the names of which are given depending on the location of a particular team. Most of the bands that flickered above and will appear after this offer come from Kyiv, but there are also those that influenced the genre almost 500 km south.

Odesa not only did not concede but at some points was able to surpass its metropolitan colleagues. The main merit in this at this stage of one band is Mariesena. Having formed in 2012, by 2014 the band sank into oblivion with a small reunion in 2017. They have four studio works: two LPs, one split and participation in an international tribute dedicated to the legendary Orchid. Screamo bordering on emoviolence, which flowed too sharply into a spoken word, sounding like either post-black or some members of Les Légions Noires. All lyrics in English. After the breakup, some members became part of the following bands: Janpalach, Yotsuya Kaidan and Cold Lips.

Along with Oh, Deer!, in its heyday, there was a band that also turned to the classics of Ukrainian poetry in their work. These was la belle verte. For some reason, they are rarely remembered if this topic is raised, but in vain. In their own way, they are a kind of transshipment point between two periods: prosperity and the present. Their music is far removed from the classical understanding of screamo, nevertheless without going (almost) beyond the genres that generated it: post-hardcore, emo, and punk. In addition, notes from post-metal and post-rock appear from track to track. The closest example of sound from a world scene is The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die.

Having broken up, the pioneers Scream Into Nowhere formed a new band — Marejada, which, judging by the first demo, was not much different. Further work, consisting of three tracks, showed a much deeper work — classic hardcore inserts, the dominance of emoviolence over screaming and cutting ear dissonance guitars.

Special attention should be paid to the bands: Dollores (the first to use female vocals as a host); Салют! (Salute!) (continuing along the beaten track of Date Rape with lightweight sound).

The most influential bands of the period: Date Rape, La Belle Verte, Mariesena, Marejada

Nowadays (2014-...)

The sunset of the genre in its classical sense. Those who was creating — finally disintegrated. Those who were keeping up projects quickly left and started making music very distant from what they had played before. Bands appear much smaller, but they still are. From the participants of the second period, new bands are formed that create music, unlike the one that sounded several years ago. There is a general departure from the so-called "standards" and the music is undergoing significant changes — elements of post-black, post-metal, post-rock, alternative/indie rock of the 90s and twinkle emo are being actively introduced.

Representatives:

Yotsuya Kaidan is currently those who lead the genre not only in Ukraine but also in the Russian-speaking part of Europe. Formed from the disintegrated Mariesena, they recorded eight studio works in two years, of which the last two are breakthroughs and the most experimental. From emoviolence with spoken word elements in the "Tired Of Tomorrow's You" mini-album, they came to their own style, which is extremely difficult to characterize in one word. The only red thread permeating all creativity is the very emotionally-strong lyrics of the protagonist, telling about love losses and acquisitions.

Closing this list I will put unholydays band from Kharkiv, which tried to get as far away from the genre as its framework allows, to add novelty and freshness to it, for a change. Their latest release, ''постаменты'' ("pedestals"), is filled with a minor mood, an apocalyptic atmosphere, a sticky post-metal, and even sloppy played post-black..

Separately, it is worth highlighting: качели не стареют (the swing does not age) (for the maximum possible addition of post-black); Good Mourning! (for the continuation of the traditions of the heyday and the use of three votes, including the female one); Janpalach (for conceptualism, melody, and collaboration with Amanda Woodward). 

The most influential bands of the period: unholydays and Yotsuya Kaidan

Epilogue

The peak of activity of the genre was in the period 2009-2014. When the number of bands playing in this style was maximum. Despite the sometimes poor quality of work, almost every band left behind at least some, but a trace, at least in the form of a crudely recorded demo.

At the moment, the genre has slightly decreased in activity but has noticeably added to the quality and sophistication of the material, as well as its export abroad, which is undoubtedly a huge plus. There were bands whose individual compositions may well appeal to the average layman, which in the future may mean some return of public interest in screamo.

Collecting all the above list of bands that have most influenced the development of screamo in Ukraine, it looks like this:

  • Swallow! Swallow! Splinter!
  • Scream into Nowhere
  • Elephant Opinions
  • Oh, Deer!
  • Date Rape
  • La Belle Verte
  • Mariesena
  • Marejada
  • Yotsuya Kaidan
  • unholydays

This article is part of a series of materials on the development of various underground musical genres in Ukraine. Early in the series:

https://www.neformat.com.ua/rubrika/10-znakovih-gurtiv

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