Girl Screamo Bands

Blood on the paper and skin on my teeth
Trying to commit to what's beneath
To find the time is to lose the momentum
You learn the lessons and immediately forget them
Automatic and out of my reach
Consult all the waste to find the key
Minimal life and the polysyllabic
I'm just another blank page - push the button, pull the rage

~ Slipknot (from the lyrics of The Blister Still Exists)

For those who are yet to be initiated to the cosmos of alternative music genres, the above lyrics must be appearing as the ravings of a madman who is, probably, holding a monologue with himself under the influence of fever or delirium. Well, this is just a sample of what the screamo genre is all about - it's about aggressive expression of underlying psychological turmoil; violently vocal manifestation of disturbed sentiments taking the form of lyrical outlet. By now you must have figured out the roots of the word screamo. Yes, you're right. It, indeed, is a combination of the words scream and emo and this genre is seen by many as a more violent and aggressive form of emo, the aggression emanating from the lyrics, rhythms, pitch of the vocals as well as from the body language and gestures of the artistes/ performers. Although not that popular in the mainstream, girl screamo bands have been there since quite some time and it is definitely not new for the members of the fair sex to vent out their angst through the channel of music and performing arts.

Screamo music bands have been known to incorporate aspects of hardcore punk, goth and emo subcultures in their beliefs, songs and philosophy of artistic expression. This genre of music is mostly characterized by a tempo that starts from a low energy level and peaks to crescendo as the melody progresses, often breaking out in high-pitched vocal renditions, often collective, near or during the chorus. Other elements of screamo music also commonly include chaotic dynamics, harmonized guitars, melodic breaks, swift paced riffs along the entire piece and frequent use of arpeggiated progressions accompanied by changes in time and dynamics. The lyrics tend to imbibe influences of abstract emotions, anger, introspection, poetic cynicism and the vocals are often overshadowed by bursts of aggressive, metallic instrumental music.

List of the Best Screamo Girl Bands

Enlisted below are some of the most well-known and best screamo bands, some of which have all-girls acts while most are female fronted, that have managed to carve a niche for themselves in this alternative music genre which is, as in any other field, predominantly ruled by boy screamo bands. Although many of the following bands have male members as well, the lead artistes are females and I would not be very far from the truth if I say that the following are the top 10 girl screamo bands of all time.

Girl Screamo Band	Final Members Lineup
Flyleaf	Lacey Sturm - lead vocalist James Culpepper - percussionist Sameer Bhattacharya - lead guitarist and backing vocalist Pat Seals - bassist and backing vocalist Jared Hartmann - rhythm guitarist
Light This City	Laura Nichol - lead vocalist Ben Murray - percussionist Brian Forbes - guitarist Jon Frost - bassist Ryan Hansen - guitarist
In This Moment	Maria Brink - lead vocalist Travis Johnson - bassist Chris Howorth - lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jeff Fabb - percussionist Blake Bunzel - rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist
Automatic Love Letter	Juliet Simms - lead vocalist Ryan Metcalf - percussionist Tommy Simms - lead guitarist, backing vocalist and acoustics arranger Clint Fowler - bassist
The Distillers	Brody Dalle - lead singer and guitarist Mat Young Tony Bevilacqua - guitarist Kim Chi - bassist Ryan Sinn - bassist Cody Lane - percussionist Andy Granelli - percussionist Rose Mazzola - backup guitarist and occasional vocalist
Arch Enemy	Angela Gossow - vocalist Christopher Amott - guitarist Daniel Erlandsson - percussionist Michael Amott - guitarist and backing vocalist Sharlee D'Angelo - bassist
Kittie	Mercedes Lander - vocalist, percussionist and pianist Ivy Vujic - bassist Morgan Lander - lead vocalist and guitarist Tara McLeod - guitarist
Otep	Otep Shamaya - lead vocalist Markus Estrada - lead guitarist Gil Sharone - drums Rani Sharone - bassist Some of the most prominent former members include Dave Aguilera, Tarver Marsh, Rob Patterson, Karma Singh Cheema, Jason McGuire, Brian Wolff and Mark Bistany.
Bloodlined Calligraphy	Nina Cislaghi - lead vocalist Ryan Hampton - guitarist Josh Badura - percussionist Eric Cargile - bassist
My Ruin	Tairrie B. Murphy - lead vocalist Mick Murphy - guitarist, bassist and percussionist

Flyleaf is one of the most prominent Christian girl screamo bands - well, female fronted if not an all-girl act. Many people differ on whether the above mentioned bands qualify under the good screamo bands. In fact, I do agree that some of these bands have vocalists who have mastered the screamo technique to perfection but does that necessarily render the entire band screamo? Decide for yourself. As for people who would rather enjoy the music than pick nits over genre and style, these are some wonderful bands of artists that make some really great, alternative music.