Screamo is a genre of rock music which evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s. The term "screamo" was initially applied to a more aggressive offshoot of emo that developed in San Diego in 1991, which used short songs that grafted "spastic intensity to willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics."
An off-shoot of Emotive Hardcore, or Emo for short, Screamo surfaced in the 90's, primarily. It has all the characteristics of it's Emo and Punk roots, like a DIY ethic, and normally lo-fi production for example, but is more aggressive and chaotic than Emo, characterized with harsh, screamed vocals and experimental instrumentation. Some bands of this genre may employ odd tempo changes and other techniques, twinkly breakdowns, and generally have very fast paced and high-energy shows. The subject matter of Screamo is very broad, and more abstract, often with intelligent and poetic lyrics. The Screamo scene is still alive today, especially in Europe. .