| "Screamager" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Therapy? | ||||
| from the EP Shortsharpshock E.P. and Troublegum | ||||
| Released | March 8, 1993 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Sheldon | |||
| Therapy? singles chronology | ||||
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"Screamager" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released on March 8, 1993 from their debut EP Shortsharpshock E.P. as the lead single. It is also featured on their fourth and second major label album Troublegum (1994). The song is considered to have propelled the band to fame.
Andy Cairns wrote the riff of the song around age 16-17 on bass. It was used in the outro of Therapy?'s song "SWT" (standing for "Spide With Tache"), from an early demo by the band. [1] [2] Cairns had always thought the riff did not "go on enough". [2]
One afternoon, Cairns and Michael McKeegan were watching television in a shared hotel room when they came across the Smash Hits Awards. McKeegan referred to the young girls in the audience who were screaming at Phillip Schofield and others onstage as "screamagers", which Cairns thought of as a title for a song.
In regard to recording the song, Cairns recalled:
I was into Ulster punk. Stuff like Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Rudi. I came into the studio one day and said: "That riff we used to have… Let's turn that into the main riff and write a three-and-a-half-minute song that sounds like Ulster punk and a bit Ramones-y." We'd been a noisy rock band – people lumped us in with Big Black and Sonic Youth – so for us to come out with a melodic rock song was quite exciting. I remember playing it to friends who'd normally hate anything like that, and their reaction was really positive. So we played it, but it just sounded a bit generic, so we decided at the very start we'd do the "duh-duh-duh!", stop playing and let the drums carry the melody – which was our nod to Helmet. It has a classic format, but it's the little things: the stop-start intro, the double-time at the end… originally, Fyfe was playing this really bizarre Neil Peart, eight-bar fill, but Chris Sheldon told us: "Well, if you're going for classic Ulster punk, go straight in."
When Therapy? played the song for an A&R representative from A&M Records, he said "Oh, man… I don't think your fans will like it. Your fans like Nine Inch Nails, they don't like the Ramones.' They put a bit of money behind promotion, but not as much as they'd have done with other bands." [1]
In 2019, McKeegan stated in an interview with Kerrang! :
"Screamager" was a case of just getting things a bit more direct, with the Helmet thing on the main chords. We loved Strap It On , and Meantime had just come out at that time, so it kind of made sense. But, the progression itself is a lot more melodic than maybe a Helmet track would have been. So it was a good happy medium, where we didn't just try to shoehorn a Helmet vibe onto what was a really good song. It kind of just toughened it up and made the chorus bigger and sweeter-sounding and also kept the grit in the verse, which is exactly what we wanted. [2]
Therapy? planned the song to be a "one-off" and return to their noise rock style, but following the popularity of the song they decided to release more songs stylistically similar to that of "Screamager". [3]
"Screamager" is a pop-punk [3] [4] and grunge song. The lyrics have been described as "self-loathing". According to Andy Cairns, the song was about "getting away from any responsibility" and the only "autobiographical side of it" was the opening line, "With a face like this, I won't break any hearts". [3]
The song was praised by many music magazines, such as Metal Hammer and NME . [3] Andy Kellman of AllMusic commented that "Metal-phobes can't help but give in to the irresistable [sic] pop-punk hook" of the song. [4]
In September 2000, "Screamager" ranked at number 86 in Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Riffs Ever" feature.
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA) [5] | 2 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [6] | 22 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 9 |
| US Modern Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [8] | 16 |
Pop-punk is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes. It is distinguished from other punk-variant genres by drawing more heavily from 1960s bands such as the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Beach Boys. The genre has evolved throughout its history, absorbing elements from new wave, college rock, ska, rap, emo, boy band pop and even hardcore punk. It is sometimes considered interchangeable with power pop and skate punk.
Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band recruited Larne bassist Michael McKeegan. The band signed with major label A&M Records in 1992, for which they released four albums, most notably Troublegum in 1994 and Infernal Love in 1995. Ewing's departure in early 1996 preceded the arrivals of his replacement Graham Hopkins and Martin McCarrick on cello and guitar. Neil Cooper replaced Hopkins on drums in 2002. Following the departure of McCarrick in 2004, the band have remained a stable three-piece since.
Troublegum is the second major label album by the Northern Irish rock band Therapy? It was released on 7 February 1994 via A&M Records. The album features a more punk-oriented style compared to the likes of Stiff Little Fingers and the Undertones rather the band's previous noise rock-influenced works.
Infernal Love is the fifth album by the Northern Ireland rock band Therapy? Their third album on a major label, it was released on 12 June 1995 on A&M Records. The album was recorded at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire from January to March 1995.
Meantime is the second studio album and major label debut by American alternative metal band Helmet. It was released on June 23, 1992, through Interscope Records.
Aftertaste is the fourth album by American alternative metal band Helmet, released in 1997 on Interscope. It was the band's final album with original members John Stanier (drums) and Henry Bogdan (bass). Guitarist Rob Echeverria, who appeared on Helmet's previous outing, Betty, left the group to join Biohazard. Subsequently, the album was recorded as a three-piece, with Page Hamilton covering all the guitar parts. Guitarist Chris Traynor came on board for the supporting tour.
High Anxiety is the seventh full-length album by the rock band Therapy?, and was the first to be released on Spitfire Records. It was released on 5 May 2003. The album was recorded from December 2002 to January 2003 at Parkgate Studios in Hastings.
Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band's principal songwriters, with Hart's higher-pitched vocals and Mould's baritone taking the lead in alternating songs.
Fyfe Alexander Ewing, is best known as the original drummer and founding member of rock band Therapy?.
Shortsharpshock is the first extended play (EP) released by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?. It was released on 8 March 1993 through A&M Records, reaching number nine on the UK Singles Chart and number 22 on the Irish Singles Chart. Its lead track is "Screamager".
Face the Strange is an extended play (EP) by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released on 1 June 1993 through A&M Records. The EP reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number five on the Irish Singles Chart. The lead track, "Turn", is included on Therapy?'s second major-label album, Troublegum (1994). "Turn" and "Speedball" are also included on the Hats Off to the Insane mini-album released in North America, while all four tracks appear on the Japanese release. All four tracks also appear on the Born in a Crash mini-album released in Europe. "Neck Freak" is a re-recording, different from the version on Nurse.
"Nowhere" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released as a single on 17 January 1994 through A&M Records. A remix CD was released a week later on 24 January 1994. The song is featured on the Troublegum album. The single reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, number six on the Irish Singles Chart, and number seven on the Finnish Singles Chart. The single was released on CD, CD digipak, CD remix, 7-inch vinyl and cassette.
"Trigger Inside" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released as a single on 28 February 1994 through A&M Records. It is included on the band's second major-label album, Troublegum (1994). The single reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the Irish Singles Chart. The single was released on CD, CD digipak, 12-inch vinyl, yellow 7-inch vinyl, and cassette.
"Die Laughing" is a song by rock band Therapy? released as a single on A&M Records on 30 May 1994. It is featured on the Troublegum album. The single reached number 29 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 14 in the Irish Singles Chart.
Crooked Timber is the tenth full-length album by the rock band Therapy?, and the first to be released on Demolition Records. It was released on 23 March 2009. The album was recorded from July to August 2008 at Blast Studios, Newcastle, with additional recording at The Beauchamp Building in London from August to September 2008. Produced by Andy Gill, the album features a bias towards rhythm rather than melody.
"Diane" is a song by American band Hüsker Dü that appears on their Metal Circus EP in 1983, but appeared in their live set as early as 1981, as evidenced by it's inclusion in a recording from August that year which appears on the compilation Savage Young Dü. The song was written by drummer Grant Hart, and concerns the murder of West St. Paul waitress Diane Edwards by Joseph Ture Jr. in 1980.
Scopophobia is a DVD release by rock band Therapy? on Eagle Vision, a subsidiary of Eagle Rock Entertainment, on 27 October 2003. The bulk of the DVD is a full-length, 19-track concert recorded live at the Mandela Hall, Belfast on 6 June 2003.
The discography of Therapy?, a Northern Irish alternative rock/metal band, consists of 16 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums, five extended plays, two video albums, 30 singles and 33 music videos. The list does not consist of any material released by band members with any other project, or any release not under the band name.
Cleave is the fifteenth studio album by the rock band Therapy?, and the first album to be released on new UK label Marshall Records, part of the Marshall Amplification company.
"Turn" is a song by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?, released on June 1, 1993 from their second EP Face the Strange as the lead single. It is also featured on their fourth and second major label album Troublegum (1994).