Hello, everyone! Welcome to the hub for my Deep Dive project Establishing Screamo Canon: From Chaos to Catharsis! 2025 was the Year of Screamo and, while I didn’t quite get to my goal of covering Screamo from the 90s through 2015, getting through the 90s wound up being a Herculean feat in and of itself. I’m quite proud of this accomplishment! The series will continue indefinitely as I have time for it, but getting it up onto the website was very important. Please refer to the Overview post for more information about the series and the various sub-series within.
Below you can sort by subseries or via a tag cloud, weighing the most commonly-used tags such as artists, release years, record labels, locations, genres and even descriptors! Please keep an eye on this as the series continues!
- Emoviolence
- 1999
- 1998
- Dynamic
- Dissonant
- Frantic
- Noisy
- Chaotic
- Melodic
- Florida
- 1997
- Massachusetts
- Post-Hardcore
- Grindcore
- Energetic
- Hardcore Punk
- Complex
- Orchid
- Raw
- Midwest Emo
- SoCal
- Emocore
- Manic
- Witching Hour Records
- Aggressive
- Metallic
- Technical
- Virginia
- Atmospheric
- Metalcore
- Ebullition Records
- Reversal of Man
- Frenetic
- Combatwoundedveteran
- Math Rock
- Independent
- Indiana
- Dense
- Jeromes Dream
- D.C.
- Canada
- Connecticut
- Gravity Records
- Saetia
- Sass
- Post-Rock
- Three One G Records
- Japan
- Encyclopedia of American Traitors
- Stack
- Pennsylvania
- Dark
- Usurp Synapse
- Schematics Records
- ForceFedGlass
- New York
- Intense
- New Jersey
- Noise Rock
- Powerviolence
- Summersault Records
Orchid / Pig Destoryer | Connective Tissue 1998
Orchid
(Amherst, MA)
Jayson Green (Vocals)
Will Killingsworth (Guitar)
Brad Wallace (Bass)
Jeff Salane (Drums)
Pig Destroyer
(Washington, D.C.)
J.R. Hayes (Vocals)
Scott Hull (Guitar)
John Evans (Drums)
Basic Info:
Release Date: 1998
Label: Amendment Records
Runtime: 10:13
-Orchid: 5:29
-Pig Destroyer: 4:44
Tracks:
-Orchid: 3
-Pig Destroyer: 8
At a Glance:
Grindcore, Emoviolence, Screamo, Frantic, Metallic
Points on the Timeline:
Both of these bands started life in 1997; all three of Orchid’s songs come from their previous We Hate You demo, while Pig Destroyer threw in three songs from their own 1997 demo and a few originals. Both sides showcase young Hardcore bands poised to become defining figures in their respective genres.
Shapes in the Sound:
Orchid’s contribution features a more metallic-leaning sound than you’d expect, with the chugs you’d hope for and a gritty guitar tone that dominates the songs. Let’s not take away from the admirable drumming performance that keeps up with the guitar’s madness and a brutal vocalist whose every lyric is torture to the ears. Meanwhile, Pig Destroyer put out rapid-fire Grindcore tracks with the faintest of Sludge sensibilities. Their anger and appetite for destruction was quite high on this. Expect rapid-fire blastbeats and piercing shrieking vocals.
Threads in the Tapestry:
Although not the best representation of either band, these early works showcase the potential that these Hardcore pioneers possessed. While Orchid would drop much of the Metal influence from their legendary works, these songs were structurally similar to what they’d go on to create. Similarly, though they would change the influences on subsequent records, they kept the Grindcore grinding through and through.
This release doesn’t get the recognition it deserves for having two legends in their early incarnations showing off the future of Hardcore music, but it’s at the very least an important footnote in the history of the scenes.