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.

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In/Humanity - The Nutty Antichrist | Screamo Hall of Fame Class of 1996 Nominee

Release Information:

1996
Passive Fist Records
Columbia, SC
Runtime: 20:10
Tracks: 13

Band Members:

Chris Bickel (Vocals)
Paul Swanson (Guitar)
Will Zaledeski (Bass)
Ben Roth (Drums)

Genres, Influences and Characteristics:

Emoviolence, Powerviolence, Manic, Chaotic, Quirky, Dissonant

Musical Analysis:

Grueling distortion, breakneck tempos, angry shrieks and general musical mayhem are found all over this record. A typical song on The Nutty Antichrist is shorter than a minute, so a rapid-firing of musical ideas is often at play, particularly in the songs with blistering drums and dissonant, syncopated guitar. However, the band knows when to adjust the tempo and the intensity to fit their needs, transitioning between the two often enough to break up any monotony. Vocally, the screamer sounds as hateful as the music, though these extreme swellings of negativity are broken up by the many samples that flow between tracks and the occasional playful song here and there.

Historical Analysis:

Although the term “Emoviolence” had not yet been coined by In/Humanity, they certainly had no problem being one of the first to play it. The Nutty Antichrist is a natural evolution from their 1994 EP Gets Killed by Robots, even including the track Greener Eyes on this LP. In/Humanity doubles down on the Powerviolence influence and adds even more absurdity. The (spoiler!) political lyrics, frantic, short and dynamic songs, and overwhelming dissonance give this release an intimidating aura that many Screamo and Emoviolence bands of the future would strive toward. Despite being so early to the Emoviolence game, they had several contemporaries pushing similar boundaries simultaneously.

Lyrical Analysis:

The simple, direct, confrontational and sarcastic lyrics by Chris Bickel define this LP. Although he uses irony and inappropriate metaphors to make a lot of his points, make no mistake - the band is firmly anti-capitalist, anti-Confederate Flag, anti-right wing. These are the ethos of Hardcore that In/Humanity carries forward with fleeting moments of self-reflection - often self-derogatory. Nonetheless, there’s very little ambiguity in the lyricism - even with all of the sarcasm; strong themes about the ills of mental institutions, the bait-and-switch nature of religion and the horrors of upcoming nuclear war are all easily sussed out.