Native Nod, Rye Coalition, 1.6 Band, and Rorschach all became prominent in this scene, which was centred around ABC No Rio,[16] while the sound expanded to elsewhere in the United States with Universal Order of Armageddon (from Baltimore) and Mohinder (from Cupertino, California).

[17] In San Francisco, Portraits of Past were one of the earliest groups to merge the primitive screamo sound with post-rock, a combination that Funeral Diner would then continue, while also embracing the influence of black metal.

[14] One of the most influential bands to come from the New York City screamo scene was Saetia, who formed in 1997 and created a sound influenced by math rock, jazz and Midwest emo.

Other impactful groups in the genre at this time included Jeromes Dream, Neil Perry, I Hate Myself, Reversal of Man, Yaphet Kotto and Orchid.

[20] The following year, saw the release of Canada's Alexisonfire's self-titled album, which Metal Hammer writer Matt Mills called "key in legitimising the screamo sound".

The most prominent and influential of these acts was Richmond, Virginia's City of Caterpillar,[14] who Vice writer Jason Heller stated "encompass [the] era".

[27] In the early 2010s the term "screamo" began to be largely reclaimed by a new crop of do-it-yourself bands, with many screamo acts, like Loma Prieta, Pianos Become the Teeth, La Dispute, and Touché Amoré releasing records on fairly large independent labels such as Deathwish Inc.[28] In 2011 Alternative Press noted that La Dispute is "at the forefront of a traditional-screamo revival" for their critically acclaimed release Wildlife.

[29] They are a part of a group of stylistically similar screamo-revival bands self-defined as "The Wave," made up of Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Defeater, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Make Do and Mend.

[35] Groups highlighted in this coverage, including Respire,[36][37] Ostraca,[38] Portrayal of Guilt,[39][40][41] Soul Glo,[42] I Hate Sex,[43] and Infant Island,[44][45][46] had generally received positive press from large publications, but were not as widely successful as their predecessors.

Noisey also documented that, despite its loss of mainstream popularity and continued hold in North American scenes, particularly Richmond, Virginia,[47] screamo had become a more international movement; notably spreading to Japan, France, and Sweden with groups including Heaven in Her Arms, Birds in Row and Suis La Lune, respectively.

[48] Also in 2018, Vein released their debut album Errorzone to critical acclaim and commercial success, bringing together elements of screamo, hardcore, and nu metal.

"[3] Screamed vocals are used "not consistently, but as a kind of crescendo element, a sonic weapon to be trotted out when the music and lyrics reach a particular emotional pitch.

[59] Some groups were also unusually theoretical in inspiration: Angel Hair cited surrealist writers Antonin Artaud and Georges Bataille,[2] and Orchid lyrically name-checked French new wave icon Anna Karina, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, French philosopher Michel Foucault, and critical theory originators the Frankfurt School.

Bands including City of Caterpillar, Circle Takes the Square, Envy, Funeral Diner, Pianos Become the Teeth,[69] Respire,[70] and Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort[71][72] have incorporated post-rock elements into their music.

[77] The genre incorporates elements of post-punk, new wave, disco, electronic, dance-punk,[77] grindcore, noise rock, metalcore, mathcore and beatdown hardcore.

The genre is characterized by overtly flamboyant mannerisms, homoerotic lyrical content, synthesizers, dance beats and a lisping vocal style.

[78] Sass bands include the Blood Brothers, An Albatross, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, early Daughters, later-Orchid[79][80] and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.

[33] Alternative Press describes pop screamo as "metal-influenced riffs and aggressive, high-end screams filled song's verses, while soaring melodies carried choruses to new, previously unattained heights.