# Screamager

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"**Screamager**" is a song by Northern Irish rock band [Therapy?](/source/Therapy%3F), released on March 8, 1993 from their debut EP *[Shortsharpshock E.P.](/source/Shortsharpshock_E.P.)* as the lead single. It is also featured on their fourth and second major label album *[Troublegum](/source/Troublegum)* (1994). The song is considered to have propelled the band to fame.

## Background and recording

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](/source/Michael_McKeegan) were watching television in a shared hotel room when they came across the *[Smash Hits](/source/Smash_Hits)* Awards. McKeegan referred to the young girls in the audience who were screaming at [Phillip Schofield](/source/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](/source/Ulster) punk. Stuff like [Stiff Little Fingers](/source/Stiff_Little_Fingers), [The Undertones](/source/The_Undertones), [Rudi](/source/Rudi_(band)). 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](/source/Ramones)-y." We'd been a noisy rock band – people lumped us in with [Big Black](/source/Big_Black) and [Sonic Youth](/source/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](/source/Helmet_(band)). It has a classic format, but it's the little things: the stop-start intro, the double-time at the end… originally, [Fyfe](/source/Fyfe_Ewing) was playing this really bizarre [Neil Peart](/source/Neil_Peart), eight-bar fill, but [Chris Sheldon](/source/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](/source/A%26R) representative from [A&M Records](/source/A%26M_Records), he said "Oh, man… I don't think your fans will like it. Your fans like [Nine Inch Nails](/source/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!](/source/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](/source/Strap_It_On)*, and *[Meantime](/source/Meantime_(album))* 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](/source/Noise_rock) style, but following the popularity of the song they decided to release more songs stylistically similar to that of "Screamager".[3]

## Composition

"Screamager" is a [pop-punk](/source/Pop-punk)[3][4] and [grunge](/source/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]

## Critical reception

The song was praised by many music magazines, such as *[Metal Hammer](/source/Metal_Hammer)* and *[NME](/source/NME)*.[3] Andy Kellman of *[AllMusic](/source/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.

## Charts

Chart (1993) Peak position US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[5] 16

## References

1. Yates, Henry (November 23, 2016). ["The Story Behind The Song: Screamager By Therapy?"](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-screamager-therapy). *[LouderSound](/source/LouderSound)*. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

1. Acharya, Kiran (February 7, 2019). ["Troublegum At 25: An Oral History Of The Therapy? Classic"](https://www.kerrang.com/troublegum-at-25-an-oral-history-of-the-therapy-classic). *[Kerrang!](/source/Kerrang!)*. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

1. Everley, Dave (7 November 2019). ["Therapy?: How *Troublegum* catapulted three unlikely Irish lads to stardom"](https://www.loudersound.com/features/therapy-how-troublegum-catapulted-three-unlikely-irish-lads-to-stardom). *[LouderSound](/source/LouderSound)*. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

1. Kellman, Andy. ["Troublegum - Therapy?"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/troublegum-mw0000108857). [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic). Retrieved October 23, 2023.

1. ["Alternative Airplay"](https://www.billboard.com/charts/alternative-airplay/1993-10-30/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. 30 October 1993. Retrieved 23 October 2023.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Screamager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamager) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamager?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.