One of the most enduring bands on the Washington, D.C. punk rock scene, Scream rose from the Capitol City's hardcore community of the 1980s and matured into a more diverse musical entity without losing their muscular impact. They played intelligent hardcore with precision and ferocity on their debut album, 1983's Still Screaming, and adopted a more refined but still burly sound on their second LP, This Side Up, which also found them dappling in reggae. 1986's Banging the Drum and 1988's No More Censorship boasted a sophisticated fusion of anthemic punk, hard rock power, and alternative rock experimentation, but also preceded the band's 1990 breakup. However, the members of Scream would occasionally get together for live work and recording, and in 2023 they issued a bracing reunion effort, DC Special. Scream was formed in Alexandria Virginia, less than nine miles from Washington, D.C., in 1981. The initial lineup featured Pete Stahl on lead vocals, his brother Franz Stahl on guitar, Skeeter Thompson on bass, and Steve Atton on drums. By the time they were playing regularly in and around D.C., Kent Stax (aka Kent Stacks) had replaced Atton behind the drum kit, and they were becoming one of the most respected bands on the scene. Dischord Records, the label founded by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson of Minor Threat to document the D.C. scene, offered Scream a chance to record, and 1983's Still Screaming made them the first band to debut on Dischord with a full-length album rather than a single or compilation appearance. Scream's second album, 1985's This Side Up, introduced an expanded lineup of the group, with guitarist Robert Lee Davidson turning them into a quintet and incorporating a more complex dual-guitar attack. 1987's Banging the Drum was recorded during sessions in London, England at Southern Studios and in Arlington at Inner Ear, the studio that was a second home for many D.C. bands. By this time, Scream were touring regularly, and following the release of Banging the Drum, they booked shows in Europe and the United Kingdom for the first time. Following the touring cycle of Banging the Drum, Kent Stax amicably left Scream and the group recruited a new drummer, Dave Grohl, a 17-year-old from Virginia who lied about his age to get the gig. Grohl's studio debut came with Scream's 1988 LP No More Censorship; the album was released by the Washington, D.C. reggae label RAS Records in an effort to expand into rock music. Extensive touring followed, and a March 1988 performance in the Netherlands was released as Live! At Van Hall Amsterdam, while a May 1990 date in Germany made its way onto vinyl as part of the Your Choice Live Series of live punk LPs. Upon returning to D.C., Scream began work on their fifth studio album, but tensions within the band made themselves known, and before 1990 was over, Scream broke up. Grohl soon found a new gig playing drums with Nirvana, just in time to record their zeitgeist 1991 effort Nevermind, while Pete Stahl and Franz Stahl moved to Los Angeles and launched a new group, Wool. Franz Stahl would also play guitar in Grohl's band the Foo Fighters from 1997 to 1999. In 1993, the album Scream recorded shortly before their breakup was given posthumous release by Dischord under the title Fumble, and the the Stahl brothers, Skeeter Thompson, and Dave Grohl booked a Scream reunion tour to celebrate. From this point on, various combinations of Scream members staged occasional reunion shows. The This Side Up and Banging the Drum five-man lineup played a one-off show in December 1996 at the D.C. venue the Black Cat; a CD documenting the performance, Live at the Black Cat, appeared in 1998. Another reunion gig at the Black Cat, featuring the Still Screaming lineup, took place in 2009. The original lineup once again reunited for studio sessions at Grohl's private Los Angeles facility, Studio 606; the result was a six-song EP, 2011's Complete Control Sessions, issued by Side One Dummy Records. Southern Lord Records issued a revamped version of No More Censorship, remixed by the band at Grohl's studio, in 2017 under the title NMC17. In 2021, Peter Stahl, Franz Stahl, Skeeter Thompson, and Kent Stax once again teamed up to record an album that would pay homage to the diversity of the D.C. music scene and the community that produced it. Featuring guest appearances from Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally of Fugazi, Brian Baker of Minor Threat, Dave Grohl, and many more, DC Special proved to be one of the last albums recorded at Inner Ear Studio, which closed in October 2021. It was released in November 2023 and featured Kent Stax's final recordings; he died on September 20, 2023 at the age of 61. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi