The Scream

This album was the first that really conflicted me from a ratings standpoint. It's also the first one that is closer to what I normally listen to. The album itself isn't one I particularly enjoy. It's ok, in general, but not a sound I would listen to much. The conflict comes from the fact that this album was one of the most influential to the punk genre that most of my favorite artists of all time belong to. You can hear the influences that my favorite bands drew on and you can see where this album helped change the world in that way. With that, I gave it one more star than I would have otherwise because I believe this album helped pave the way for the future alternative and punk genres.

Deserves some sort of extra credit for recording "Helter Skelter" exactly how Charles Manson heard it in his head ten years prior. Overall, this album is a delight. Shame on everyone I went to college with for not introducing this to me during my campus years. You can literally hear countless bands (the B52's, Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins immediately come to mind) forming just from hearing this. Dark, twisted, original and thoroughly enjoyable.

I'm not feeling very generous this morning, unfortunately. The music was really interesting, but the singing mostly annoyed me. Again, I know that's the style, and it's on purpose, but it just doesn't please me very much. 2 stars.

I've written this somewhere else, copying it. From 1978. This debut is a dark and heavy slice of post-punk. Heavy guitars, twisted lyrical poetry, and apocalyptic soundscapes. Lead singer Siouxsie Sioux lends these songs a heavy, doom-laden atmosphere- on the classic "Jigsaw Feeling," her bewitching declarations soar above crashing, biting guitars and a squirming bass line, while the epic "Switch" sees her building from an acidic croon to a deadly chant. Other highlights include "Carcass," which uses the image of torture and cannibalism as an extended metaphor for the psychological effects of unrequited love... over a ridiculously catchy surf-rock background. The handclaps in the final verse are nothing short of genius. "Suburban Relapse" is a harrowing portrait of insanity, wit an absolutely Wagnerian sense of drama.

I feel like this is an album I "get" more than I truly enjoy. Made me wanna put on eyeliner and wear all black clothing. A song like "Hong Kong Garden" has NOT aged well, even if it means well. The Beatles cover is so on-brand for what I expected this to be: dramatic, over-the-top, artsy. Favorite tracks: "Jigsaw Feeling", "Carcass", "Suburban Relapse".

With a shriek and a yell, Siouxsie and the Banshees began their incomparable run amongst the post-punk/indie throng. A commanding presence, Siouxsie dominates The Scream (improbably the band's debut album) in a manner only she and the group could carry, approaching one peak after another like the noticeable Helter Skelter cover, Jigsaw Feeling and Hong Kong Garden. A really rather good start. Favorites: Jigsaw Feeling, Overground, Carcass, Helter Skelter, Suburban Relapse, Switch, Hong Kong Garden.

While I'm a fan of what I have heard of Siouxsie & The Banshees since high school, I've never had a full listen of their debut, The Scream. Siouxsie's emotionally charged vocals explode from the grinding guitar and punk-rich drum & bass rhythms. And I'm not gonna lie, a lot of the A-side is not for the faint of heart or ear, and wasn't easy to swallow today for me. But Hong Kong Garden and The Staircase peaked my interest above the rest of the record and are better examples of SATB's developing accessibility that bloomed in the 80s.

This is one of the first post punk albums ever. Siouxsie has always been a legend, even in her debut album. This work is gothic, aggressive, exciting, and explosive. Love it!

In My Vinyl collection already this one. Siouxsie Sioux doing her indomitable best to change the face of women in rock music. I love their version of the Beatles "Helter Skelter" and of course "Hong Kong Garden" and "The Staircase (Mystery)" A real statement from one of the original "Bromley Contingent" just gotta love her chutzpah. Definately on my list of 1001 LP's to Hear Before You Die!

I’ve a lot of love in my heart for post-punk, and this band’s debut helped write the book.

This album is sick. Kind of got a bit of Velvet Underground energy but sounds so dark... I don't really know what to think about it - it's good, really good, but it's definitely something you need to be in the mood for. That Helter Skelter cover was bizarre af

Solid proto-post-punk. More important than many records of that era

Soild album deserves its place on the list but not as good as JuJu though so won’t be getting added to my frequent rotation.

Very conflicting. I liked the overall vibe and the instrumentals were good. The vocals were sometimes interesting and sometimes grating. Made me feel something at least.

Ugh enough with this style of music already.

Would've been 3 but her vocals are infuriating.

Angry, discordant punk/experimental. Not really something I enjoy.

not for me

This is one of those albums which you have to read the Wikipedia Article to understand why it's on this list.

I don't like this. Helter Skelter cover sucks.

Je ne vais pas vous cacher que j'ai passé une demi-heure épouvantable en compagnie de cet album. Il s'agit tout simplement d'une notice de quarante-minutes destinée à expliquer tout ce qu'il ne faut pas faire quand on sort un disque. À croire que la chanteuse et les musiciens ne se sont jamais rencontrés tant la voix et les instruments n'arrivent pas à s'accorder une seule seconde. Ne me refais plus ce coup là, Robert.

Early punk and I'm not so sure I really care for it. 3/10.

Buff! que mal

Avant Shite

Such a singular sound. Intense and focused throughout.

The squeak of leather. The taste of hairspray.

Holy shit. Blown away by this album. I know I've heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees but I am not sure I ever listened to them. Honestly probably judged a band by its name and rightly know I made a mistake because this is one of the coolest albums I've ever heard. So angsty and angry and bleeding influence into the bands that followed them. Pleasantly unpleasant. Never ever judge a band by their name because you never know what you're missing until you actually listen.

Siouxsie es una de las artistas más influyentes de Inglaterra, siendo la principal precursora de la estética y el sonido gótico, lo que queda bastante claro en su debut "The Scream". Tambores estridentes, interpretaciones de guitarras punk agresivas, letras extrañas y pantanosas, sumados a la particular voz de Sioux, crean una experiencia que dejó a más de algún británico sorprendido y obsesionado (Robert Smith, por ejemplo). Sumamente influyente e importante. Escúchelo por favor.

This is terrific. I'm not really a big lover of them and haven't heard of any of the main album tracks but this is a distinct powerful sound unlike any other.

Outstanding first album

Missy, outstanding and energetic. Not a fan of Helter Skelter.

Great!

Masterpiece!

9.5/10. The vocals and instrumentation are incredible. It's heavy, and great!!! :)

Is this 80s synth pop? I think so. I like it but it's not my go to.

4.5 rounded up absolutely fantastic debut highlights: jigsaw feeling, carcass, mirage (aug 10 2024)

Enfin l'occasion de me pencher sur Siouxsie and the Banshee, et pas déçue du voyage ! The Scream est leur premier album, il va donc me falloir me pencher sur la suite de la discographie pour bien prendre la mesure de la forte aura de ce groupe et son impact sur tant d'artistes que j'apprécie et qui les cite allègrement comme source d'influence. Carton plein !

I think I could listen to this one over and over again - loved it!

This album rocks. Lived the instrumentals and the general vibe of the album.

What is more impressive: 1) Laying the foundation for the entire post-punk genre, or 2) Actually turning 'Helter Skelter' into a tolerable tune?

Mittageisen becomes even more fun if you imagine it being said by a Tom Baker era Doctor Who villain. A lot of talk here about how influential The Banshees were, and despite that not being up for debate, it also misses that the reason this was so influential is because of how good it is. Like so much of the early Gothic Post-Punk scene, The Scream grips you with it’s doomy atmosphere, but unlike the gloomy soundscapes of The Cure’s Gothic trilogy or Joy Division’s albums, The Banshees still bring Punk energy to Post-Punk. This is one of my favourite albums simply in terms of how music sounds. I’m sure I’ve read a joke somewhere about an aging Baby Boomer music critic complaining about new music because his Platonically ideal music sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin. Well to me, that sound is Post-Punk. When I picture myself recording an album, it sounds like The Banshees, and The Cure, and Joy Division, and all of these other bands that I love so dearly

If there is one thing I adore about music, it is finding what is seemingly an artist you love out of nowhere. It happened with me and Sparks, my now favorite band, and while there could be a world where I still hadn't discovered them, I'm extremely happy that my music journey led me to them. So, getting that feeling again is always great, and that seems to be the case with me and Siouxsie and the Banshees. I mean, I could assume I would like them just because of my general enjoyment of post-punk and, to a lesser extent, gothic rock, but to find out they may be one of my favorites of the genre and era is an extremely nice surprise. Siouxsie's vocals are unique and emotionally strained without being difficult to listen to, and their instrumentation on this album is amazing, with tons of riffs and hooks that are surprisingly catchy for such a dissonant album. This should be an album where you stare into space and overthink every thing that has ever happened to you, but you can't help but rock out a little while you do it. Siouxsie and the Banshees seem to love their unique covers, and this features a fascinating Helter Skelter cover that towers over other Beatles covers for actually doing something different whilst not removing the ton of the original, and the whole album is just haunting. The album cover is perfect, just being something relatively normal, but distorting it to a point of being terrifying, and while perhaps by modern standards this album could come off a little cheesy, by 1978 standards this feels like a nightmare, albeit a lesser one. This debut just feels like something sinister is afoot, and while their later, more rock oriented releases are amazing in their own right, this take is something I just really enjoy, being exactly what I go to post-punk for. That pure anxious energy that few others can balance with purely great songwriting so well. It is a treat, and I look forward to diving into their discography more in my own time.

Gran primer trabajo de tremenda banda, ideal para afrontar el frío y bailarlo. Música que genera atmósferas hermosamente oscuras, amplificadas por la bellísima voz de Siouxsie y toda su estética, precursora del post-punk y de toda la movida gótica.

How have I never listened to this post punk masterpiece before?

This album is an essential post-punk record. It is brooding and dark and features great song development. It reminds me quite a bit of Joy Division/New Order. I can also hear this sound in later bands as well. As a debut, this is fantastic.

What an awesome band this is. I just love the way that punk bands play their instruments...so much power and connected rhythms. I could listen to both this and Juju on repeat forever. Favorite track: Switch

love this band. Hong Kong Garden is fire.

Best album so far top 5 punk of all time. Experimental, progressive, industrial post punk. Nothing you have heard sound like this. Now its probably in my top 50 ever best albums. Grace Slick meets sex pistols, with the ramones in the trunk on a car full of the runaways. Simply a masterpiece with punk rockers who are actually great musicians. Clean as punk can get.

Awesome!

To start, I am VERY picky when it comes to 5 star music. This album had me HOOKED. I've known of & listened to Siouxsie and the Banshees before (I love spellbound) so I had high hopes, and safe to say my hopes were met. If you like goth music, this album is DEFINITELY worth a listen.

Great album if you are into that unrefined early punk sound.

Yeah this album rocks… how have I never heard this? Sounds completely modern despite being over 40 years old

"The Scream" is the debut album by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It is considered "a landmark recording with an innovative combination of angular and serrated guitars with bass-led rhythms and machine-like drums" and "a pioneering work of the post-punk genre." I really can't add much more to that. The bandmembers included Siouxsie Sioux (vocals), Steven Severin (bass), John McKay (guitar) and Kenny Morris (drums). The album reached #12 in the UK and had wide-spread critical acclaim. The first song "Pure" is mostly an instrumental but we get a sense what the band is: angular, high-pitched guitar, heavy bass and Siouxsie howling. This leads into "Jigsaw Feeling." Thumping bass, pounding tom-tom drums and that same guitar sound which does sound like a jigsaw. The pace picks up. Oh, yeah, this is post-punk. "Overground" has Siousie screaming about sacrificing yourself for normal people. No one in this group seems normal. Nice starting and stopping by the bass and drums. Of course, there's a song named "Carcass." Of course, it's about a butcher falling in love with raw meat. By far, their most normal sounding rock and roll song. I like the dichotomy. "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" is very mechanical sounding. Guitar scratching which goes into some sort of eerie guitar chord progression. A tom-tom drum beat. About waking up and finding you're under the rule of a totalitarian mastermind. The album closes with "Switch" which may be guitarist McKay's finest moment. More eerie guitar strings; he dominates going all over the place with echoes. The pace keeps picking up. Siouxsie screaming about the hypocrisy of everything. This is quite the album and is one of the best debut albums that I've heard and along with Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures," defines post punk. The music and lyrics create a foreboding and eerie atmosphere. McKay's serrated and angular guitar is unique and just spectacular. I hear this guitar sound in PIL. The Pretenders, Sonic Youth, U2 and I'm sure a lot more I'm not thinking of right now. Although muttled, Siouxsie's vocals are haunting and appropriate for thr music; she would become much more in the forefront in the future. The bass and drums are also great. I thotoughly agree with the landmark label.

That's funny Autumn just mentioned these guys the other day! oh wow! It has been cited as a key influence on a number of succeeding post-punk, noise rock and alternative rock acts, including Joy Division, Killing Joke, the Cure, Big Black, Sonic Youth, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Faith No More and Massive Attack. That's crazy. Just for that it deserves 5 stars

This was a great album from Siouxsie and the Banshees! The music was so dark, gritty, and punky (which I absolutely love!). I highly recommend this one! I liked almost every track and will definitely save for future listens. Favorite Song(s): "Hong Kong Garden", "Nicotine Strain", "Overground", "Carcass", "Mirage"

goths undead

love her

This is, and I don't say this lightly, an absolute fucking masterpiece. For me it's the ground zero of post-punk. Every track is superb, and let's not forget this is a debut album. There are few bands that close their debut with a near seven minute song, but Switch is the standout track on The Scream.

Rounding up to 5 stars out of fear that this is the only Siouxsie album on this list. Production is a bit tinny, and her voice isn’t featured as much as later albums. However, Switch is a sign of things to come. Hope Juju is amongst these albums, when she is at the peak of her powers.

I have enough goth friends that I knew of Siouxsie and the Banshees but had never done a deep dive. What a hell of a debut album. Some of it sounds a bit dated to me but looking at the date it really defined a genre for years. 5/5. Great album.

As gothic post punk masterpiece. I love the guitar.

"The Scream" by Siouxsie and the Banshees is a groundbreaking masterpiece that continues to captivate listeners with its hauntingly innovative sound. Released in 1978, this debut album effortlessly blends punk energy with a dark, atmospheric quality that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Siouxsie Sioux's mesmerizing vocals, often veering from eerie whispers to powerful howls, are the album's driving force. Tracks like "Metal Postcard" and "Jigsaw Feeling" showcase her commanding presence. The band's sonic experimentation is evident throughout, with unconventional percussion and John McKay's screeching guitar work on "Pure" adding an extra layer of intensity. The album's lyrical themes explore alienation and disillusionment, creating a sense of unease that perfectly complements the music's edginess. "The Scream" is a timeless classic that remains a testament to Siouxsie and the Banshees' enduring influence on post-punk and gothic rock, making it an essential addition to any music collection.

Siouxsie Diosa

PJ Harvey sprung out fully formed from a Siouxsie album

S&tB debut album - it is their noisiest album and in my top 3 of S&tB albums. (Two days ago we had the Teardropes Explodes debut, a more psychedelic version of post-punk which I also like, but Scream is of a different level.)

Punk, post-punk, goth - pretty much everything and the best debut to come out of the first punk wave. It's five stars even without Hong Kong Garden and Staircase mystery - both singles but not on the original album. John McKay on this album is as good a guitarist as John McGeogh - very different, and a lot harsher, but as good.

love

Still sounds great after nearly 45 years! What a debut album and highly influential.

I loved this! really well done gothy post-punk - noisy but organised yet still danceable for some reason. and so cool that the beatles covered that helter skelter song! [NB - I'm glad Hong Kong Garden was not on the original release because it's easily the worst song there]

Really fucking good album. 5 stars for sure.

Feels timeless, like its a sign of good things to come for music. Scratches a unique itch.

A low 5, but it grabbed the spot by being proto-everything I like out of the 80s, so great job!

I kept coming back to this album and listened it 5 times over the last 24 hours. What a crucial and amazing post punk record. I find it hard to word how this album has been impacting me, but songs like Jigsaw Feeling, Suburban Relapse and Switch make me listen close, to all sounds, cracks and noises. Amazing. I was washing up the dishes / minding my own business / when my string snapped. I had a relapse / a suburban relapse.

Not as impressive as *Juju* but still a historically important and seminal record in the post-punk genre (and one of the earliest of its kind). No one on Earth can sing like Siouxsie, with her instantly recognizable haunting voice. As for the instrumentation, Steve Severin's bouncing basslines bring a breath of fresh air to the claustrophobic mood of those tunes, and John McKay literally invented a playing style--if there was a patent for "angular" guitar lines, he should be its rightful owner. "Jigsaw Feeling" and "Mirage", along with the atmospheric and mysterious "Switch" are landmarks of the genre. And if it's too bad the band didn't include their all-time classic "Hong Kong Garden" in the original album tracklisting (a non-album single), I'm pretty sure most CD copies available out there now include it as a bonus track. So 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. A couple of songs are indeed a little difficult for non-fans of the genre, but given how ridiculously *low* the overall score of this seminal album is, I can't give it any less than that. Number of albums left to review: 657 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 171 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 82 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 96

Fucking amazing

Female vocalist sounds hot

Clesic

5/5. Easy dub 😎👍

Women were so much better at punk than men.

Amazing!!!

I’m going to listen to this one over again.

Really enjoying this. Love the vocals and the urgency of the music. I love covers of Helter Skelter, but my favorites from this album are Jigsaw Feeling and Metal Postcard.

Love me a bit of Siouxsie

I think this is a 4. Or a 3. Or even a 2. It's hard to tell. I think I'm very relieved to be away from Elton John and listening to stuff that's more my interest. There's a weird unemotional delivery to Siouxsie Sioux's vocals and the music generally. It's sort of industrial punk minimalism. Or something. I think I like it. I think it's a 3.5 with a note to investigate further. "Hong Kong Garden" is great though.

Really good, raw sound

For this review, I will not include the bonus tracks "Hong Kong Garden" and "The Staircase (Mystery)" from the 2006 reissue. I've heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees as an influential band in the post-punk and alternative genres. I certainly respect that the Banshees' debut album The Scream is considered the genesis of several later acts. After giving the album a couple of listens, I like it albeit with some caveats. Let's start with the positives. I genuinely enjoy the melodrama in Siouxise Sioux's vibrato vocal delivery, where she commanded attention with near-operatic wails. She's backed up well by John McKay's crunchy guitar riffs, Kenny Morris's pounding tom-tom-focused percussion, and Steven Severin's elegant bass. Songs like "Jigsaw Feeling", "Carcass", and "Mirage" pop off well early on in the album given how synchronized the band was in their unorthodox mannerisms. That said, not every song on The Scream is great. It took two minutes for this album to get going with the intro track "Pure" taking a while to crescendo. Halfway through, "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" kills the pacing starts. I understand if they were going for a more mechanical-sounding presentation for a track about the metal aesthetic, but I find it a slog. By the time that song is over, the album has difficulty getting its momentum back, even with fun tracks like "Nicotine Stain" and the seven-minute closer "The Switch". Overall, I enjoyed The Scream and what Siouxsie and the Banshees brought to their table with their sound. It can be a difficult listen, but one that is worth the effort.

Pretty one note spooky witchy rock music. It kicks ass but it all sort of slurs together. That cover of shelter Skelton though!!!!

Furious and wild!

Post-Punk with driving basses, eerie textures and at times unconventional, yet intriguing melodies. Amazing lead vocals Standout Tracks: Overground, Metal Postcard (Mittageisen), Suburban Relapse

chicken chow mein and chop suey

Some really cool 80's punk sounds

Very avant-guard post punk. Siouxsie's vocals are some how both awesome and grating but no matter your tastes, they work here. Not sure how often I'll revisit this album, but it did send me down the Siouxsie and the Banshees rabbit hole which is full of wonderful music. I'd give this a 3, but since it resparked my joy for the rest of the catalog, it gets bumped to a 4

Great album!

siouxsie is such a badass. i love hong kong garden, if you’re lucky you’ll hear it at the king soopers on colorado/yale

This was a very solid debut album for a very solid band. Banshees is a good way to describe the style of them. Also, I love Siouxsie Sioux. She is my goth queen.

It's an excellent debut album, and shockingly close to the sound they would have once the band fully came into its own. That being said, it suffers from a slow pace, its runtime clocks in at only 45 minutes, but it feels significantly longer.

Sioux's vocals are so raw and intense. This is a wild debut album that really shows where they would go. The Beatles cover is an interesting inclusion, but I really like their take on it.

Wichtig, ein Zeitdokument.

I have always favored Siouxsie and the Banshees. So it is not mystery that I would like this album. However I have growing insight as I review albums nearly every day. I think I not only like her voice, somewhat shouting rather than singing, but I look forward to hearing it in the next song -- quite the oposite of getting tired of someone after a few songs. And then there is in how this is truly genre defining post-punk. A bit cleaner, a bit more rock directed, less noisy. Just listen I sometimes say. And again, if you want to "understand" what post-punk is, than ... just listen!

quite fun and nervy. absolutely cracked guitar work - divinely jagged and noisy. album really *feels* like the work of a bunch of 21 year olds which is one of the most beautiful things about it favorites: Mirage; Suburban Relapse least favorite: The Staircase (Mystery)