Scream was formed in Northern Virginia in 1981 by singer Peter Stahl, his brother Franz Stahl on guitar, bassist Skeeter Thompson and drummer Kent Stax. They are considered one of the benchmark bands in the history of the Washington, D.C. hardcore music movement. Along with bands such as Minor Threat and Government Issue, Scream ultimately merged the attributes of the movement, which were blinding speed, heavy political and social connotations in the lyrics, unpretentiousness of attitude, and shunning of commercialism. Their music is faithful to the roots of rock, but spun itself into other genres by employing sounds that predate the raunchiness of grunge, while saluting reggae and speed metal. Scream hated the classification of bands into certain types and considered what they played as simply 'music.' Recording their music in the basement of the now legendary Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, Scream became the first band on the Dischord label to release a whole album, Still Screaming, as opposed to singles or 12 inch EPs. Like the hardcore band Bad Brains, they could play clearly at breakneck speed, but also played mid-tempo songs like "American Justice" and "Hygiene," which were metal-tinged reggae.
For their second album Scream added another guitarist to their line-up, Robert Lee "Harley" Davidson, to thicken up the sound in the studio and in their live performances. In turn this eventually led to a powerful dual-lead guitar style, with complex guitar tracking, a more powerful live sound and an over-all crunchier sound for their third album. For a few compilation efforts and some live shows they added a keyboard player, Bobby Madden, who was a colleague of Davidson's from the same metal scene.
After the third album Banging the Drum, Kent Stax left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by local drummer Dave Grohl, who then played on Scream's 4th album No More Censorship. The band then toured Europe; with their May 4, 1990 show in Alzey, Germany being released by Tobby Holzinger as Your Choice Live Series Vol.10. Scream then recorded their fifth and final studio album Fumble, (which was much later released in 1993 on Dischord Records) and then called it quits in late 1990. Pete and Franz moved to North Hollywood and started rock band Wool, while Grohl joined Grunge band Nirvana. In 1997, Franz Stahl joined Dave Grohl's newly formed group, the commercially successful Foo Fighters, for a two year stint. During this time Pete Stahl worked as a road manager for both the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, while continuing to record albums with several bands, including the Earthlings? and Goatsnake. Skeeter Thompson remained in the D.C. area and continued to work in bands, as did Kent Stax with the Skinhead/Oi! -tinged bands: the Suspects, United 121, Spitfires United, and Alleged Bricks. Stax has also committed himself to a family life. Davidson continued in the band Angelstorm, (in Huntsville, Alabama), from 1993–1995 and created the new bands Orangahead, Festival of Fools, (with Madden in 1998) and two different bands both named God Is Dead, (one in D.C. and one in Huntsville, Alabama) from 2002-2005.
The original line-up of the band played a reunion show on December 20, 2009 at the Black Cat nightclub in Washington, D.C.
On February 7, 2011, the band supported Foo Fighters on a special show at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, when the Foo Fighters showcased their new album Wasting Light for the first time from beginning to end.
Current members
Peter Stahl – lead vocals (1981–1990, 2009–present)
Franz Stahl – guitar, backing vocals (1981–1990, 2009–present)
Skeeter Thompson – bass, backing vocals (1981–1990, 2009–present)
Kent Stax – drums, percussion (1981–1986, 2009–present)
Former members
Dave Grohl – drums, percussion (1986–1990)
Robert Lee Davidson – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1989)
The Zoo Closes At Dark
Scream Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we'll blow ourselves up till there's nothing left
'Cept the reason we're told to accept
There is no war - just death
This is no Greyhound Bus line
And I'm about to blow my mind
There is no war - just death
Don't be surprised when death is thrown in your eyes
Too late to realize
There is no war - just death
And we'll blow ourselves up till there's nothing left
'Cept the reason we're told to accept
There is no war - just death
This is no Greyhound Bus line
And I'm about to blow my mind
There is no war - just death
The zoo closes [x4]
There is no war - just death
And we'll blow ourselves up till there's nothing left
'Cept the reason we're told to accept
There is no war - just death
This is no Greyhound Bus line
And I'm about to blow my mind
The zoo closes at dark [x4]
The lyrics to "The Zoo Closes At Dark" by Scream seem to be a commentary on humanity's destructive tendencies and our inability to avoid self-destruction. The opening lines, "There is no war - just death, and we'll blow ourselves up till there's nothing left," suggest that we are the architects of our own destruction rather than being victims of external forces. The song implies that we have accepted our fate, with the line "except the reason we're told to accept."
The reference to the zoo suggests that the world has become a kind of zoo where we are trapped and controlled. The line "this is no Greyhound Bus line" suggests that there is no escape, no way out. The repetition of "the zoo closes at dark" reinforces this idea of being trapped and limited in our options.
The final lines, "Don't be surprised when death is thrown in your eyes, too late to realize" suggest that we will be caught off guard by our destruction and that it will come too late for us to do anything about it. The song seems to be a warning about the dangers of technological advancement and the need for us to be humble and recognize the limits of our power.
Line by Line Meaning
There is no war - just death
There is no such thing as a true war. It's just killing and death.
And we'll blow ourselves up till there's nothing left
We'll keep fighting until everyone and everything is destroyed.
'Cept the reason we're told to accept
The only reason we have to accept this endless destruction is because we're told to.
This is no Greyhound Bus line
This is not just an ordinary, mundane situation.
And I'm about to blow my mind
I'm about to lose my sanity because of all this chaos and death.
The zoo closes
Life and society are coming to an end.
Don't be surprised when death is thrown in your eyes
Death and destruction will soon be unavoidable and right in front of you.
Too late to realize
By the time you understand the gravity of the situation, it will be too late to do anything about it.
Contributed by Chase A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.