Picture Me Broken

The screamo scene was booming in the early 2000s. Bands like The Used and Hawthorne Heights dominated the charts with their edgy lyrics and screaming vocals. 

A common factor with most popular screamo bands at the time was that they all had male vocalists, making it extremely uncommon to find a female doing the screaming in songs. Of course, there were female-led screamo bands, but they were sparse and not widely known.

Most female-led screamo bands were not all that great. They appeared to be overhyped because it was shocking that a woman would even consider doing screamo vocals, even if she was not that good. 

That was not the case with Picture Me Broken. Lead singer Layla Brooklyn Allman is probably one of the most talented female screamo-vocalists I have come across. Allman uses different elements of screamo vocals found in varying genres like death metal, black metal, and deathcore. 

What is most impressive to me is Allman’s ability to use different elements of screamo vocals in the same song as displayed in “Skin & Bones.” In the bridge of the song, Allman is able to mimic the high-pitched screams common in death metal and immediately follow with the low growl-like screams associated with deathcore.

Hearing Allman’s vocals for the first time was surreal. It was hard to believe that those guttural screams were coming from a woman. Screamo vocals aside, Allman’s head voice is enchantingly beautiful. It feels as if you are falling into a trance whenever you hear her siren-esque voice.

Unfortunately, Picture Me Broken has been on hiatus since 2014. During the band’s active nine-year run, they released two albums and toured with big-name musicians such as Marylin Manson and Alice Cooper. 

I feel that if Picture Me Broken were to return to the music scene today, they would have a new fanbase eagerly awaiting their music. Not only are their songs emotion-heavy, but the instruments and vocals are sensational and sure to bring in great success.