Anasarca was an American emo/screamo band from Baltimore, Maryland, that was active from 1994 to 1997. They were known for their long, drawn out song structures which blended chaotic and mathematical guitar riffs with typical melodious screamed/sung dual-vocals. Sonically, they are often compared to the contemporaneous likes of Portraits of Past, Frail, and Shotmaker.

During their brief existence, the band recorded a mere total of only seven songs spanning three releases; a self-titled demo tape in 1994, a two-song EP in 1995, and a split EP with Anonymous in 1996.

Anasarca toured the United States many times throughout their tenure, often performing live with bands such as Indian Summer, Still Life, Policy of 3, Rye Coalition, Julia, Constatine Sankathi, Four Hundred Years, Braid, and many others. After relocating to Washington, D.C., sometime in the mid-1990s, Anasarca became closely involved in the emerging East Coast emo-hardcore and screamo scenes, and resultingly are now seen as one of the most influential acts to come out of those movements. Following their breakup, Second Nature Recordings released a compilation album in 2001 containing all of the band’s recorded material, titled Discography 1994-1997.

The band’s lineup consisted of lead vocalist Nick Pimentel, Chris Afzal and Carl Riddle on guitar, Jim Sajor on bass, and Jon Wilson on drums. Mike Weltz was their original drummer who left the band in 1996, around the same time as their relocation.

Additionally, Anasarca is notable for having been cited as a major influence by American screamo band Saetia. In a blog post about Saetia’s history, guitarist Jamie Behar stated:

I wrote the music for Venus and Bacchus as what would become the second song Saetia ever wrote before we actually even started. To be fair, the bridge was written by our bassist Alex Madara (RIP), if my memory serves me correctly. But I digress, I wrote it while I was still playing in a band called Coercion. However, by “wrote” I mean, well, plagiarized. I created that riff while attempting to figure out a song called East Bunk Hill by a band called Anasarca.”

In discussion about Behar’s previous band before Saetia, he wrote:

After [band] practice, Alex and I were walking back to my parents house with Meg and talking about soda or board games or whatever sXe kids talked about back then. At one point I said, “What I’d REALLY want to do, musically; Anasarca” Alex exploded. It turned out that he knew all the guys in Anasarca from high school.