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Schranz [ʃʁʌnts] is the name given to European (especially German) hard techno, a style of techno typically around 140-150 BPM and based around massively bass-heavy kick drums, driving percussion and distorted, looping synth noises. The music can however be slower. The term originated in 1994 when Frankfurt-based DJ Chris Liebing used it to describe a certain type of techno in a record store he ran -- "For me personally, since that day in 1994, "Schranz" is a description for various dark and distorted sounds in Techno" (Chris Liebing 2002). "Schranz" is a surname found predominantly in Austria, "schranzen" means to eat loudly and voraciously in Dutch slang. There are speculations, however, that it was meant as a contraction of the two German verbs schreien (scream) and tanzen (dance), i.e. "schr-anz".

More recently (2005-06), Schranz music has morphed into an even faster style generally referred to as "hardtechno" and running at 150+ bpm. That style is most prominently represented by DJs/producers DJ Amok, DJ Rush, Frank Kvitta, Sven Wittekind and Robert Natus, whereas Chris Liebing has not followed this move and indeed now hovers around 130 bpm in his DJ sets.

Other important producers in the genre beside Chris Liebing are DJ Amok, DJ Rush, Scott Kemix, DJ Pheeva, Andre Frauenstein, DJ Arcane, Frank Kvitta, Sven Wittekind, Arkus P, Weichentechnikk, Cari Lekebusch, Andreas Kremer, Tom Hades, Pet Duo, Felix Kroecher, Tomash Gee, Mario Ranieri, Patrik Skoog, Lars Klein, Robert Natus, Cenk Oezdemir aka Mhonolog, Seema, DJ Mahatma, Matt M. Maddox, Leo Laker, ViperXXL, O.B.I. aka Tobias Lüke, Energun 22, Boris Schalk, DJ Minupren,