Alice In Chains: Dirt vs Stone Temple Pilots: Core

It's the Hard Rock/Grunge Throw down that you've been waiting for! Alice In Chains, Dirt vs Stone Temple Pilots. Core. Which one is better? Rocked Harder? Is More Enduring? Better Songwriting? Better Musicianship? Lou and Keith answer these questions and more. Tune in to find out  who will be the champion!   Featured Loudini Artists:    Scorpion Child    Charm The Fury    Bullet

Scorpion Child

A rock ‘n’ roll record should unlock a journey. The music, lyrics, and aura can summon a trip out of the ether. Scorpion Child conjure that kind of trip on their second full-length album, Acid Roulette [Nuclear Blast Entertainment].

The Austin, TX quartet—Aryn Jonathan Black [vocals], Christopher Jay Cowart [lead guitar], Jon “Charn” Rice [percussion], Alec “Mexecutioner” Padron [bass], and Aaron John “AJ” Vincent [heavy keys]—confidently expand the sonic palette established on their 2013 self-titled debut. That first offering bowed at #26 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #99 on the Hard Music Albums chart. Following its premiere by Eddie Trunk, iTunes named “Polygon Of Eyes” its “Single of the Week,” and Scorpion Child earned a nomination for “Best New Band” at the Classic Rock Magazine presented “Classic Rock Awards.” They’d also share the stage with Monster Truck on the “Lords of the Riff” UK Tour.

Everything set the stage to play Acid Roulette.

“We didn’t want to divorce what we had built on the first record,” explains Aryn. “At the same time, we wanted to show we could do a lot of different things. The goal was to create a sound that could be both ethereal and turbulent. It was a journey making it. We all were going through a lot of stuff, but everything fell into place.”

Following a breakout two years, the group amicably parted ways with drummer Shawn Paul Alvear, bassist Shaun Avants, and guitarist Thomas Frank. Scorpion Child welcomed “Charn,” “Mexecutioner,” and “AJ” and immediately hit the studio in early 2015. Once again, they teamed up with GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer Chris “Frenchie” Smith [Meat Puppets, The Toadies, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead] at The Bubble in Austin, TX. However, they took a different route this time during their three weeks in the studio.

"We recorded the heart and soul of the album live in the studio” says Aryn. “We didn’t do that on the first record. Tracking live made the album a snapshot of a moment. Since the guys just joined the band, we didn’t have much time to figure each other out or overthink things. We just naturally clicked. It was a do or die situation, but it worked out. Our initial vision became more intense with time and texture.”

That intensity courses through the album’s conceptual narrative. A tale of love, loss, lust, betrayal, and a game called “Acid Roulette,” the record follows the story of a doomed love that lands the male protagonist behind bars while his wife lives out an affair with her wealthy lover.

“With extensive touring, you experience so many things,” Aryn goes on. “I had this lucid dream about a bohemian guy who gets framed for a murder he perhaps did or didn’t do. He goes to prison for life. In order to mentally escape, he plays ‘Acid Roulette.’ The inmates would take a jar and cut up a sheet of acid and a sheet of paper. They’d mix it all up. Some guys wound up with like five hits of acid, while other people got none. It’s crazy.”

That story comes to life across the record’s twelve songs. The first single “Reaper’s Danse” revs up a twin guitar assault ala the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and otherworldly howl that could rouse any graveyard from its slumber.

“Lyrically, it’s the dance of the dead,” he explains. “It’s about what we become in the afterlife. It’s this triumph on top of something monolithic. The character is thinking about death, but he has no rope. He still has some will to live.”

“My Woman In Black” tempers a muscular riff with a bluesy cadence that’s wonderfully doomy as our protagonist muses on the woman that destroyed him.

“It’s about the first time he ever saw her,” continues Aryn. “Musically, it’s like an archway for us. We’re leaping into other influences like dark wave and even nodding to the likes of Bauhaus and The Sisters Of Mercy.”

Whether it’s the woozy psychedelic soul of the title track or the haze of delay on the chugging “She Sings I Kill,” Scorpion Child channel the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll with a fresh spell of their own.

“We wanted to blend sounds we haven’t heard before,” Aryn leaves off. “It’s gritty when it needs to be. There’s a lot to think about in there. I hope people can absorb something personal when they go on this ride.”

Gender

Current Location

abroad

Press contact

mail@nuclearblastusa.com (NA) / info@nuclearblast.de (EU)

Charm The Fury

Metal band from Amsterdam. New album "The Sick, Dumb & Happy" out now via Nuclear Blast (Worldwide) / Arising Empire (Europe). Order album at http://nuclearblast.com/thecharmthefury.

Biography

THE CHARM THE FURY have matured since their debut. With several of Europe's biggest festivals under their belt, they have transformed their sound into a startling slab of ultra-modern but utterly distinctive metal that shrewdly and honestly redefines what THE CHARM THE FURY is all about. Driven by a collective distaste for the state of the world in the 21st century, the band recorded an angry album underpinned by ferocious intelligence and a heartfelt desire to wake people out of their digital stupors.

The critical moment has arrived: THE CHARM THE FURY are armed, ready and hungry for the next big push. When it explodes in 2017, the smart money is on these diehard noisemakers claiming their rightful place among the new metal elite. They have the songs, the determination and the charisma to make it happen.

Gender

Plural (mixed)

Current Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

General Manager

Martijn Swier

Influences

Good music and noises from hell.

Press contact

Press:

mail@nuclearblastusa.com (North America)

info@arising-empire.com (Europe)

Booking agent

North/South America: AGI, Mike.Arfin(AT)ArtistGrp.com.

Holland: MOJO, j.salfischberger(AT)mojo.nl.

ROTW: K2, SharonRichardson(AT)k2ours.com

Bullet

Bullet was a one-hit wonder American rock band. Its only hit, "White Lies, Blue Eyes", peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1972. Band member (keyboards, vocals) Roget Pontbriand went on to play with K.C. and the Sunshine Band and Wild Cherry. Other members included Ernie Sorrentino and Mike Micara.

An English band, once known as "Bullet", often is mistakenly given credit for the hit "White Lies, Blue Eyes". This group formed in London; it included former Atomic Rooster members John Cann (vocalist) and Paul Hammond (drummer). The English "Bullet" changed their name to Hard Stuff because of the American band named "Bullet". In the UK, "White Lies, Blue Eyes" was released on the Philips label under the name of Bullet U.S.A..