Austin’s Scorpion Child first gained notoriety with their self-titled debut back in 2013, though their formation stretches back further than that. At that time the group was a stand-out in the crowded space of those capturing a 70s/80s hard rock sound, and there was a noticeable bluesier slant to their guitar work. By 2016’s Acid Roulette their palette had expanded further towards some psychedelic rock and other adjacent influences, leaving listeners wondering how else they would branch out from that point. The answer to that question would take nearly nine years to arrive and bring a significant overhaul with it, as I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me adopts a darker, gothic tone and brings a slew of other styles to the band’s music. It’s still undeniably hard rock, but how Scorpion Child gets there touches everything from post punk to heavy metal, resulting in a sound that’s familiar yet has plenty of unique nuances.
Opener “Be the Snake” makes it clear that you’re in for a very different Scorpion Child album, as there’s a darker tone to the instrumentation and the rhythms have more of a gothic rock and punk slant to them. It’s one of the more direct tracks I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me has to offer, as things start to sprawl out in favor of more atmospheric layers by the time you get to songs such as “See the Shine”. Part of what makes this album so enjoyable is the amount of ground Scorpion Child covers on each song, as they haven’t simply gone goth or post punk and left things at that. Instead, most of the material sprawls outwards and captures textures from across the rock and punk spectrum, resulting in some darker yet warm tones that draw you in. The combination of styles makes it hard to put the band in one bucket, as sometimes they give off a The Sisters of Mercy meets Guns ‘n Roses aesthetic, while other moments are drenched in psychedelia and even the intersection of heavy metal and hard rock. There’s also quite a bit of time given to both the melodies and more aggressive riffing, which allows for some massive peaks on “The Starker” and “Godskin”. Admittedly “Be the Snake” and “Actress” don’t reach some of the same heights as the rest of the album, in part due to their briefer and more direct approach. But the run from “Outliers” to “The Starker” is incredible, as there are so many riffs and smaller details that stand out over repeat listens. Plus considering that there’s a little bit of everything that I like about the darker side of rock present on this album, it’s drawn me back time and time again.
The vocals cover quite a bit of ground as well, coming in somewhere between moodier post punk/gothic rock and the free spirit of rock ‘n roll. There’s definitely a similar sense of darkness and gloom to the performance, but Scorpion Child also hits some noticeably brighter peaks that shake things up from song to song. Aryn Jonathan Black reaches some higher notes on songs like “Outliers” that wouldn’t sound out of place on a number of 70s or 80s rock albums, but on “Godskin” his cadence gives off slight hints of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Other moments dig a bit more into that post punk feel with more brooding singing, and it’s often hard to predict just where Black is going to head from one minute to the next. “The Starker” is worth mentioning again from a vocal perspective, as it goes from mellower, almost spoken word into explosive singing that towers above the rest of the band.
Acid Roulette found Scorpion Child expanding out towards some additional influences, but their third full length explodes the palette in ways that even long-time listeners may not have been fully anticipating. They’ve traded in some of the bluesy leads and 70s sheen for a much darker tone that moves things forward by a decade, favoring equal amounts of gothic rock, post punk, and the parts of hard rock that intersected with early heavy metal. Plenty of bands have gone for this mixture over the years, but Scorpion Child has woven it together in a way that feels fresh and has a considerable amount of depth. It is admittedly the type of album that grows on you rather than having that immediate wow factor from track to track, but once its sinks its claws in you won’t want to listen to much else. I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me is available from Noize in the Attic Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg