11 November, Chester Live Rooms.

Well, well, well…Who would have suspected that a minor gig in a minor venue would turn out to be my rock show of the year.

It was because I have never seen nor heard Crobot or Scorpion Child from the States that I was curious to see what they were like. And since they were performing in my local live venue I had little to lose. In this age of vastly overrated acts (especially from here in the UK), it’s a real pleasure to come out of a gig and declare that these two bands are two of the most essential and underexposed in today’s radio market.

First up at this great little venue is the Stateside four-piece Scorpion Child and it’s not long before the good sized crowd are rocked onto their heals by these guys.

Aryn Jonathan Black - vocals
Christopher Jay Cowart - guitar
Jon “The Charn” Rice - drums
Alec Padron - bass

Black on vocals is incredibly good with a voice totally suited to the blues rock band signature. It’s a distinctive and passionate voice without any of the characteristic heavy rock rough edges. It’s superb! As for the rest of the crew Black was guaranteed of top quality support with drummer Rice proving to be one of the best rock drummers around.

There were riffs galore and melody to burn from a band who ended up as my favourites of the night. I made a mental note to acquire the album asap!

Setlist

She Sings, Reaper’s, My Woman, Kings Highway, Acide Roulette, Liquor, Survives, Secret Spot, Blind Man’s, Polygon, I Might Be.

Debut Album Comments

“While most of these retro bands stick pretty close to Black Sabbath worship, Scorpion Child has a more unique sound. Led Zeppelin is the obvious influence, and there’s a bit of Wolfmother and even the Darkness in their sound, but it’s German band Kingdom Come (once written off as Zeppelin clones themselves) that this album really brings to mind. That’s probably not an intentional similarity by the band, but once you hear it it’s hard not to compare the two. The vocals definitely have a Lenny Wolf (and at times Shannon Hoon) vibe. This is really fun stuff. It’s nothing complicated, but there are tons of great riffs, bluesy rhythms and some serious vocal acrobatics.”

“There are some really dynamite songs on the Scorpion Child debut. The single “Polygon of Eyes” is an obvious choice, and “King’s Highway” and “Liquor” are just as killer. The bonus track “Keep Goin’” is another winner, and is about as good as anything on the “proper” album.”

“File this one alongside the latest releases from Rival Sons, the Winery Dogs and the Answer as proof positive that old school heavy rock is still being made and still a hell of a lot of fun to rock out to. If you’re a fan of any of those bands (or the Darkness, Orchid, Kadavar, Graveyard and the like), be sure to check these guys out.”

http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/about/2872661.scorpion-child.html

Crobot

Brandon Yeagley - lead vocals, harmonica
Chris Bishop - guitar, vocals
Jake Figueroa - bass
Paul Figueroa - drums

Crobot had to go some to even match the previous band’s performance and they almost succeeded… With the bar set so very high it was going to be a tough challenge but boy did they come close.

Yeagley’s brutal voice, flowing locks and highly animated performance style were centre stage on the night but he was not alone… Bishop on guitar proved the perfect foil while brothers Figueroa supplied the critical and perfect rhythm section.

In comparison to the previous act Crobot were dirtier, rougher and more theatrical playing songs with a tad more pop sensability. This was a show that will go down as a classic at this modest Chester venue.

Setlist

Legend Of The Spaceborn Killer, Skull Of Geronimo, Cloud Spiller, Wizards, Fat City, La Mano De Lucifer, Serpent, The Necromancer, Easy $$$, Ignite, Queen Of The Light, Play It Cool, Fly On THe Wall.

http://blog.crobotband.com/

Debut Album Comments

“These guys write songs based on riffs much like Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Slash, Aerosmith, Queen and even Sabbath did. I would say the major comparison to Black Sabbath comes from their heavy rhythm section which provides a very heavy bottom end. The guitar steals the show for me because of the riffs that comprise the basics of their songs. The solos are good, but not particularly long or excessive. In fact, I’d say there is room to expand the solos in the future. The vocals are superb. As others have said, he does sound like Myles Kennedy at times and that’s not a bad thing to these ears. Each of these solid components combine to make for a very strong debut CD. The sum is greater than the total of the parts. In this case, one and one and one and one equals six. And it’s because the songs are so strong musically. I also think Crobot has a fun sense of humor when it comes to their lyrics. While I’m not comparing Crobot to the following bands, I would say that if you like Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Sabbath, Queen, Iron Maiden, Theory of a Deadman, Slash, Pop Evil, Volbeat, Halestorm, Heaven’s Basement or Adelita’s Way, then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll like these guys too.”