Reviewing Scorpion Child

This is interesting. Nuclear Blast usually puts out records by extreme metal bands like Sepultura and Kreator, but this self-titled debut from Austin’s Scorpion Child recalls the proto-metal of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, as well as the contemporary psychedelic blues rock of the Black Crowes. The band formed in 2006, so the guys took their pretty time getting the album out there, but it has absolutely been worth the wait. The opening “Kings Highway” sees front man Aryn Jonathan Black take his larynx for a test drive, stretch it out, and never let up. The man has a Bon Scott-like holler that is both adrenalin-filled and emotive. The musicianship is sludgy yet intricate, always powerful and unrelenting. The songs are huge too – it’s not hard to imagine all of these songs getting on mainstream rock radio in the not-too-distant future and becoming classic rock standards soon afterwards.