The latest album from Texas rockers Scorpion Child is I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me. Frontman Aryn Jonathan Black gives us the lowdown on the writing and recording of the new record, tour plans and other topics.
Chad Bowar: What led to the long span between Acid Roulette and I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me?
Aryn Jonathan Black: A few different events led to this. Time and focus elsewhere for one. I started my own business and some former members got married and had children, some changed jobs and relocated abroad. It all played into the span. What isn’t widely known is that we were playing shows again in early 2019 with 3/5 of our original lineup. We were writing songs which largely in sum were scrapped.
In late 2019 a few of us started a noise rock side band called Acid Roulette with Austin noise legend Steve Marsh from Terminal Mind/Miracle Room. We released a really awesome four song record called Depopulation. It was released by a private British label (Dirty Filthy Records). The vinyl sold out pretty quickly but now it’s up on bandcamp. After the lockdown that band gave way to our segue back to SC. Half of the Acid Roulette band (Garth Condit and myself) reformed with my co-founder Asa Savage, Adrian Arostone, and our drummer Ryan Cinder Henderson, to work out what has come to be I Saw The End…
How did the songwriting process compare to your first two albums?
The only comparison I can make between this and the others was how we began writing it. How the songs ended are entirely independent to the processes of the two albums prior. There was no other sphere of influence aside from what the band set out to do from beginning to end this time around. No label or producer calling the shots, just the band feeling the vibes musically.
How did you decide to work with producer Charles Godfrey?
Charles is a friend of ours who happens to be a great engineer, and better has built himself a fantastic studio out in the Hill Country of Central Texas. He recorded a demo of “Outliers” for us back in 2022, before he started building his mighty studio. It’s really wild and weird out there. It’s just Charles and Stuart Sullivan who did records for Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets, Sublime, etc. Since we are also weird/wild kids, we thought it would be fitting for us to bang the record out there. Chawls really knocked it out of the park!
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
There are many. From all of us in the room screaming gang vocals together to the amount of weed I smoked to the family of peacocks running about on the property to the insane amounts of auxiliary percussion we used, which I want to use these tribal elements moving forward. Yes, that’s right, there’s an Aztec death whistle appearing on several songs as well. Another really standout moment were the chills that we all acquired watching Asa in the live room recording “Hanging Sun” on the twelve string.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
This time around the only challenge was the commute. Point West recording studio is a 45 minute drive for most of us. Every day driving there, while aesthetically pleasing, was time consuming. I believe there were a few overnight stays if I remember right.
How has your sound evolved from Acid Roulette?
This is an interesting one to explore. Let’s take it from the beginning. When Asa and myself started the band we really wanted to be producing a sound like what we captured here. We chose a more traditional heavy classic rock path in the beginning because it felt appropriate then. I had just recently left a hardcore punk band that I’d been in up in Minneapolis the six years prior to forming The Child. This was a big step down initially energy wise. It took a while for me as a frontman to work away from the punk antics to a more theatrical classic singer persona. It was like finding a new side of you that was hiding in the background.
Initially we had a real Page/Plant type vibe. Songwriting was always strong between us. Initially we loved creating Sabbath,MC5, Cactus, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Rainbow type worship, but we also fancied The Cult, The Sisters Of Mercy, Killing Joke The Chameleon,s etc. Hell, we named our band Scorpion Child from a Cult song. I always wanted to explore that darker area but struggled really to know how to bring it into our ever evolving sound. Acid Roulette (the album not the band haha), crept us ever closer, but it wasn’t until we were completely independent creatively from outside influences and we added Adrian on guitar as well that we chose to go for merging those sounds into what we playfully call “Dark Wave Of Texas Heavy Metal!”
What lyrical topics do you cover on this one?
Lyrically this one was rough. I suppose they all are but I was really down and depressed through the lion’s share of its writing. I have mentioned in the past that lyric writing for me is somewhat exploratory. I write what the music is telling me and it always makes sense to me later. It’s largely from my subconscious at first, then it clicks perfectly 95 percent of the time.
How did you come to sign with Noize In The Attic Records?
It made sense to me. Damon Marzano, who is my longtime friend, recently started his own label. He has mentored me in the different facets of the music industry to a priceless degree! He was responsible for “Polygon Of Eyes” from our debut record to hit as iTunes song of the week in 2013. He worked at iTunes and lobbied hard for us over there. It’s really special to see him doing his own label now. He offered to release this album and I agreed to it. Our amazing manager Jad and I had thought about shopping this recording but it would’ve taken an unknown amount of time to release this material had we done so. This way we can have it out on Valentine’s Day 2025. We already are well on our way towards the next record anyways so sooner than later was preferred.
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
There are many but for starters, reintroducing ourselves into the music scene which has gone through many changes as well since we released Acid Roulette. I’m glad that we have been able to explore this new sonic pathway, and we’ve had a positive response from the majority of our existing fanbase who have heard the new material. There will always be those who want you to write the first two records over repeatedly but that is not where our heads are at.
How was the video shoot for “Outliers”?
Interesting and fun. We let some friends of ours in college do this video. We did not have a full understanding of what to expect initially but we had a blast at our first crack at acting. I would love to make a movie someday, so videos of all styles are fun for me.
What were some of the highlights of your European tour last year?
I really took this one in with what seems like a more mature perspective than I ever had before. I was largely sober, feeling and experiencing each day to the fullest. I lived it with the idea that I might never get to do this again. When so many years elapse between the last time you get to tour Europe, there is that idea that it could have been the last. There I was again, so I wanted to really soak it in. I had no idea what to expect and it was awesome!
It was wonderful to reconnect with old fans and friends, as well as meet new ones. Some of the shows and travels were like deja vu. Playing Z7 in Switzerland was one of my favorite clubs years before and there were 2,000 people in front of us for Up in Smoke Fest this time around. I could not ask for much more. Desertfest in Antwerp was another fest we had not played since 2016, that was surreal. Prague was as beautiful as always. I also had my first visit to a concentration camp Terezin that was hard but very worthwhile.
What are your upcoming show/tour plans?
Our agents, domestic and foreign, are working out details for upcoming runs and festivals as our record comes into cycle. I will have more clarity soon.
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Many…I co-own a bar called Crow Bar in East Austin. We are in the process of reopening after an arsonist went out on a mass fire setting spree and the fateful night of September 29th, 2022. Any day now we will be back! I spend whatever free time I have in nature. I own a small ranch in the Big Bend region of West Texas. I buy/sell records/cassettes (as well as listen to them). I collect, buy, sell, trade old t-shirts also both online and at vintage pop-ups. I am also going to start creating my own niche perfume house, stay tuned…
What’s currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I listen to loads of black metal, harsh noise, experimental avant-garde type of shit. Obviously hardcore/punk, post punk, deathrock etc. I also love Britpop and shoegaze, old school hip hop and Chopin type classical. As I write this I am listening to the Gesundrian album by Diocletian from Auckland, New Zealand. Brutal!
What’s the best thing you binge watched lately?
I have never been much of a binge watcher. I watch old horror movies. Some newer ones as well. I pop around between rabbit holes on YouTube on topics ranging from mental health, how to fix it/build it/create it, occasional politics for laughs, music docs/biopics, weather/nature, and cryptids shit.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Thank you for your support. We are releasing this album on a small independent label so please go to our Bandcamp page and buy our new record. Also, if you are in Austin Texas, come support us at Crow Bar located at 523 Thompson Ln.
(interview published February 13, 2025)
Watch Scorpion Child – “Outliers” Video
