Skarlett Riot is a very young British band that has been releasing material every year ever since their formation seven years ago. On the 27th October, their latest album “Regenerate” was released. Chloe talked to Metal Imperium about it.
M.I. - How would you describe Skarlett Riot’s sound to someone that hasn’t heard about you before?
I'd say we are a heavy rock/metal band, with influences ranging from Architects, Parkway Drive to Bullet For My Valentine & Skillet! Say Katy Perry meets Architects and you're there haha!
M.I. - The band members are quite young... which bands/musicians made you realise you wanted to be musicians yourselves?
We all had different influences growing up, for me it was Heart, Joan Jett, Avril Lavigne, Bullet For My Valentine! These guys made me want to sing and play guitar!
M.I. - How did the line-up get together?
We met at school, our guitarist Dan and drummer Luke are brothers. Martin is our most recent member who we met on the local gig circuit. We've been stuck inseperable ;)
M.I. - The band has been active for 7 years now and has already released Skarlett Riot EP, Villain EP, Faded Memory Single, Tear Me Down, House of Cards, We are the brave, Sentience EP, Brave single, Regenerate album out on the 27th October. How can a band with such a short career have so many releases?
(laughts) I think the key is to keep writing and releasing as much fresh material as possible to keep it exciting for fans, and to keep them following you. We also like to challenge ourselves to better ourselves with every release!
M.I. - The new album “Regenerate” includes 10 tracks. What can you tell us about them? What are the issues/topics addressed in the lyrics?
Break and Warrior are both written about bullying. I wanted anyone who listens to these tracks to feel uplifted and stronger, to know they're not alone. If these tracks can help people through a bad time, then I feel I've done my job well! Majority of the other tracks are written about mental health, I feel this issue isn't addressed enough so I wrote the lyrics to raise awareness and to help anyone who may be experiencing depression. The main idea of 'Regenerate' is to give off a positive energy, to make people who listen to it feel better about themselves.
M.I. - Being so young, what inspires you to write the lyrics?
Personal experiences and emotions, anything I'm feeling at the time. Writing my feelings into lyrics really helps me express myself. Sometimes I write lyrics about films I've watched with a good story too. Anything that makes me 'feel'.
M.I. - The band seems to appreciate titles with just one word, especially in the new album as most tracks only have one word… why?
(laughts) I don't think this was done on purpose, although I think the one word has a good impact for a title over something really long and un memorable!
M.I. - What’s the meaning behind the cover for the new album? What is the lady in the black hooded jacket looking at?
The lady is looking into the distance at the industrial, worn down buildings in comparison to the other side which represents the future, being bright and magnificent! The cover's message is that no matter how hard times get, it's never too late to make a change, and start anew. Restore, Rebuild, Regenerate.
M.I. - The black hooded lady is also featured in the cover for Break. Why? Is she a symbol you’ll use from now on?
She represents strength and power. Someone who's been through a lot, but isn't afraid to face the world and become a stronger person for it.
M.I. - How active have Skarlett Riot been?
The past year we've had set backs we must admit. But we are definitely making up for it this year! We are back and ready to go!
M.I. - The album will be released by Despotz Records. How did the deal with this label come up? What do you expect of it?
Our management knows Despotz Records and introduced us to them. It just so happened they really liked our 'Sentience EP' and they wanted to support us further and get our music out worldwide. They didn't want to change our style of music or have any creative input which is very rare these days. It's nice to have backing who believe in what you do!
M.I. - If you could choose one band that you could support on tour, who would that be and why?
I'd have to say Nickelback because it's probably the only band we could agree on together. We all love different bands so Nickelback would be a mutual agreement ;) Personally I'd love to support Papa Roach or Skillet just because they're my influences!
M.I. - Soon “Regenerate” will be released… will you tour to promote it?
Yes! We are touring this November and December. November with Toseland and December with Santa Cruz. We are playing Germany for the first time in December which we are really excited about!
M.I. - Is there a particular venue (doesn’t matter where), that would be a dream for you to play at?
Hmmmm.. Wembley Arena? Also Vans Warped Tour in America!
M.I. - The band members seem to be fans of old school hard rock bands. Who influenced your musical tastes? Were your parents fans of the bands you appreciate now? Because you weren’t even born when Guns N’ Roses were at their highest and all the other bands…
The guys love Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden etc. I think they're inspirational because they're still big now, there's not many bands who stay together after so long and can still tour arenas. That's where we want to be one day! These sort of bands got us into playing. For me I love Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Vixen, Joan Jett. They're iconic in the music world. I'd say parents definitely have something to do with how we found out about these bands!
M.I. - Being a female fronted rock band is easy or not? Considering that harassment has been a hot topic these days with the Harvey Weinstein scandal and musicians coming forward saying that similar situations happened to them… have any of Skarlett Riot members faced any sort of harassment? How did you react?
I like to think we are treated the same as male fronted bands, every now and again you will get a comment on social media like ' I don't like female fronted bands' or 'I'm not listening to you because I don't like female singers' .. so sometimes that gets annoying, you would never hear someone say 'I'm not listening to you because you're male fronted' but apart from that I wouldn't say it's any harder than being an all-male band. Luckily I've never experienced any harassment, at our live shows everyone's so warm and welcoming towards us. We're lucky to have such amazing fans!
M.I. - What’s the main goal for Skarlett Riot?
World domination?! (laughts) We want to get our name and music out to as many people as possible around the world. We would love to tour more of Europe and get into the USA!
M.I. - I read at http://www.soundscapemagazine.com/interview-with-skarlett-riot/ that you’d like to release a Chicken Tikka perfume when you become famous… where did you get this idea? Do you think it would even sell?
(laughts) that was a long time ago. We had a on going joke with our drummer Luke. He seems to think his sweat smells like Tikka.. gross I know. So I said let's release a tikka perfume. You never know, everyone like a tikka right?
M.I. - Please share a message with Metal Imperium’s readers. All the best!
Thanks a lot for reading and supporting Skarlett Riot. Keep in touch with us on our social media, we would love to hear from you!
For Portuguese version, click here
Questions by Sónia Fonseca
