by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
Redfield, S.D. Exactly where the hell else do you expect to find one of the most surprising upcoming bands in the Metal universe? That’s right … nothing says METAL like the frozen soil of the Midwest prairies. Said band is Scared of the Dark, a band that describes themselves as a female-fronted unit, and while true, there’s a lot of noisy Metal core male vocals along for the ride, oftentimes leading the bloody riff parade. Something to Burn is their debut, and damn, calling their style Horrorcore is perfect, because they’ve also got a story to tell.
If you are into a well-thought out storyline to go with your music, as you SHOULD be, Something to Burn has it all. The story itself is about a demon called Top Hat Cat, and a witch who summons him to her village, not really knowing the immense evil she has unleashed upon her city. The demon warps her husband, who in turn kills the witch and buries her within the walls of their home, then out of guilt kills himself, which in turn frees Top Hat Cat to truly reign. He does so, with insidious delight, not understanding that the witch was lying in wait. For the next 100 years, she plans her revenge, and finally gets her machinations in motion with the help of one called The Arsonist. Surely its baptismal name, The Arsonist understands the only way to free the city and his brethren from Top Hat Cat is to burn everything to ashes … thus the name of the album, Something to Burn.
A good story is one thing–and it’s a good one–but the music has to speak first. And it does on the debut. “H.E.L.L.” starts the embers burning, and those aforementioned Metalcore vocals scream at you “Welcome to Hell!” There’s a harsh dichotomy between lead singer Taylor Machado’s clean, semi-goth musical delivery and the razored core vocals, but somehow, it all makes sense. This song gets the blood boiling, and there’s so much yet to come …
“Are You Home?” is also their debut video, and it’s shot in a real South Dakota winterscape. The song is about the witch’s loss of hope, trapped, no escape and just an incorporeal husk with nothing to look forward to. The song itself is far and away the best on the release as well. This has “hit” written all over it, in about 20 different ways. Hearing Machado buoyed in two-part disharmony with Core vocals during lines like, “And if you could see how these four walls built me, you would understand how I’ve lost all control,” sounds innovative. It’s probably been done before by other bands, but surely not this well. That’s just a blip, but it’s unique, and it draws you in so you remember behind Machado’s haunting melodies there’s a darkness waiting to rip your gristle out.
The title track “Something to Burn” starts with bouncing keys, and the song itself has a deranged bouncy-house feel to it. There shouldn’t be such fun in the finality of lyrics like, “Say your final words, any last concerns? No, well now it’s just something to burn!”
“Top Hat Cat” is the heaviest track here. It’s numblingly noisy, and if you are into the band because of Machado’s vocals, you won’t find much to glom on to here. One thing you can say about the Metalcore vocals is that somehow, they are about the crispest and clearly enunciated vocals of this style you’ll hear. That’s not an aside, because if you can’t understand the vocals the lyrics won’t weave the story for you. Just another favorable aspect to this new, young yet musically, surprisingly mature group.
“Finding Clarity (The Arsonist’s Lullaby)” lets you know how darkly Machado can shine when that black spotlight is solely on her. (Well, mostly just on her.) She can sing … if she sounds live in concert like she does in the studio, congrats band, because you have a star in the making.
Something to Burn turns to glowing embers on “Ashes,” a song featuring Hunter Babcock from Sioux Falls, S.D. band Wolf Skin. This is where the story comes to its napalm-melting close, where the city is gone, nothing but ashes remain, and the hope that Top Hat Cat burned to nothingness with the city walls and once the wind clears remains of the city, the dwellers can all go home again.
There’s so many unique Metal bands around, it’s tough for any new group to garner any momentum. Eventually, with the right support, fan base, touring opportunities, DIY attitude and number one above all–TALENT–the best have a chance. Scared of the Dark deserves that chance.
Genre: Horrorcore/Theatrical Metal
Band:
Taylor Machado – Vocals
Brandon Bruce – Guitar
Jake Hardie – Bass
Christopher Shine – Drums
Tracklisting:
1. H.E.L.L. (Here Everyone Lies Lampless)
2. A Work of Art
3. Are You Home?
4. Knocking on Windows
5. The Witch Lady in the Walls
6. Something to Burn
7. Monologue #666 (The Entertainer)
8. Top Hat Cat
9. Finding Clarity (The Arsonist’s Lullaby)
10. Ashes (Feat. Hunter Babcock)
Label: Independent
Online:
https://www.facebook.com/sotdrock
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(7.4 / 10)
they are drawing attention, I am so excited to see them getting bigger and bigger. they deserve it, they are such good souls and work so hard.
I AM SO PROUD OF OUR GRANDSON THE DRUMMER AND THE REST OF THE GROUP THIS IS A WONDERFUL ARTICLE
That is so awesome. I am so proud of all of you! Your talent and hard work shines through.
Amazing review. Thank you. These young musicians have worked so hard and dedicated every ounce of themselves to this. They are all such compassionate kind and caring individuals.