They say you should strike when the iron is hot, so consider Skarlett Riot a blistering third-degree burn.
Imagine putting In This Moment and Bullet For My Valentine into a blender. (Actually? Don't. There would be screaming and blood, and a whole load of denim and leather clogging up your blades. Disgusting.) Scunthorpe's Skarlett Riot are really their own thing – an unrivalled chaos – and lockdown woes are the least of their problems. “You just learn to kind of live with it,” says lead vocalist and powerful front woman, Skarlett.
Following the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, the music industry fell to its knees. Recording was near impossible with the ongoing limitations for musicians, but they made it work. “We literally started recording at that point," says Skarlett. "We were a day in and then kicked straight out the studio, that's when the full lockdown started."
With the odds stacked against them, they somehow charged forward with the recording, production and finalisation of their forthcoming album, Invicta. Being unable to gauge how fans would respond to single without live interaction was difficult says guitarist Danny, however the pair agreed their single Human was relevant for the current climate.
“It just really resonated with what was going on,” says Danny explained. To Skarlett, lockdown felt like “a lot of depression, mental health problems, and people spending a lot more time on their phones and social media, looking at comments. So, we kind of wanted to release Human as a message to say: just be careful what you say to people. You don't know what they're going through.”
Third album Invicta is out May 7th on Despotz Records and sees the band get their hands dirty, launching into an even heavier direction that’s trickling with gnawing riffs and some unheard uncleans. Butcher Babies, In This Moment and Architects were a source of inspiration. “I was listening to Architects," says Skarlett. "We saw them a couple years ago, they just blew my mind. I was just feeling a bit of a heavier vibe and decided I wanted to learn a little bit about screaming as well.” The move into a heavier horizon was a natural progression for the band. “I mean, we've always been into our heavier stuff, haven't we?” Danny claims.
All this wouldn’t be possible without their undying love for their fanbase. Over the course of lockdown, the band have forged a great connection with their followers online. “From day one I’ve always been on the social media wanting to speak to everybody,” says Skarlett. “It’s lovely, and it's nice to feel appreciated. Like a community, we've got one big family. It sounds cheesy but it's really nice.”
Buy Invicta from Despotz Records, or via Bandcamp, or follow Skarlett Riot on Spotify, Facebook and Instagram. Despotz Records are also on Facebook.