he United Kingdom has always provided its own twist on the US art form that is rock 'n' roll, from The Rolling Stones on, through Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Who, Queen, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden et al. And drawing on such greats amongst others, England's Scream Arena take a brand of melodic hard rock with metal undertow and give it a firm twist, balancing now with the classic. A rare feat.
Formed by lyricist Andy Paul and going through the usual line-up changes until arriving at the motley but right crew the band is today, Scream Arena is a response to both the fey indie bands masquerading as "rock bands" in Britain and the studied off the shelf misery of so many metal bands championed by the fashion conscious, Scream Arena is simply a full tilt hard rock band with a lyrical slant towards narrative storytelling. "We are so tired of Smiths retreads and rewatered workings of The Clash being sold to us as the future of rock music", says frontman Andy Paul. "It was time to say "enough"."
The catalyst for the Scream Arena debut album was famed US rock producer/musician Paul Sabu taking the band under his wing and guiding them along the way. Sabu was responsible for bringing the idea of a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "Heartbreak Hotel" to the table and being keen students of history and believing that an acknowledgment of the roots allows the way ahead to be clear, the band agreed and with Sabu crafted a nod and a wink to the King. Andy recalls, "We saw no real reason behind covering "Heartbreak Hotel" but as we got into the idea we saw and appreciated the logic and indeed the song".
Listen exclusively to "Heartbreak Hotel" from the upcoming album on SoundCloud here.
The remainders of the songs on the album are self-penned originals with the basic premise being that of telling a tale, be it real or imagined, but wishing to draw audience with ideas that they can relate to. Thus full tilt opener "Born Ready" is Tarantino made rock & roll, while "The Price of Love" is based on a very true tale where the names are changed to protect the badly behaved.
This is a beginning for Scream Arena, a British band that charts its own course and does not apologize for such confidence. This is hard rock from the heart and soul and allScream Arena ask is "listen to the album cos rock and roll is back on the menu ...".
https://www.facebook.com/screamarena
https://mightymusic.dk/scream-arena
Tracklist:
01. Born Ready
02. The Price of Love
03. Racing to the End of Night
04. House of Pain
05. Heartbreak Hotel
06. Another Night in London Town
07. Knave of Hearts
08. Forever
09. Goodnight LA
10. Somewhere
11. Queen of Dreams
Line-up:
Andy Paul - Lead Vocals
Alex Mullings – Guitars
Phil O'Dea – Guitars
Lincoln J. Roth – Bass
Michael Maleckyj – Drums
