Scary Kids Scaring Kids

While most young, upstart acts launch with a mission in emulating their favorite bands, the members of Scary Kids Scaring Kids — who were juniors in high school when the band formed four years ago — already had their sights set higher: they wanted to create music that was largely outside of the predictable norm from the onset.
“We wanted to start something new,” says drummer Peter Costa. “Something harder, not just your typical fast punk.”
It’s that quest for originality and innovation that lead the Phoenix-area six-piece through a musical journey. Their latest stop on the route: the band’s Immortal Records full-length debut, The City Sleeps In Flames.
Of course, the aforementioned journey wasn’t a simple stroll. Scary Kids Scaring Kids launched their recording career years earlier, demoing tracks at a local community college with the help of some friends. But the act’s real recording experience arrived through the sessions for their first official release, an EP titled After Dark. Working with producer Bob Hoag (The Format, Recover) in nearby Tempe, the time spent in the studio yielded an immeasurable education for the already established unit.
Honing in their song structure and paring down excessive length, Scary Kids Scaring Kids was finally able to nurture their keyboard-tinged, guitar-charged melodic hardcore sound into a more palatable product. In fact, the added refinement was enough to attract the attention of local label Hour Zero, who released the band’s EP.
Hour Zero was also the launch pad for the band’s transition to Immortal. After playing a show and impressing the Immortal staff, the band found themselves with a record deal in September 2004 and entered the studio with renowned producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Hot Water Music) in January 2005. Just over a month later, Scary Kids Scaring Kids wrapped their sessions for The City Sleeps In Flames.
“He made our music more powerful and punchy,” Costa says of McTernan’s input and expertise. “We usually write the music first, and then vocals after, but he helped us realize that sometimes it’s not just the music that makes the song; you’ve got to lay a good bed for the vocals.”
With The City Sleeps In Flames, Scary Kids Scaring Kids aimed for individuality amongst their tracks, and they nailed it. “We wanted to stray away from lots of random screaming stuff – we didn’t want all the songs to sound the same,” Costa says. “We wanted each song to be really unique and I think it turned out like that.”
The City Sleeps In Flames launches with the title track for the album’s opener, with a slamming quarter-note snare, doomsday guitar riffs, desperate, dynamic vocals and moving rhythms. The 11-song collection also includes the metallic, driving, synth-supported “The Only Medicine” (which also features a grappling harmonized guitar solo), the sparse, calm, slow-building intro of “What’s Said Is Done,” and the immediate, syncopated guitar chord punishment of “Drowning,” which also sports meticulously-inserted keyboard parts.
A couple tracks were actually penned in the studio, including “My Darkest Hour,” which was finalized the day before the band began tracking sessions. “The way we recorded it, we didn’t even rehearse it like that,” notes Costa of the last-minute squeeze, which ended up as one of the album’s best cuts. “It’s a really fun song, really keyboard driven.”
Although the members’ ages are 19 and 20, they’re already mature road warriors, having toured consistently over the past year, including stints on the West Coast and in the Midwest. And this year, the group plans to make their debut East Coast appearance.
Supporting an album like The City Sleeps In Flames won’t be an easy task. But then again, Scary Kids Scaring Kids were never sought to take the easy way out in the first place.