Both united by the uncertainty and frustration of the pandemic, Jerry A. Lang and Pieter Coolen look back at the very beginning of their collaboration as something rewarding and organic. The story of their friendship goes back when Toxic Shock opened for Poison Idea in Antwerp.
“I was frustrated, had a lot of riffs floating around in my head and we couldn’t rehearse and play shows for months and months” – explains Pieter, describing the period of anxiety. “I started making real demos. Not only recording riffs on my phone. Put a lot of work and heart in those recordings. In the end I had about 15-20 songs. And then I noticed that some stuff wasn’t for Toxic Shock, so the idea about doing another band with other people started to grow”. After a short call Coolen concluded that there’s no better singer to complement his outlook than Jerry A. Lang. While Jerry, himself, explains that he’s always been “into metal”:
“I liked the Bay-Area thrash-metal when it came out – Metallica, Exodus. I liked Venom and Mayhem. I thought, it sounds like good punk-rock but something they could play better” – recalls Lang. “Better drummers, more leads. I liked the feeling and the attitude of it. And I liked the attitude of Crime Scene”.
Releasing a demo tape in 2021 via Phrenetic Chord Records, the project established itself also, continuing working on what became their debut, Dark Tidings. Jerry reveals: “With todays’ technology, with the internet – it’s almost like ‘WE’RE THERE!’. COVID forced everybody’s hands, COVID forced people to use technology. We couldn’t be in the same room with everybody. But we had to discover the way to get there. This is the future. And I’m happy to be a part of it”.
Drawing the line between Portland and Antwerp, Crime Scene created the perfect proportion of elements united on the debut Dark Tidings. Blasting rhythms and power chords united by Jerry A’s remarkable lyrics and the ethics of two hardworking artists. The Dark Tidings EP is coming out March 1st via American Leather Records(in North America) and Reality Records (in EU).
Today Glide is premiere the EP’s opening track, which happens to be a self-titled tune. Exactly as we would hope for from these two legends of punk, the song packs a vicious wallop out of the gate and boldly declares that Crime Scene has arrived. This is the kind of driving punk rock that immediately pulls fans into the pit, displaying the kind of youthful vitality that you might not expect from two elder statesmen of the scene. Loaded with explosive guitar solos, gutsy lyrics, and urgent vocals, the song finds these masters fusing punk, hardcore, metal and good old rock and roll to make for a hard-hitting kick to the teeth that is also deceptively palatable to even the most casual of fans.
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