Thursday, January 20, 2011

Seann Scott and Hellion

Seann Scott is a heavy metal drummer from Albuquerque,N.M. Although he is a contemporary of the musicians (Femme Fatale, Durtie Blonde, Billy Miles Brooke, Randy Castillo) who sprang from the Duke City's 1980's heavy metal circuit, he is not a product of that scene. Scott left Albuquerque for San Diego in the late 1980's, there he got his start playing with local bands. By 1990 he had moved to Los Angeles where he would eventually hook up with Hollywood metal band, Mother Mercy.  After two self-released albums plus an appearance on the Motley Crue tribute album "Kickstart my Heart"  he left Mother Mercy to join Suicide Alley, his stint with that band was brief.  A big fan of Motley Crue and their music, Seann then joined Children of the Beast, a Motley Crue tribute band, playing the part of Tommy Lee.  Unfortunately for Seann the role did not come with a Pam Anderson look-a-like.  Seann Scott then became involved with the two bands that he still plays with, Hollywood glam metal band, Revlon Red and Hellion, a much darker heavy metal band.
Hellion has been around since 1982, lead singer Ann Boleyn, a dedicated follower of the occult, calls the shots, thus her beliefs are reflected in the groups's music. At times this has led to problems between Boleyn and fellow band members.  Original bassist Peyton Tuthill quit the band over Ann's dabbling in the mystic arts. Sensing that her path led to a dead end, in 1985, the entire group quit enmasse to form their own band, forcing Boleyn to assemble a new line-up.  However within a year this new group of metal heads revolted against Ann, citing her musical direction, her preoccupation with the occult and her anti-social song lyrics, as the reason for the band's inability to secure a recording contract. Although Hellion was successful in Europe and the UK, stateside they remained unsigned. Ronnie James Dio, who would become Ann's mentor, stepped in and worked behind the scenes to get the band signed. Hellion would eventually sign with Enigma Records, but that company folded before they could release an album. They were then shuffled off to Restless Records, sadly for the band, that label was also in financial trouble. This forced them to scuttle Ann's plans for "Postcards from the Asylum" a concept album that was to include a full length novel.  "Postcards from the Asylum" was released, but it was a scaled down version of Ann's grandiose vision.  Restless Records would also release her dark manifesto, "The Black Book."  So by the time Seann Scott joined the group in 2002, they had quite a history behind them, their better days were behind them too.  Not that anything the band has recorded jumps out at you.  Hellion's legacy is one of pedestrian riffing, half baked lyrical nonsense and some of the lamest metal you will ever hear.  Since 2001 the band has managed to record just one album (it was released only in Germany.) However, the group is still active and Ann Boleyn is still going strong, she's an avid runner, having competed in the Los Angeles and Boston marathons, thus giving a whole new meaning to that old adage "Running with the Devil"  Seann Scott, beside doing double duty with Revlon Red and Hellion, now has a new project called Kill Your Generation that keeps him feeling young and alive.  

No!  we don't play The Devil Went Down to Georgia