Legacy of Brutality

Bob Otis is not only a hulking presence on stage and off, he is a bona fide and highly respected veteran of the Providence music community. For over 21 years he has fronted Rhode Island’s pillars of punk integrity Dropdead, hewing close to his intense beliefs regarding human rights, animal rights and political activism. He‘s released albums by the ton while touring the world over and sharing the stage seemingly with every punk and hardcore band to have ever existed.

But to pigeonhole Lolita Black as simply a metal band would be doing them a great disservice. The songs shift under your feet in great smears of sludgy rock; more Wipers than Slayer, more Melvins than Metallica. And instead of your typical thrash and shred, Lolita Black offers musical moods more akin to ‘80s doom rock like Sisters of Mercy and Ministry. But before you start tightening your skinny tie, I’d like to point out that Lolita Black is loud. Really loud. And heavy. Really heavy.

Recently, in the uncomfortably weird environs of the neon hell known as Mardi Gras, Lolita Black terrorized a roomful of WBRU Rock Hunt attendees with slab after blazing slab of offerings from last year’s Flesh, Blood and Bone, a heat-seeking missile of fire and brimstone that divided the audience between the panicked and the truly converted. The fact that they came so close to winning the damn thing was a wonderful sight to behold. And it’s the live shows that are the heart and soul of who Bob Otis and Lolita Black are: “What the audience owes us, if anything, is an honest listen and a chance to develop. As far as barriers are concerned, I try not to let there be any, other than the stage that separates us during a performance. I love the people that come to see us.”

And when it comes to the Lolita Black live experience, there is none more committed than vocalist Scarlett Delgado; the girl in black, the stoner witch who refreshingly eschews the typical and tired sexy metal vixen schtick in favor of a truly ass-kicking, fratboy terrorizing, Frankenstein’s-kid-sister ferocity. Delgado stalks the stage, looking to all the world like someone who just lost a fight on the way to the show, and delivers a terrifyingly vast range of shrieks, howls, deep guttural purgings arc-welded to a black-clad apparition in ragged Vans. Screw Tony Stark and Ozzy Osborne, she is Iron Man. Delgado is simply a maniac on stage, and I have rarely seen any singer give so much, care so much about their band’s performance.

Where others primp, prance and play at the game of metal, Scarlett claws at the floorboards and foams at the mouth, summoning up all the hoary demons fit for exorcism. “I had never sung for any band before joining Lolita Black.” She says, “I tend to tell stories with my lyrics working around a specific line or theme that strikes me. Flesh, Blood and Bone is for those who tread a darker path. The entire album is about mistakes, wrong turns and the everyday evils of humanity.”

Consider this a testament to the blood she’s willing to spill on stage; exactly one half of one song in, during the aforementioned Mardi Gras gig, Delgado sprained both ankles hopping gracelessly down off the drum riser. The audience, including myself, was none the wiser, and Scarlett’s reckless abandon at that show earned her a few more weeks on crutches than had she whimpered and whined and phoned in the rest of the performance. That’s not really her, or Lolita Black’s style.

Lolita Black, featuring Bob Otis on guitar, Scarlett Delgado on vocals, Jacob Blanchette on bass and Kaleigh Meleise, (a totally fantastic drummer and one my favorites to watch), will be finishing off a new EP, Serpentine, and can be caught live at many upcoming local shows including the much-anticipated MetalFest at Dusk and an August west coast tour for the truly dedicated.