WARNING: These girls will blow your mind.

Review Of The Warning’s Album, “Queen Of The Murder Scene”

Remember when I said I was super anxious to do my review of Greta Van Fleet’s album Anthem Of The Peaceful Army? I might be a tad bit more anxious to review this album, to be honest with you. But I won’t make anyone wait any longer. I just discovered this band called “The Warning” recently, but they’ve been around for a long time. And only one of them is aged twenty.

A little back story on the band, which I read and was shocked to the core from: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thewarningrockband/new-album-and-23-date-northamerican-tour

Dany and Pau (short for Daniela and Paulina) were just five and three in 2005 (I was nine) when they first had experience with music at summer camp. In 2008 just three years later, they were inspired by playing most likely the most popular video game of that year, Rock Band, to know that playing music was what their true passion was in life. Dany and Pau have an even younger sister (currently age 15, Dany and Pau are ages 20 and 18) named Ale (short for Alejandra) who was made to wait until she was five to enroll in music lessons. Their father, Luis, started taking videos of the sisters who would be doing all kinds of rock covers and posting them to his YouTube channel. The one that went viral? Their cover of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica in 2013. Where did they appear after that? You guessed it. Ellen. Usually with things that go viral, one-hit wonders, etc. they disappear after a while. But not these three girls from Monterrey, Mexico. These girls came to play and stay. Once it was known that the girls loved Rock Band back in the day, the game itself actually added two of the band’s songs onto the game. In 2017, the band was invited to open up for Def Leppard in Mexico City. DEF LEPPARD. Three young sisters. At the ages of 17, 15 and 12. Opening up for a huge rock band. People my age barely know who Def Leppard is, much less even younger than me. I feel very late to the party since these girls have already been shredding so long. But better late than never.

Doing things such as starting Go-Fund-Me’s and Kick-Starter’s in order to independently record their album and ep, because they were literally not even old enough to work, proves these girls have been hard at work for a while. They’ve touched on the subject of labels and why they never signed to one until very recently. “We decided to go independent because we believe in and love what we do and wouldn’t want to settle for what some labels thought would sell more.”, which was stated here. They of course had offers by multiple labels and they were very blessed to be offered opportunities, but staying true to themselves is obviously very important to the girls. HOWEVER, on August 12, 2020, they had an announcement for the world. “We’ve finally found a partner that believes in our vision and in our music. We are very excited to announce that we have officially signed with Lava Records.” (Watch the announcement video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHgUD7qbNCk)

Finally diving into this review, the first track on this album is titled, “Dust To Dust”. I was lucky enough that long-time fan of The Warning, Al Hagan, emailed me an entire document explaining lyrics, interpretations and the story. My interpretation of this beginning track is that it’s an invitation. It’s a “warning”, if you will. About what you will be experiencing during this journey of an album. The girls speak of this album in four different chapters. However, the opening track is before the chapters actually start. The beginning lyrics are “Hey, come on in, walk this way” is always a great invitation. The very beginning of this song, Ale with the bass riff that sounds somewhat creepy (in a perfect way), the sound of Dany’s inviting guitar riff, Pau’s drumbeat. It’s such an inviting experience already. You know that you will be taken on a very unique journey. One you’ve never been on before. By the chorus, you’re already engaged. Pau presents SUCH a strong voice at the beginning of this track, but never loses it. It only progresses. It’s not often that I hear or see drummers singing lead, so it’s really interesting and exciting to see. By the chorus, she’s screaming from her heart. “Hey where are you going? Don’t trust all that you hear.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“Dust to dust, our bones will rust, and we shall start again”

“Hey, where are you going? Don’t trust all that you hear”

Spanish to English lyrics:

“Hermanos, la salavacion” – Brothers, the salvation

“Es algo que se gana” – It is something that is earned

“Suelta tu mano del rencor y despierta a Unna never luz” – Release your hand of resentment and wake up to a new light

“Denton de ti aunque tus hermanos” – Inside you although your brothers

“Intenen sumirte en la obscuridad” – Try to plunge you into darkness

Continuing in the journey, this is where Chapter one officially starts. “Crimson Queen”. The interpretation of this song is that “it’s introducing the girl (aka the Queen) and her obsession. She loves someone who doesn’t know she exists. Her feelings are intense, confusing and conflicting, and are overpowering her. She would do anything for him to love her.” This song is more like a ballad. Very soft. Very soft guitar parts playing in the background. The vocals are of course very strong. It really picks up in the chorus. I’ve noticed from watching videos of the band, both Dany and Pau have very strong personalities when they play. It’s great to watch. You can tell they’re having fun.

Lyrics that hook me:

“I can’t always be there to stop all the bleeding, your words are misleading”

“”Cause you are my fantasy, I don’t know what that means”

“What’s the reason for that smile you wear, wishing that it was for me, never made me feel so weak”

“So here’s to loving you, raise the glass in front of you, drink for me, for me I’ll be your crimson queen”

Speeding things up, we have “Ugh” next. First of all, I love the title. The song itself with Dany killin’ it on guitar, it really progresses the song very fast-paced. The interpretation of this song is “the obsession is clearly growing and is consuming the Queen. She is afraid of what she is becoming. She doesn’t want it to be that way, she wants it to be simple. She asks to be saved and feels she is sinking down into a trap.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“Oh save me ‘cause I’m falling down, oh we are so far from the ground”

“I don’t understand, I just want to hold your hand”

“The One” is track number four. The interpretation of this is “Her control is slipping and the Queen is willing to do anything to make that love happen. Events are about to occur which can not be undone.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“Give me something I can feel, I’m too afraid to ask”

“What is it I need to change for you to love me back”

“Is it all in my head, was it something you said that left my heart exposed”

“And I know that I’m not the one on your mind, but let me be the one”

“And I want to kill all the love that’s for you, so only mine remains”

Moving on to Chapter Two, we have “Stalker”. This one really struck me the first time I heard it. The interpretation is “The Queen has her love trapped and is telling him how much she wants him. The band has indicated that the murder occurs at the end of the song in the last verse.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“It’s crazy how much I love you, it’s crazy how much I want you”

“It’s crazy how much I think about you, It’s crazy how I can’t live without you”

“Want you to love me, touch me, let me in your heart”

“Want you to want me, hunt me, like I’ve done from the start”

“In Red Hands Never Fade”, the Queen turns remorseful. Here she is asking her love to forgive her about her mistake. Of course it can not be undone. Her hands are bloody and that cannot be righted.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“When we take another step closer to our demise, to tell you to tell me to tell you that it’s alright, but we know it aren’t ‘cause red hands never fade.”

“The sacrifice is all internal. The Queen is hearing voices in her head, never realizing they are only in her hand.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“There’s no turning back from me, I will do it, let me prove it, I’ll show you what it means to be so devoted, to live for it”

“It’s in the air that you breathe, it’s the sacrifice of life, to sacrifice it all”

“Sinister Smiles” is what begins Chapter Three. This is apparently where the Queen is fighting with her good and bad sides. This is a duet between Pau and Dany, Pau interprets the good side, while Dany interprets the bad.

Lyrics that hook me:

“Break, break, just break apart”

“Dull Knives (Cut Better)” might be my favorite song, simply because it’s the first one I heard by The Warning.

Lyrics that hook me:

“I found out dull knives cut better, choke all my scarlet letters, don’t know what I’m feeling anymore”

“Needles piercing through my brain, slowly inflicting the pain, I’m plucking roses but picking thorns”

“Queen Of The Murder Scene”, aka the title track of this album. The evil side is taunting the Queen and is winning.

Lyrics that hook me:

“You don’t deserve the throne, the crown is mine, and I don’t really plan to resign”

Japanese to English lyric:

“Korosu, korosu, koro, korosu, korous, korosu, koro” – Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

“A perfect scene for the murder queen”

“P.S.Y.C.H.O.T.I.C.” is when the Queen starts admitting what she has become and what she has done. “Per vlog #26, the girls say that the Queen is mocking those that are trying to capture her.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“’Cause one, two three, they’re coming after me”

“’Cause I’m P-S-Y-C-H-O-T-I-C”

“Four, five, six, you have no idea what’s coming after this”

“Hunter” is the second to last track on this album and delivers with such a wailing riff from Dany in the beginning. “The Grim Reaper appears and delivers a fatal wound to the Queen at the end of this song. However, since the Queen has multiple personalities and is psychotic, it is easy to see that the Grim Reaper is simply a manifestation of either the evil side or of some other personality inside her, and she commits suicide. Perhaps one personality believes that it is killing another one of the personalities.”

Lyrics that hook me:

“Fall onto me now, your time is running out”

“Take back what is mine, you think you can take my title away”

“I’m coming back, there’s no escape”

“In The End” is the final track on this wildly amazing ride of an album. Ironically enough, Pau sings both the beginning and ending songs. Although it wasn’t intended for that to happen, the girls stated they liked the way it all worked out. In The End is about the Queen dying and the lyrics are her final thoughts. She has no regrets, as she acted out of love.

Lyrics that hook me:

“This is the end, so long my friends”

“Stars always seem to fade”

“Start again”

The super ironic lyrics are “Start again” from “In The End” and “We shall start again” from “Dust To Dust”. I am so thankful I was able to listen to this entire album with such a story to listen to. Fans all over the world are raving about this band and this album. It’s very clear that the girls have already established a very loyal and promising fan base, along with representing women in rock and Mexico. This was truly something I have never been able to experience before and I’ve also never had so much help with doing an album review before. Thank you to Al Hagan for his notes, interpretations of songs and lyrics. Also, a huge thank you to The Warning for not only making this album, but making this kick ass rock music and always staying true to themselves. Their vlogs on their YouTube channel were very helpful for me with understanding the album, lyrics, the order of things and what it was like to record the Queen Of The Murder Scene. I’m looking forward to reviewing “XXI Century Blood”, as well as other music that comes from The Warning. I’m very passionate about this genre of music, I believe even as young as they are, these girls are going to contribute to helping keep rock alive.