After more than three and a half years with Albert Schweizer helming the band on lead vocals, Scary Kids Scaring Kids is proud to announce Albert as the band’s official lead vocalist, marking the first time in more than a decade that Scary Kids Scaring Kids has moved forward with a permanent vocalist.
Albert will front the band both live and on all future releases, beginning with the band’s new single, “Something in the Water,” out now, and their forthcoming record, "RISE".
For the past several years, Scary Kids Scaring Kids embraced collaboration with different vocalists while continuing to create new music. Releases including "Out of Light" and "Maps Written in Water" remain an important part of the band’s story and evolution. This next chapter isn't about erasing or recreating any era of Scary Kids Scaring Kids. It represents a unified lineup, a shared creative identity, and a clear direction for where the band goes next.
“We never wanted to force this. Albert has been a huge part of this band for years, on and off stage. This feels less like making a change and more like acknowledging what’s been true to us for a long time now,” said Pouyan Afkary and Chad Crawford in a joint statement.
The band is also proud to announce that Colton “Coba” Westerman has officially joined Scary Kids Scaring Kids as a full member on bass and vocals.
Both Albert and Coba have been heavily involved in shaping this next chapter beyond their roles as performers, contributing to the songwriting, arrangements, and overall creative direction of the new material. As permanent members of Scary Kids Scaring Kids, they aren't simply stepping into existing roles. They're helping define what the band becomes moving forward.
Today’s announcement coincides with the release of “Something in the Water,” the first single from the band’s upcoming record, "RISE", and the first release to fully represent this lineup. The band describes the new material as its heaviest work to date, while retaining the emotion and dynamics that have long been central to Scary Kids Scaring Kids.
For longtime fans, "RISE" isn't an attempt to replace the band's history. It's a continuation of it. For listeners discovering Scary Kids Scaring Kids today, the band wants the new music to stand on its own without requiring twenty years of history to understand what Scary Kids Scaring Kids is now or where it's going.
Joining the band on "RISE" and as touring members are Josh Kikta on guitar and Kash Jaeger on drums.
For the first time in more than a decade, Scary Kids Scaring Kids has a permanent voice for its future.
This is Scary Kids Scaring Kids.
Be sure to stay tuned for more Scary Kids Scaring Kids news coming very soon.
Photo Credit - Heidi Crawford
Now comes RISE.
The forthcoming record introduces a newly unified Scary Kids Scaring Kids at its heaviest and with a renewed sense of creative purpose. After more than three and a half years fronting the band live, Albert Schweizer becomes its official lead vocalist onstage and on record, while Colton “Coba” Westerman joins as an official member on bass and vocals. They join founding members Chad Crawford on guitar and Pouyan Afkary on keys and keytar.Touring members Josh Kikta on guitar and Kash Jaeger on drums also joined the writing sessions for RISE and contribute both to the new record and the band’s live lineup.
For a band built on relationships as much as musicianship, that evolution matters. Scary Kids has always depended on chemistry, trust, and a shared creative instinct that extends beyond simply filling a role.
RISE is the first Scary Kids record created with this lineup and identity at its core.
It is also among the heaviest music the band has ever made.
Rather than attempting to recreate a particular era, Scary Kids is drawing from the same creative instinct that shaped its earliest work: pushing melody, aggression, atmosphere and dynamics until the music feels both unmistakably Scary Kids and entirely of the moment.
RISE represents the most complete expression yet of what Scary Kids Scaring Kids has become: a newly unified band with renewed chemistry, a clear sense of purpose, and some of the heaviest music of its career.
This is Scary Kids Scaring Kids.