Artist: Blindside
Album: Silence
Marcus Dahlström - Drums
Simon Grenehed - Guitar
Christian Lindskog - Vocals
Tomas Naslund - Bass
Released: 2002 (Elektra)
The Swedish christian metal band Blindside were originally known as Underfree. The band formed around 1994 in Stockholm. They became well known around the cities local scene and released several demos and an album 'A Thought Crushed My Mind' before they singed with Elektra in 2000 and issued 'Silence' in 2002.
Anyone familiar with Blindsides older stuff will be suprised by this album. It's a big step down the hardcore ladder. However the band is alot more refined and Christians vocals have taken a huge leap.
'Caught A Glimpse' kicks off the album. Christians vocals range from howling scream to melodic wail in the verses then to whispers in the chorus. The vocals are one of the defining parts that make this band unique and the vocals are constantly pushed on this album. The album then shifts into the first single off the album 'Pitiful'. It's one of the albums catchiest songs with a fantastic chorus. The lyrics on this song are well written (Talking about Jesus and his crucification was my interpretation of them) and Christians vocals in the chorus are very powerful.
The third song 'Sleepwalking' is one of the bands best. It starts off with Christian screaming "Words so secure screaming like an alarm, Are you tyring to wake me up?" and then it moves into the chorus which is incredibly catchy "Now could it be maybe you saw me (YEAH) sleeping?" then suddenly the whole song slows down for a melodic post chorus. It's Christians vocal preformance which hammers to song home but the guitar on this song is pretty awesome aswell. 'Cute Boring Love' is a bit of a slower song and sounds a bit samey as the previous three songs. The chorus explodes and the songs nice just doesn't stand out. Mediocre would be the description I would use.
'The Endings' is an interesting song. The verses are a slight bit off beat which makes them sound really great. Christians vocals are yet again at the top of the game. Blindside know how to make good chorus's and this song is no exception to the rule. The Ending of this song (Excuse the Pun) is my favourite part where Christian has melodic singing mixing with low growling. It makes a great effect. The sixth song 'You Can Hide It' has another samey sound. What you start to notice by now Blindside have a pretty tight formula. Verses that emphasize the drums and bass with quiet palm muted guitar then huge chorus's. The formula keeps working but if I was giving this album points for originality then it wouldn't be scoring very high. So 'You Can Hide It' is more of the same. Catchy huge chorus's, melodic quiet bridge and tension filled verses.
'Thought Like Flames' starts off straight in a verse. The singing is great and Christian varies the vocals a bit with a few off beats. The chorus comes in unexpectedly. The melody of vocals in the chorus doesn't quite work unfortunetely. The verses off this song are the best parts. The next song is one that makes you want to grab a guitar and thrash the living shit out of it. 'Time Will Change Your Heart' is the most hardcore song on the album. The verses EXPLODE and chorus is fantastic. It's the best song on the album since Sleepwalking.
The 9th song 'Painting' opens with distorded chords before hitting the verses. It's Blindside sticking to the same formula of quiet verse and huge larger than life chorus. The chorus of this song is fantastic and Christians vocals are very impressive. 'Midnight' opens straight off with Christian whispering to the palm muted guitar and uses a few vocal off beats. Then the verse comes in discretely. It breaks the typical formula for the album and is alot more interesting than some of the albums other songs. The chorus is the most unique chorus yet and doesn't involve any distortion. The bridge has some good guitar work and this song gets major points for breaking the formula.
The final run of the album starts with 'Coming Back To Life' which picks the energy and pace from the previous song alot more. The larger than life chorus is here and it's a more unique chorus and Christian does some great vocals here. 'She Shut Your Eyes' is the next song. The verse is a Blindside standard. Quiet and sort of slow. Christian sings well and the song builds up well to the chorus and the chorus yet again is fantastic. The albums final song 'Silence' is the most unique. Not one piece of distortion within the whole song. A clean guitar driven slow song. It starts with Christian singing with the guitar backing him up slowly. After all the energy of the album the song winds the album down beautifuly. The chorus is very slow but beautiful at the same time.
Silence isn't a ground breaking album. Too many of the songs follow the same formula of quiet verse, huge chorus and melodic bridge. However the songs are all great and there's no real weak point. Anyone who's heard Pitiful and Sleepwalking and enjoyed those songs will enjoy the album.
Rating: 3.8/5 :)
