Album Review

It‘s been two years since Blindside leaped into the mainstream from the underground - all the way from Sweden, no less. The album was called Silence, and while it was the ‘debut‘, so to speak, it was merely Blindside‘s third full-length album, following two put out by Solid State Records. Silence was produced by P.O.D.‘s producer and released on that‘s Three Points vanity label; it didn‘t make Blindside a household name, but several high-profile tours(including stints with, yes, P.O.D. - the two bands are quite close) spread the word around mainstream north America that here was a force to be reckoned with. Lead single and video ‘Pitiful‘ was a showy, rambunctious affair that, while it wasn‘t representative of most of Silence, set the tone.

That theme remains on About A Burning Fire: crushing, amazingly-produced modern rock with more than a hint of their hardcore past. Vocalist Christian Lindskog is at the very top of the pile where pure singers and lyricists in this genre are concerned; the man can scream full-throttle and stop on a dime to veer into a piercing, fluid clean vocal, and the opening fifteen seconds of the album, ‘Eye Of The Storm‘ are proof positive of this rarest of gifts. With intelligent, probing lyrical ability coupled with his incredible pipes, Lindskog is unstoppable, pushing his voicebox to its utter limits.

And the rest of his band ain‘t no slouches either. On Silence guitarist Simon (no last name here apparently) learned how to construct violent, dark guitar patterns while at the same time applying a sleek polish, resulting in a tone that‘s ridiculously catchy upon repeated listens, and he takes it a little farther this time out; Burning Fire is crammed with variety, from the blast of the chorus to ‘Hooray, It‘s L.A.‘ (featuring the Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan on second guitar) to the subtle chiming and pure melody of ‘Shekina‘ to the distinctly hardcore-esque pounding of the title track. The rhythm section provides a raw, pummelling foundation, keeping things more ragged around the edges than the slick veneer of Silence, and the rock attack is balanced by ‘Roads‘, this album‘s companion song to ‘Silence‘ from their previous effort, a quiet, stirring tune with some jazz trumpet and violin arrangements. This band can do it all.

What an album. One listen to ‘After You‘re Gone‘ will convince longtime fans that Blindside has reached the pinnacle they established with Silence. If a record could come with a ‘Consume Instantly‘ sticker on it, this one would bear the tag deservingly.

[Blindsite Dot Com]

Copyright ©2004