Blindside – The Great Depression
DRT Entertainment – 26th September 2005
By Russell Garwood
Blindside are some pissed off Christians. Hailing from Sweden, the hard-rock quartet have been together for over a decade now, and in that time released a number of independent albums in the Christian market. While these are largely visceral hardcore,
The Great Depression marks a slight change in direction for the band; hardcore screams still front the sound at times, but these are balanced by emotive singing with a distinct Robert Smith vibe. Under this, crunchy, melodic guitars tend to be relatively heavy for the style, and often segue into cleaner tones with a reflective atmosphere. In addition to these, occasional electronics prove unusual and effective. Tight drums and powerful bass constitute a solid rhythm section, and all of this combined creates an aggressive yet accessible concoction of hard rock, hardcore and emo.
The lyrics are notably indirect, with little of the preaching a lot of faith-based musicians tend towards. They are also
dark – lyricist Christian may love God but he seems pretty pissed off with the rest of the world. Songs based on his experiences with AIDs victims in South Africa certainly make for bleak listening, and have quite some impact. For fans of hard-rock/screamo, and Christian music would do well to give
Blindside a listen.
7/10
Official Blindside website
Official DRT Entertainment website
